While there are some big changes happening at SV@Home, one thing that isn’t changing is our incredible team’s commitment to housing policy advocacy and work! That’s why we’re excited to highlight our talented and committed policy team staff so you can learn more about the people behind the advocacy. So join us in meeting the team and learning more about why their work is important, what housing policy issues they’re most excited about in the coming months, and how your membership directly supports the work.
Name and what you work on at SV@Home:
Hihi! I’m Emily Ann Ramos, the Preservation and Protection Associate. Through advocacy, organizing, and community building, I work on comprehensive anti-displacement policies with a focus on deeply-impacted and historically excluded groups.
Why is this work central to SV@Home’s overall vision of a Silicon Valley where all people have access to a safe, stable, and affordable home?
Years of underbuilding, exclusionary zoning grown from racist redlining policies, and lack of protections for tenants has led to the decrease of affordability of the Bay Area. The housing crisis has unequally impacted families and individuals of lower income. My work centers on empowering communities to fight for their homes and their and their neighbors’ ability to remain in their cities.
What is one policy issue you are working on right now that you’re most excited about and why?
In the midst of the pandemic, we faced an unprecedented threat of mass evictions with moratorium extensions repeatedly coming down to the wire. When this latest version of the moratorium expires on September 30th (!), applying for rental assistance is the best way to avoid eviction. In collaboration with government staff and community organizations, I am excited to work on state, county, and local policies to promote the ease and outreach of the rental assistance program because it helps tenants stay housed and makes landlords (especially small landlords) whole.
What’s an example of a housing topic or issue someone should reach out to you about to get more engaged?
Other than COVID related policies, there are other tenant protections available to address displacement. We are in a partnership with the City of Palo Alto to advise, advocate with and educate the community about a menu of different protections like rental registration/survey, tenant relocation assistance (TRAO) and community opportunity to purchase (COPA). I would love to explore having these kinds of protections extend to all cities in Santa Clara County, so if you would like to organize to get tenant protections for your community, please reach out! Together we can protect our communities and ensure that they remain diverse and inclusive.
You can reach Emily at Emily@siliconvalleyathome.org
#MembershipMatters As a member of SV@Home you have a multitude of ways and many opportunities to join alongside our 200+ organizations and community members who are concerned about housing stability during these unprecedented times. Your membership directly supports Emily’s work on eviction protections and rental assistance and all of the other critical preservation and protection work.
Not sure if you’re a member? Email Sonia at sonia@siliconvalleyathome.org.