Our Revolution Massachusetts (ORMA) supports the passage of the Affordable Housing Bond bill, S.2368 and relevant legislation that will support Massachusetts. This bill is the largest housing bond bill in the state’s history. It will increase the supply of affordable homes, promote community and economic development, and improve the quality of early education for children in the Commonwealth through the Early Education and Out of School Time program. Here’s a related article.
It is no secret that millions of families are struggling economically and spending 50% or more of their income on housing. Meanwhile, decent and affordable rental apartments are hard to come by: According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, 7.1 million American households cannot find affordable housing.
Owning a home remains one of the best ways for families to build wealth and enter the middle class, but for decades, wages have not kept up with the median costs of homes, putting homeownership out of reach for millions of families. The housing crisis that began in 2007 wiped out the entire household wealth of millions of families, particularly African-American and Latino families who were disproportionately targeted with subprime mortgages and had most of their wealth in their homes. The net worth of African American households fell by more than 50% and Latino families by more than 65%. We must take aggressive steps to make homeownership more attainable for first time homebuyers, as well as for the millions of families across the country who lost their homes to foreclosure.
ORMA is calling on members and affiliates to:
- Lobby your state and federal representatives, and push Democratic committees to co-sponsor and support affordable housing and to oppose less effective bills such as the Governor’s Housing Opportunities bill.
- Identify affordable housing issues directly impacting the location where you live.
- Participate in op eds, letters to the editor, call-ins, town halls, public forums, stand outs, meetings, and coalitions, and support ally events.
- Pass warrant articles and resolutions to support affordable housing legislation.
- Host affordable housing activities, meetings, education forums, and coalition events.
- Join or create affordable housing coalitions.
ORMA will coordinate with ally organizations to become even more effective and unified with larger regional environmental groups, forming or joining a coalition with the objectives of coalition planning, joint actions, and discovering how affordable housing issues directly impact Massachusetts.
ORMA success will be measured by:
- Increased number of local Democratic committee endorsements and resolutions supporting affordable housing.
- Co-sponsorship from state and federal representatives.
- Large turn-out at events, and passage of statewide or state-level affordable housing legislation.
We need the strength of OUR grassroots movement to move ahead on Affordable Housing in Massachusetts
“Most federal housing subsidies benefit families with six-figure incomes. If we are going to spend the bulk of our public dollars on the affluent—at least when it comes to housing—we should own up to that decision and stop repeating the politicians’ canard about one of the richest countries on the planet being unable to afford doing more. If poverty persists in America, it is not for lack of resources.” Matthew Desmond, “Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City” (2016)
“Housing is a fundamental necessity of life. But in a market system, you can’t have it if you can’t afford it, and today an alarming number of households can afford it barely or not at all. A recent national poll found that an overwhelming majority of Americans now believe that assuring adequate and affordable housing should be a “top national priority.” In a moment of resurgent left politics, it’s time for a movement to roll back the financialization of housing.” Elizabeth Capelle
Here are ways you can help ORMA support Affordable Housing efforts nationwide and within Massachusetts:
Get involved nationally: Habitat for Humanity
Get involved locally: Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance
Thank you for supporting this movement.
Your help with this ORMA priority will help make it achievable!
Please submit your ORMA priority events, suggestions, achievements, questions, and proposals to info@