Housing Justice! is a statewide interfaith organization that seeks to eliminate the long-standing affordable housing shortage in Colorado.  Due to the high cost of housing, one in every five Coloradoans struggles to afford food, clothing, medical treatment and transportation.  Housing Justice! believes everyone needs a place to live and that this housing shortage exists due to a lack of awareness, understanding and political will.  We also believe that our faith calls us to stand with those who struggle to obtain decent housing and seek just solutions.   Our purpose is to educate and mobilize the diverse faith communities of Colorado to give voice to this struggle and to "change the political wind".

Education

During its first four years, Housing Justice! has given priority to education within the faith communities of Colorado.  Misinformation leads to a lack of understanding and bias concerning those who need affordable housing.  In turn, this can lead to NIMBY - "Not In My Back Yard!" - attitudes, one of the leading reasons affordable housing is not developed.  We have created a faith-based curriculum which dispels myths, opens up dialogue and brings a faith perspective to the normally secular matter of affordable housing.  Housing Justice! sponsored Housing Summits at Regis College during the summer of 2002 and 2003.  These one-day intensive workshops featured nationally known speakers and attracted 500 people from across the state who wished to create more affordable housing opportunities in their own communities.

People's Walk 

In the summer of 2004, Housing Justice! organized and led the “People’s Walk for Housing Justice”, an 850 mile trek around the state of Colorado designed to raise awareness of the need for affordable housing. Our lead walkers, Blake Chambliss and Joe Giron, walked the entire 850 miles in 11 weeks.  Over 1,400 people volunteered, walked with Blake and Joe, or participated in some aspect of the People's Walk.  We held a community forum in 45 cities and towns to listen to concerns and discuss the specific housing needs of people within each community. The People's Walk final report documents the journey and what was learned about the unique housing needs of each community.  If you would like more information about the People's Walk, you can check out their website at www.peopleswalk.org.

Advocacy

Housing Justice! mobilizes members across Colorado to stand with those who lack adequate housing:  for children whose parents must move frequently to find a rental home that remains affordable; for seniors who are on fixed incomes; for those with special needs and chronic illness; for working families who have been priced out of the market.  We encourage congregations to join together to affect local housing decisions and to provide an alternative voice to NIMBYism.  We have also participated in many local advocacy efforts such as candle light vigils with those who are homeless, postcard campaigns to communicate important concerns to elected officials, and community forums for candidates running for public office.  As representatives of the faith community, we have testified before the State legislature in favor of bills which would support affordable housing and sound economic development.  We are also building a statewide constituency and issuing calls to action when critical policy decisions are being made on the State and Federal level.

Communication with Members

Housing Justice! publishes a weekly one-page journal, CONNECTIONS, which is emailed to over 830 members across the state.  CONNECTIONS contains short summaries and links to valuable articles on housing-poverty-faith-justice issues selected from newspapers across the state and from nationally known sources.  We also send periodic email Alerts! to create awareness of critical issues and to initiate calls for action.  

Annual Events

Every year since its inception, Housing Justice! has sponsored a major event. We organized the Housing Summits in 2002 and 2003 and, following the People's Walk in 2004, a Celebration of the walkers and their journey.  In 2005 we hosted "Celebrate in September" at the Phipps Tennis Pavilion in Denver.  This dinner gathering featured Andrew Romanoff, Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives, and local celebrity Reggie Rivers, former Denver Bronco and now journalist and storyteller.