"Building on Success" Register today!
HousingWorks Board Member, Wes Peoples, discusses the importance of all kinds of homes in all parts of town
HousingWorks Austin is a non-profit organization endeavoring to keep homes affordable for Austinites through research, education and public policy change.
Our mission is to advocate a wide range of housing options so that all Austinites can afford a home that is close to jobs, family, schools, recreation, and places of worship. The decisions we make today will impact the next 50 years. Austin must act now if we are to preserve - or risk losing forever - the opportunity for a community that includes families of all income levels.
HousingWorks Austin unites community leaders from diverse backgrounds to promote the community value that home affordability is central to the success of Austin employers, schools and neighborhoods over the coming decades as growth continues. Our board includes leaders from all parts of town, and a wide range of cultural heritages, who represent and many economic perspectives.
HousingWorks is a champion for lower income Austinites, in need of affordable homes. In 2007 and 2008, we accomplished the following:
- In 2006, Austin voters passed a $55 million housing bond with 63% of the vote. By 2008, $16 MM has been awarded to 435 deeply affordable homes. Dispersion has been encouraged by new scoring which rewards locations in "high opportunity" areas as defined by the Opportunity Maps completed in 2007. (Link to the Opportunity maps)
- Coordinated the City's home repair providers in order to streamline the process and increase funding for home repairs for seniors and disabled.
- Won City Council support to retain $1 MM in annual funding for Austin's Housing Trust Fund
- Led multiple policy initiatives that have now been adopted to encourage the inclusion of affordable housing in mixed use developments, in Transit Oriented Development zones (TODs), in the Downtown Plan, and in Planned Unit Developments.
- Advocated for the City's Comprehensive Housing Market Study. The Study, recently completed Housing Market Study documents two major supply gaps - low cost rentals (under $425/month) and homeownership opportunities, especially for families in the $100,000 - $200,000 price range.
- Launched a strategic policy partnership with Urban Land Institute (ULI), the Real Estate Council of Austin (RECA), and Austin Area Research Organization (AARO). The group has laid out policy priorities to close Austin's housing gaps and will work to include them in the Comprehensive Plan.
- Held our annual housing summits for the past two years with AISD, igniting a fresh understanding that successful schools require affordable homes. As a direct result, AISD and the City are now developing a new program to provide counseling plus rental assistance to help families who must move to STAY in the same school catchment area.
Building and preserving affordable homes will take a concerted effort from both the public sector and private individuals like you. Your help is needed today build to capacity, fund research, and reach across the community to make the vision of an affordable Austin a reality.
Please call us at 326.3356 or email us if we can answer any questions. Thank you for helping build a better future for the people of our community.