The Alameda County Housing and Community Development Department has launched a new program to address housing affordability for lower-income households. “The quicker you can get people into housing and make housing available for them, the fewer people who are going to slip into homelessness,” Alameda County Deputy Housing Director Jennifer Pearce told NBC Bay Area. The Scalable Housing Investment Funding Toolkit (SHIFT) initiative streamlines construction by offering pre-approved building designs aiming to significantly cut down the time it takes to build affordable housing. Learn more about who the county is looking to partner with and deadlines for proposals here and in this article from Piedmont Exedra.
“If you ask most people, they don’t know what the PSC is.” Russell Armstrong and Black Futures Lab are working to inform voters about the importance of the Public Service Commission, a relatively unknown agency that regulates utility rates and energy policies in Georgia. Armstrong told WABE many voters quickly recognize its relevance when they learn it affects their power bills. Black Futures Lab, which works to make Black people powerful in politics so we can be powerful in our lives, is actively engaging communities through door-to-door canvassing and hosting events, especially in South Georgia. Read the full story here.
ICYMI:
- Check out Black Freedom Fund’s 2024 Impact Report: Powering Possibilities for California’s Black Communities. This report showcases the Fund’s progress over the past year and illustrates its collective impact from its founding in 2020 through 2024.
- Explore our case study on We Are California: 100+ media hits. 25+ Spokespeople. One Powerful Message: which outlines our partnership goals and highlights key earned media achievements.
- Take a dive into what we’re reading at Change Consulting: Retreating on Identity Will Not Unify Us in Inside Philanthropy argues that the real problem with democracy is powerful groups using fear, racism, and sexism to hold onto control. Movements led by Black people, women, LGBTQ folks, and others haven’t broken democracy; they’ve made it stronger and more fair for everyone. Check out the full article here.
