Spanish translation will be provided. Traducción al español estará disponible. Silicon Valley faces a shortage of housing affordable to much of our workforce, threatening the health of our economy and the vibrancy of our communities. Homelessness and housing affordability are consistently top of mind concerns for local residents. We know action is necessary to respond to the range of housing needs in our community that are not met by our housing market, but there is uncertainty that building affordable housing can help, or is a wise investment.
The Foundations of Affordable Housing workshop was created to respond to community concerns and confusion about housing affordability and homelessness. Grounded in Santa Clara County’s unique context, the Foundations program examines the current state and policy underpinnings of our current affordability crisis, how affordable housing works as part of the solution, and specific, measurable ways affordable housing benefits the entire community.
Broad public understanding of affordable housing empowers residents, leaders, and policymakers to make informed decisions, both at the ballot box and every day. Building this strong foundational knowledge about the value of affordable housing is key to advancing efforts to protect residents from displacement, preserve existing affordable housing, and build more affordable housing.
This workshop is for you if you:
- are sometimes or often in a role where you need to explain affordable housing to others.
- are concerned about homelessness and housing affordability in your community
- want to be part of making your community healthier and more vibrant
- want to gain a solid understanding or fill gaps in your knowledge about how affordable housing works, how it helps solve our housing crisis, and how it benefits all of us, or