GREAT NEWS: The Build Back Better plan recently passed the House! This legislation would be the single most substantial federal investment in quality, stable, affordable homes for Americans with the lowest incomes. The plan also includes two of NPH’s most important asks, which will help produce more affordable housing in California and throughout the nation:

• Lowering the bond threshold test from 50% to 25% for five years
   
• Increasing the 9% Low Income Housing Tax Credit program

Join us in thanking our lawmakers for their leadership via Twitter as we wait on a vote from the Senate.

Our Annual Holiday Member Party is happening next Thursday and you don’t want to miss it!

Join NPH members and others who work in the Bay Area’s affordable housing movement and industry on Thursday, December 9 at 5:00-6:00PM PDT for a special evening where we can socialize, enjoy live entertainment, and discuss strategy, policy, and program updates for 2022.

Registration is free. Please RSVP no later than Monday, December 6 at 5pm PDT

Are you an NPH member? We especially need your presence so you can cast your vote for the new NPH board members, whose leadership and expertise will help guide our work ahead. Learn more about our candidates here.

Earlier this year, our Bay Area Housing Internship Program (BAHIP) Year 3 cohort officially completed their program. Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, these dedicated interns persevered, lifting each other up and continuing to learn the skills needed to kick start a rewarding career in affordable housing development. Check out all their incredible achievements and how the program year went in our Year 3 summary! (Psst, it’s colorful with lots of pictures!)

You can also explore the portfolios of our Year 3 interns here.

For more information please contact NPH Senior Racial Equity & Inclusion Program Manager, Monica Joe.

Last month, the third cohort of the Community Advocacy and Voter Engagement (CAVE) certification program graduated, leaving with leadership and advocacy skills, digital organizing strategies, and tools to engage their residents in advocacy, voting, and other activities geared toward housing and racial justice in the Bay Area.

A key highlight from Cohort 3 includes the introduction of the first-ever NPH Community Advocacy & Voter Engagement Workbook!

For more information please contact NPH Senior Advocacy & Community Engagement Manager, Azul Cortez.

Help us give a warm welcome to Policy Director Abram Diaz and Narrative Specialist Madison Roberts, our newest NPH staff members! 

As NPH Policy Director, Abram (he/him) will lead our policy advocacy efforts to advance meaningful and equitable housing policy solutions for the Bay Area. 

Prior to joining NPH, Abram worked in the California State Legislature for five years and championed bills on affordable housing production, homelessness prevention, tenant protections, gun violence, and economic development. As Legislative Director for Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, Abram coordinated the effort to secure $80 million in the state budget for legal aid to prevent evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Abram is currently on the Housing California Board representing NPH.

Madison (she/they) joins NPH as our first Narrative Specialist and will play a key role in expanding NPH’s “Shift the Bay” initiative through resource development, coalition engagement, and messaging expertise that drives new narratives around affordable housing in the Bay Area.

Prior to this position, Madison served as an AmeriCorps Volunteer and Analyst at the City of Salinas Community Development Department where she co-directed a regional Farmworker Housing Action Plan, managed ADU planning and regulatory projects, and led stakeholder engagement and oversight committees. 

Read more about Abram and Madison, and learn more about the whole NPH board and staff here!

NPH remembers and honors Wilma Chan, a champion for affordable housing and low-income families, a groundbreaking Asian American leader, and a close partner and friend of NPH. She devoted her life to public service over the past 40 years. 

Wilma was the first elected official to commit to pursuing an affordable housing ballot measure strategy in 2015 in partnership with NPH. (This had only previously been done in the City and County of San Francisco.) Her leadership and vision not only advanced Measure A1 to the ballot for a win in November 2016 for Alameda County, but set the pace for Santa Clara County and San Mateo County to do the same, and for subsequent jurisdictions to follow suit in 2018. 

She was steadfast, humble and a social justice powerhouse who had a profound impact on communities and meeting their basic needs. She is already dearly missed. Her legacy will be celebrated on December 8th.

12/9, Southern California Association of Nonprofit Housing (SCANPH), Affordable Housing’s Role in Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) in California: Virtual Policy Briefing Join SCANPH for an in-depth policy discussion about the state housing agencies’ approach to using affordable housing investments to advance the AFFH goals of reducing segregation and unequal access to opportunity.

Opportunity: Apply for the Equitable Community Revitalization Grant The California Department of Toxic Substance Control is introducing the Equitable Community Revitalization Grant. Set a new path for land use that will have immediate and lasting benefits, such as recreational uses (parks and other green spaces), commercial enterprises and housing.