Statewide Day of Action & Prayer
PLAN TO ATTEND THIS SATURDAY’S STATEWIDE DAY OF ACTION & PRAYER
Please be advised that Steering Committee Members of Harrisonburg Rockingham Living Wage Campaign, a project of Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy, and Michael Wong, Executive Director of Harrisonburg Redevelopment & Housing Authority, are planning a Vigil for Housing Justice. This Vigil will be held on the parking lot of HRHA at 286 Kelly Street on Saturday, January 21, 2023 @2:00 PM .
Virginia has an affordable housing crisis. Very low-income families spend more than half their incomes on housing. Approximately 29 percent of families spend more than 30percent of their incomes on housing. Rents have increased dramatically, and home prices have skyrocketed,making the American dream of home ownership out of reach for many families. Thousands of families are on wait-lists for public housing programs and evictions are rapidly increasing the number of people who are homeless.
Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy, in collaboration with Virginia Organizing, are organizing actions around Virginia to highlight the need for affordable housing in the Budget.
VICPP and Virginia Organizing believe Virginia’s budget should include the following allocations for affordable housing:
$75 million to the Virginia Housing Trust Fund to build more affordable housing and help prevent homelessness.
$738 million to the Housing Stability Fund to fund a rental voucher program to assist families with low incomes.
$12.5 million to the Virginia Eviction Reduction Program (VERP) to reduce evictions with short-term financial assistance to at-risk renters or homeowners.
We look forward to seeing you at the Vigil.
As Always,
Ramona Sanders
Steering Committee Member
Harrisonburg Rockingham Living Wage Campaign