Cape Housing Advocacy Training Underway

HYANNIS – Housing Assistance Corporation and Community Development Partnership have launched the second year of its Cape Housing Advocacy Training.

The sessions are a collaborative effort between the two nonprofits to provide Cape Codders with the tools to support affordable housing in their communities.

“It’s for non-municipal officials. It’s for voters,” said Andrea Aldana, the Director of Housing Advocacy for the Community Development Partnership.

“It’s for the general public, particularly low- to moderate-income residents, to help them advocate for their own housing needs.”

Last year, the Cape Housing Advocacy Training offered a half day training session for about 50 people across the Lower Cape.

Organizers kept in touch with the participants and continued to provide them information about what was going on in their communities so they could attend and speak up during town meeting.

“We saw incredible success in year one with $4.9 million allocated to various housing initiatives and all kinds of zoning changes going on across the Lower Cape,” Aldana said.

Aldana said she has heard from voters all across the Lower Cape who have had issues with housing, or know friends, family or neighbors who have had affordable housing problems.

“Everybody has these stories in them and if they can bring these stories to the training all we need to do is give them the skills they need to show up and speak up at public hearings to advance these initiatives,” Aldana said.

Free training will be hosted by HAC and CDP in communities across the Cape through mid-March.

The training is open to anyone interested in learning more about the region’s housing crisis.

The first workshop was February 2 in Wellfleet.

Remaining dates, times and locations are below:

February 23, 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m., Harwich Community Center

Snow Date for Lower and Outer Cape: March 2, 9:00am – 2:00pm, Harwich Community Center

March 2, 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m., Council on Aging – Yarmouth

March 4, 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Mashpee Town Hall

March 14, 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Barnstable Town Hall

Snow Date for Upper and Mid-Cape, TBD

Participants must pre-register. Lower and Outer Cape residents can register at www.capecdp.org and Mid and Upper Cape residents can register at www.capehousinginstitute.org.