The focus of each fellowship campaign is determined by the fellows themselves. Grassroots power is at the core of our model. At Community Spring, we believe the answers to the community’s problems need to come from the people experiencing those issues. All of the fellows in the 2021-2022 class had encountered challenges accessing safe, affordable housing. They believed that everyone should have a right to housing and that removing structural barriers to housing will spur economic mobility community-wide. That’s why they started the The Lighthouse Initiative: Shining a Light on Affordable Housing.
The Lighthouse Initiative was started by Community Spring Fellows who had been directly impacted by affordable housing. Left to right: Silvia (Vaishnavi) Rodriguez, Raynard Mack, Sydney Lee, Julius Irving, Lacorya Lynn, and John Wise.
Shining a Light on Affordable Housing
The Lighthouse Initiative envisioned a community where everyone had access to stable, affordable housing where they could feel at home. It aimed to achieve this by:
creating affordable housing resources and tools
advocating for more affordable housing at local government meetings
engaging with the community through canvassing and events
Below are the many education and advocacy resources created as part of the campaign, organized under the headings of Stay Educated, Utilize Tools, and Be Active. We hope that they are useful to others in the community who want to continue the fight for more affordable housing.
STAY EDUCATED
It’s important to stay up-to-date with all the complexities of affordable housing. Below you will find our slide deck, explainer videos, storytelling videos, and informative blogs. Though these are great starting points, we also recommend staying up-to-date with the news on the latest proposals and projects.
CHECK OUT OUR Slide Deck on affordable housing
Watch OUR Affordable housing explainer videos
Hear Stories from those with firsthand experience
Read INSIGHTS ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING
UTILIZE TOOLS
Utilizing resources and tools are a great way to understand how affordability functions while raising awareness. Below are our advocacy tools such as our policy one-pager, affordable housing funding rubric, affordable housing report card, social media toolkit, and housing support resource list.
Our primary advocacy goals for affordable housing were to:
Devote Local Revenue to Creating Permanent and Truly Affordable Housing
Maximize the Potential for Affordable Housing on Public Land
Build a Better Safety Net for People Facing Housing Insecurity
Download our one-pager to learn more
Affordable Housing Funding Rubric
This rubric was developed to evaluate spending on affordable housing. It focuses on three key criteria - income level, producing/preserving units, and length of affordability.
Affordable Housing Report Card
This report card is meant to shine a light on how the housing system is working (or not working) for different groups in our community.
Affordable Housing Social Media Toolkit
Affordable housing is both a simple and technical issue. In this social media toolkit, we break down complicated concepts like cost burden, area median income (AMI), and how housing intersects with health, race, and income. Educate yourself and feel free to share any of this content! (Please tag our handle if you share!)
Housing Support Resource List
Check out this list of resources for housing support such as rental assistance, utilities assistance, shelter, and more.
BE ACTIVE
Engaging with your community is the most important part of advocacy. Below are ways that you can be active and take a stand for creating more affordable housing.
MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD
Decisions about housing are often made on behalf of whole communities without ever hearing the perspectives of those living there. The Lighthouse Initiative worked to build an engaged community that knew what housing resources were available, and how to play an active role in policy decisions about affordable housing and support. Now that the fellowship has come to an end, we need your help to continue the work.
Our Fellow, Lacorya Lynn, standing at the county commission podium.
Building Grassroots power FOR MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING
There are three big ways you can help build grassroots power to create change in our community.
Public Comment
Public comment during city or county meetings is one of the most powerful ways to engage with your elected officials. You can show up to speak during general comment or on a specific agenda item. Meeting schedules and agendas are found on the commission websites. City meetings are normally on Thursdays. County meetings are normally on Tuesdays.
Reaching out Directly to Elected Officials
Having direct contact with your representatives is another great way to make your voice heard. You can do this by emailing them or requesting a meeting. Individual emails for city and county commissioners are available here and here. You can also email the entire commission at citycomm@cityofgainesville.org for Gainesville or bocc@alachuacounty.us for Alachua County.
Social Media
Social media is a powerful tool to advocate for change. Some ways to engage through social media are:
Creating your own post discussing your experience with affordable housing.
Reposting one of the samples in our social media toolkit.
Tagging elected officials directly on posts.