RUN News for April 2019

We have so much to celebrate! Read on for more details on RUN’s 2019 priority bills, this year’s successful Lobby Day, the ways we are sharing our work, and why we need a birthday cake!

  • 2019 RUN priority bills
  • Our voices were heard
  • Highlighting our work
  • RUN is 5 years old! Happy birthday to us!
  • Join us in the upcoming leadership trainings!
 

RUN Priority Bills  

SB 329 (Mitchell) Source of Income Discrimination: It often takes several years for an applicant to obtain a Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8). After waiting all of those years, voucher holders often find that it is impossible to use the voucher because many landlords openly refuse to allow the voucher as a form of rent payment. This bill would prohibit discrimination against voucher holders by adding vouchers to the list of sources of income that cannot be denied.

AB 10 (Chiu) Expanding the California Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program: This bill meets the needs of affordable, supportive, and farmworker housing developers who need additional funding to develop and rehabilitate rental homes for extremely low-, very low-, and low-income Californians, by increasing state Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program funding beginning in 2020 by an additional $500 million, of which $25 million, per year, would be allocated to farmworker housing developments.​ Current law limits the amount of low-income housing tax credits the state can allocate to $94 million annually.

SB 282 (Beall) Supportive Housing for People on Parole Experiencing Homelessness: Housing California and CSH are seeking to create a grant program for counties to provide supportive housing for people on parole. The county would commit to providing Medi-Cal mental health treatment. This way, counties would apply and commit to providing housing and services to this population long term, while drawing in federal resources.

 

Our Voices Were Heard 

We are overjoyed by the turnout and the energy that participants brought to the Housing California Lobby Day on Monday, April 15th! 130 residents, advocates, and developers gathered from across the state to meet with legislative staff and to share their stories and information about the RUN priority bills:

Some of our guest speakers included Miriam Perez, a longtime advocate, leader, and member of RUN from San Diego; Carol Ornelas, CEO of Visionary Home Builders in the San Joaquin Valley; and Roberto Jimenez, CEO of Mutual Housing in the Sacramento area. We would like to thank the RUN leaders who provided support and the partner organizations who helped resident members with logistical planning and ensuring that participants got to the event and back home safe.

After the visits, it was clear to attendees that housing is a priority for many legislators. We look forward to keeping the momentum going through this legislative cycle and getting the bills passed!

San Diego RUN Members at Lobby Day, April 15, 2019

Housing California board member, Carol Ornelas speaking at Lobby Day, April 15, 2019

Lobby Day April 15, 2019

 

Highlighting Our Work  

We were excited to see RUN members and leaders participating in the Housing California Conference April 16-17. On the first day, RUN leaders hosted a workshop session, Building a People Powered Movement. Tiffany Wong from EAH Housing, Michael Menjivar from Southern California Association of Nonprofit Housing, and Miriam Rodriguez from San Diego RUN reflected and shared about their organizations’ strategies to support Prop 1 and 2 efforts during the 2018 midterm election. Throughout the conference, multiple RUN members volunteered to host the RUN table and engaged with conference attendees to share information about RUN.

Finally, we want to congratulate Alexandra Alvarado from Mutual Housing and Mehrsa Imani from San Diego Housing Federation for their amazing work in facilitating Shaping the Future, Part II plenary discussion on April 17th. During the plenary, Mehrsa and Alexandra shared their communities’ experiences. They shared the stage with Governor Newsom’s Senior Advisor on Housing Tia Boatman Patterson and Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg.

Housing California Conference Plenary, April 17, 2019

Geraldine Givens at the Housing California Conference, April 16, 2019

 

RUN is 5 years old! Happy Birthday to Us!  

RUN members helped celebrate the network’s fifth anniversary. RUN hosted a reception during the conference where longtime and new members shared their stories and reflections on being part of RUN. About 25 people shared their memories of their first interactions with RUN. It was a beautiful, at times emotional, time of reflecting on our history together and how being involved in RUN has made us all stronger.

“I'm amazed at what we've accomplished and built in the last 5 years and I can't wait to see what the next 5 years bring! It's like we're growing out of our toddler years and ready to go off to big kid school.”  –Emily Serafy-Cox

Additionally, Senator Beall recognized Housing California’s 40th Anniversary and RUN’s 5th with a proclamation that he presented to Housing California Staff and RUN members during the conference reception.

RUN Members with Senator Beall at the Housing California Conference, April 16, 2019

 

Join us for RUN Leadership Trainings! Register using the links below.

 

What is Leadership – Friday, May 3

​Leadership is a practice, not a position or a title. Come learn how you can be a strong leader in your community and our movement.

Why RUN?– Friday, May 10

Learn the history of housing inequality and how movements of the people are the only way to the tide in favor of low-income Americans. This is why we RUN!  

Organizing 101 – Friday, May 17 

How do we build power? What are effective ways to get ourselves organized? Learn the answers and more!

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Residents United Network
1107 9th Street, Suite 560
Sacramento, California 95814
916-447-0503
www.housingca.org

RUN@housingca.org 

 

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