HYANNIS – A collaboration between Housing Assistance Corporation and Community Development Partnership to teach the community how to advocate for affordable housing continues this month.
The organizations helped provide training to 120 town officials on the Cape in the fall with the Housing Institute and now they are looking to do the same for anyone else across the region.
The sessions, which are free and open to the public, are geared toward anyone who has struggled to find affordable housing on the Cape and Islands and wants to make a difference.
“It’s specifically to give them the skills, leadership, organizing, public speaking, and to tell them about affordable housing so that they can participate in the conversation in their communities,” said Laura Reckford, the director of community relations for HAC.
“They can make a difference in their communities by attending public meetings, by going to Town Meetings, by speaking up and saying ‘we need this type of housing.’”
Attendees will also learn about how town and local government works, along with community organizing.
“How to get local people together to show up at a Town Meeting, at a public meeting, and let their voices be heard, and that can actually affect the people making the decisions,” Reckford said.
Mark Forest, a Yarmouth Selectman and a HAC board chair, said affordable housing is the top issue for many towns across Cape Cod.
Forest said the issue has gotten harder to handle as less state and federal funding has been available.
“The burden for really leading the charge is on the local level,” he said. “What you are seeing now are towns taking an active role in looking at keeping this issue on the front burner in their towns.”
Forest said we all need to play a more active role in helping with the issue, whether it’s attending meetings to support a project or signing up for an affordable housing committee.
The free advocacy training begins February 13 and is offered in three 90-minute Tuesday sessions or one five-hour Saturday session.
To register visit haconcapecod.org or capecdp.org.
The session dates, times and locations are listed below.
WEEKLY SESSIONS
- Mid-Cape Housing Advocacy Training: February 13, 20 & 27, 2018, 12:00pm – 1:30pm, Shepley Showcase, 75 Benjamin Franklin Way, Hyannis
- Outer Cape Housing Advocacy Training: February 13, 20 & 27, 2018, 5:00pm – 6:30pm, Wellfleet Public Library, 55 West Main Street, Wellfleet
FULL DAY SESSIONS:
- Lower Cape Housing Advocacy Training: February 17, 2018, 9:00am – 2:00pm, Harwich Community Center, 100 Oak Street, Harwich
- Upper Cape Housing Advocacy Training: March 3, 2018, 8:00am – 1:00pm, Falmouth Public Library, Hermann Room, 300 Main Street, Falmouth
By BRIAN MERCHANT, CapeCod.com NewsCenter
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