Dear colleagues,
Last week in Washington, D.C., more than 450 advocates from 44 states and the District urged the United States Congress to act and prioritize policies that will increase the number of affordable homes, especially for entry-level homeownership. The theme of this year’s Habitat on the Hill was “Voices in action, building toward our vision,” which reflects both the progress we’ve made and the work still to be done.
Our groups met with close to 300 congressional offices in what were consistently positive and supportive conversations. In this era of divided politics and policy, our time at the Capitol reinforced that our work is not only more important than ever, but it has broad, bipartisan support. The dwindling supply of affordable starter homes across the U.S. is a crisis that denies millions of families the foundation for stability and opportunity while straining communities and hindering economic growth. It’s part of a larger, global housing crisis: a staggering 2.8 billion people lack adequate, affordable housing around the world.
The laser focus of our advocates as they visited with members of Congress is particularly important now. I know that the actions of the new U.S. administration are causing concern within the larger Habitat network and across the nonprofit sector worldwide. A flurry of executive orders with wide-ranging implications, a federal funding freeze rescinded two days after it was enacted, and the suspension of most U.S. foreign assistance has caused confusion and, in many cases, anxiety.
Grounding us at Habitat on the Hill was a timely devotion by Habitat for Humanity York County’s Chief Executive Officer Tim Veeck, who reminded us of Habitat’s roots in love and inclusiveness, dating back to the early residents of Koinonia Farm. “Koinonia was committed to a demonstration plot for the Kingdom of God,” he said, “to be a prophetic witness that another way is possible than the current cultural, religious, political and economic context.”
Indeed now is the time to lean on our faith foundation, which is inspired by how Jesus lived and demands we love all our neighbors, do justice and walk humbly with God. We set our bar at love — not tolerance, but love. This means making opportunities for people of different faiths, races, ethnicities, nationalities, political affiliations, sexual and gender identities, ages, abilities, and socioeconomic classes who come together in common cause with love and respect for their fellow human beings.
We will continue to do this work every day while also remaining clear-eyed about shifts in our operating environment. While there is much we still don’t know about the impacts of federal actions in the U.S., some are beginning to come into focus. The stoppage of most U.S. foreign assistance has significant impacts that extend beyond funding for our communities, our partners and the broader NGO sector. With important sources of assistance suddenly cut off, some of the communities where we operate are already struggling. Many of our peer organizations and partners who rely more heavily on U.S. government assistance than Habitat does have seen their funding disappear overnight and are experiencing significant impacts like layoffs and furloughs.
While HFHI does not have a broad portfolio of programs dependent on U.S. foreign assistance, some Habitat projects have been suspended due to the cuts, including a Habitat Poland effort that supports shelter needs of Ukrainian refugees and people impacted by flooding in southern Poland. Importantly, there are also longer-term implications that we are just now trying to understand, particularly for initiatives done in partnership with other NGOs.
HFHI has stood up a cross-functional team to develop guidance related to government actions that may impact our work around the world. This Mission Advancement Task Force is meeting biweekly and will guide, inform and coordinate HFHI’s response to the changing U.S. legislative and regulatory landscape to identify and mitigate potential enterprise risk and inform our actions. It is focusing on issues impacting the network in equity-related initiatives, climate change, foreign aid and U.S. federal, state and local funding. The group will prepare and share guidance for the network and ensure coordinated engagement across stakeholder groups.
Right now, there is a lot of uncertainty. Yet we are driven by our belief that everyone deserves a decent place to call home. As we remain steadfast in our commitment to building homes, communities and hope, we will keep you informed about any impact to our work within the U.S. and around the world.
Blessings,
Jonathan Reckford
