This week, NLIHC held its first in-person convening of state and tribal partners in over three years. More than 50 people representing 39 of NLIHC’s state and tribal partner organizations, along with all NLIHC staff, gathered in Washington, D.C., and online for the hybrid event. Attendees spent two days building relationships, strategizing about ways to advocate with the new Congress, and deepening their commitment to racial equity. The United Native American Housing Association (UNAHA), a longtime NLIHC member, was also welcomed as the group’s first tribal partner. The agenda included a Capitol Hill report, a panel discussion with staff from Capitol Hill offices and partners from Georgia and Indiana, a conversation with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Senior Advisor for Racial Equity, a racial bias training, and plenty of opportunities for networking.
NLIHC state and tribal partners are those member organizations with which NLIHC works mostly closely in each state or region of the country. As part of these close partnerships, NLIHC offers unique supports beyond those provided to regular members, such as special meetings with HUD and administration officials, help with federal advocacy work, and forums for networking and knowledge-sharing. State partners are housing and homelessness advocacy organizations that serve whole states or regions within a state, are engaged in state and federal housing advocacy, and have their own networks to mobilize in pursuit of NLIHC’s policy priorities. Many are traditional coalitions with a wide range of members; others are local organizations that act as informal points of contact in particular regions. Currently, NLIHC has 67 state partners operating in 45 states and the District of Columbia, as well as one tribal partner.
NLIHC’s affiliation with tribal partners is a new endeavor and is intended to provide affordable housing advocacy and policy support to tribal communities across the country. Tribal partners are nonprofit organizations that serve members of tribes in particular geographic regions, that prioritize increasing affordable housing for the lowest-income renters, and that seek to end homelessness. Our new tribal partner, UNAHA, represents over 30 tribes located in the Northern Plains (HUD Region VIII), a region encompassing Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Nebraska, and Kansas.
For information about becoming an NLIHC state or tribal partner, please contact [email protected]