NLIHC’s board of directors unanimously approved the applications of four organizations as the newest additions to the NLIHC State Partner Coalition. Hawai’i Appleseed, Iowa Housing Partnership, HousingLOUISIANA, and New York Housing Conference join 59 other statewide organizations devoted to policy solutions to ensure safe, decent, affordable, and accessible housing for the lowest-income people. With these additions, NLIHC now has state partners in 43 states and the District of Columbia.
Hawai’i Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice works to achieve a more socially just Hawaii where everyone achieves economic security. Since 2004, Hawai’i Appleseed has been a leading voice on poverty issues within the state legislature and in local policies on Oahu. Their efforts to expand affordable housing options have included successful efforts to expand accessory dwelling units, regulate short-term rentals, establish inclusionary zoning policies and secure increased state resources to address homelessness and housing poverty. Beyond housing issues, Hawai’i Appleseed has been a leading voice in efforts to increase the statewide minimum wage and establish a state-level earned income tax credit. Learn more about Hawai’i Appleseed at: www.hiappleseed.org
Iowa Housing Partnership formed in 2018 and has become a significant voice at the state legislature for the past two sessions. Their advocacy efforts focus on expanding revenue for the State Housing Trust Fund and increasing the workforce housing tax credit. Iowa Housing Partnership has also worked on compiling data on housing needs throughout the state to build support for further investment. Iowa Housing Partnership is comprised of 63 housing developers, providers, and advocates from around the state, and expects more growth in the coming year.
HousingLOUISIANA is an advocacy coalition of leader-organizations across nine regions of the state. The coalition first came together in 2017 to promote better collaboration among advocates in various communities and to provide a unified voice on policy efforts at the state level. The network consists of social service providers, non-profit community development corporations (CDCs), neighborhood organizers, and government officials. Early successes of HousingLOUISIANA include defeating state legislation to preempt local inclusionary zoning and extending the eligibility age of foster care to prevent youth from becoming homeless when aging out. Staff support for HousingLOUISIANA is provided by Greater New Orleans Housing Alliance.
The New York Housing Conference (NYHC) has been a leader in housing advocacy at both the state and city levels in New York for more than 45 years. NYHC has worked closely with NLIHC on numerous advocacy efforts and is a resource on developing solutions to housing affordability concerns in one of the most complex housing markets in the world. NYHC recently has been involved in expanding, bolstering, and improving the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program, with particularly successful advocacy on the issue of income-averaging. They recently launched the United for Housing Campaign, a broad coalition working to recommend a policy agenda for the next mayor of New York City, due to be elected in 2021. NYHC becomes NLIHC’s sixth state partner in New York. Learn more about NYHC at: www.thenyhc.org