A few years back, a board member would constantly ask, “What would need to be true?” This constant refrain allowed us to think big and identify conditions necessary for us to set and accomplish an aspirational goal — to double our impact. That refrain challenged us to think bigger and create a path to go from building eight homes per year to 20. Recently, I had the opportunity to catch up with that individual. I was reminded about how important that simple sentence was to get our organization thinking strategically and daring to dream about what could be possible when we work together. We were able to grow our capacity so that now we are building 20 homes per year.
I was reminded again of this refrain this week when I read a headline in the Vail Daily – “Eagle County School District is Outpacing its Employee Housing Goal.” ECSD is a great partner to Habitat. I watched as many years ago they set a big goal that they knew would impact the education of the kids in our community – create more housing to retain staff and keep high quality educators in front of our kids.
I naively agreed to run a half marathon with my husband next weekend, so I have been trying to catch up on my mileage. Those recent miles gave me time to think. We (the collective we) have made great strides on adding affordable housing stock. At Habitat we have doubled our production, our partners are all focused on adding housing stock, and yet on the front lines of this housing crisis — at our office, on the MIRA bus, at the Community Market and beyond, we hear desperation. Our community members are struggling to put down roots and voicing they are hanging on by a thread, just one broken car, one medical bill, one unexpected expense away from financial ruin.
I find myself thinking, “What would need to be true?” to improve the conditions for our community members and how do we, the community, push through to retain community
We have increased housing stock by focused policy work at the state and local levels and leveraging local funding. I believe that the complexity of the housing issue won’t be solved by policy alone, but that we must layer on deep, long-term community engagement. I believe that a commitment to include additional and diverse voices at the table and to collaborative action is the secret sauce we need to truly change the trajectory on housing; to make our community a place where people have secure housing options; where they are able to buy a home and put down roots; where they are not forced to make impossible choices about healthcare, or childcare or a roof over their heads; where they can advance in their career and feel confident that accepting the raise won’t make them ineligible for housing.
I think one of the things so many of us love about our community is the way we work together, get involved to find solutions, to make an impact, to engage with our neighbors — people who you may agree or disagree with because we are invested in this place and understand the importance of retaining our community.
I hope you will join us in asking, “What would have to be true?” Habitat has made a commitment to create an inclusive space in the form of a housing collaborative to invest in deep, long-term community engagement to help us make sustainable, permanent change. These four community meetings, “Finding Your Way Home,” start a dialog on how to improve housing and living conditions, how to make it easier for people to live and work here so we will have a thriving workforce in 10, 15 and many years beyond.
Join us November 13 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Eagle River Presbyterian Church. Come at 5 for a community dinner. Babysitting is available upon request. Learn more. RSVP to elyse@habitatvailvalley.org.
Elyse Howard is the VP of Community Affairs & Philanthropy. Habitat for Humanity Vail Valley has bold plans to build to 200 homes by 2028. We hope you will join us as we work grow our community capacity for engagement and organizing, giving everyone a voice to make things better across all socioeconomic levels.
