Neighborhood Partnerships is pleased to endorse the historic Yes for Affordable Homes campaign! Neighborhood Partnerships was founded back in 1990 with the understanding that having a safe place to call home creates opportunity, stability, and safety, and that understanding has helped shape our work for the past twenty-six years.
Today, in Oregon, far too many people lack the safety, stability, and security that an affordable home provides. All across our state, kids are waking up on couches or in tents and instead of going to school to learn, they spend their days worrying about where they will sleep that night. Seniors and individuals sleep in cars and in doorways. Four in ten of us rent our homes and worry about being evicted. As a community, we can – and we must – do better.
Yes for Affordable Homes is the $258.4 million affordable housing bond which City of Portland voters will have the opportunity to support this November 8. The bond will create permanently affordable housing for tens of thousands of people over the life of the homes, and marks the first time that Portland voters will be able to vote in support of affordable housing. In the short term, three thousand Portlanders who need our help the most will be helped with these homes.
Our mission at NP is to create opportunity for Oregonians with low incomes, and we work towards that goal every day through our work to help build assets and to support housing opportunity. We know that having a safe, stable, affordable place to call home gives people the opportunity to build better lives. We know that kids in our communities deserve the chance to succeed in school and life, and that all begins with a place to call home.
Since 2004, we have convened a statewide coalition called the Oregon Housing Alliance. This coalition has focused solely on advocating for more state resources for affordable housing and better policies for people affected by housing problems. We know that together, we can solve the affordable housing crisis in our state – and we know we must do it together. This bond measure, Measure 26-179, is a critical step in addressing our housing crisis.
The success of this first ballot measure, Yes for Affordable Homes, means a lot to us at Neighborhood Partnerships, and we are hopeful that this will be the first of many local and regional bond measures to support housing opportunity throughout Oregon.
PS – You can do more than just vote, too! Join NP and the Yes for Affordable Homes campaign as we go door knocking on Sunday, October 30th to share how important it is to have a safe place to call home with our neighbors. You can also pick up a lawn sign at our office!