John,

These are uncertain times for all of us, especially those fellow Americans who are housing insecure or experiencing homelessness.

The response to the pandemic is putting a spotlight on how we ensure housing stability during this time of crisis.

Plainly put, housing stability is public health, it is economic resilience, it is protecting children, it is preeminent when discussing how we get through this as one community.

Housing is at the heart of success and stability for us all.

It underpins the very fabric of our lives. Whether we are talking about racial disparities, family wealth, health outcomes, school performance or policing, housing is at the nexus of it all. Put in clear terms -- housing is everything.

Especially in this time of corona. People are being told to stay at home. And for some of our neighbors that might be a real struggle. We need our elected leaders to stand up for those most vulnerable. That includes the medically vulnerable but also those at risk of being displaced from their homes due to lost income during the economic fallout.

John, the time to act is now. Stand with me in calling for a housing strategy for all of DeKalb, now during this crisis, and for the long term benefit of our community.

SIGN ON TO MY HOUSING STRATEGY FOR ALL DEKALB - [link removed]

Here are the highlights:

1. Establish an Affordable Housing Trust to help with down payment assistance, rent payments or critical home renovations or energy efficiency retrofits.
2. Legalize tiny homes and cottage court neighborhood developments to support more housing options, addressing the "missing middle" problem.
3. Preserve neighborhoods by establishing anti-displacement funds to help eligible low-income families stay in their homes.
4. Utilize DeKalb Land Bank to regenerate blighted properties into a land trust owned housing developments to preserve affordable housing for the long term.
5. Establish floating zones for Green Neighborhood and Housing developments. Ensure that new construction is energy efficient and solar and EV ready.

John, if you are concerned about the affordable housing crisis in our country, will you help me pass a housing strategy for all here in DeKalb County? We must start making change, and it often has to be generated from the local level up. You can help us today by pitching in a donation to our people-powered movement to act on affordable housing for all.

DONATE HERE - [link removed]

- Ted

P.S. - After you've donated - Please sign on to our Housing Strategy for All of DeKalb, and share it with your friends. Help us build thousands of supporters behind taking action on the affordable housing crisis in our country, right now. Ensure that housing is a universal human right, and we will fight to see it secured. Thank you!

P.S.S. - Make sure you read the article published by the Georgia Housing and Legal Scholars, academics from Emory University, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Georgia State University, who have put out a policy agenda, Towards an Emergency Housing Response to COVID-19 in Georgia, to help guide policymakers in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic through the lens of housing stability measures.