How to take on Central Florida’s affordable housing crisis as an advocate

Central Florida is in the midst of an affordable housing crisis. Take a stand on this issue with Habitat for Humanity Greater Orlando and Osceola County’s new Cost of Home campaign.

This national advocacy campaign aims at making affordable homeownership more accessible for you, your neighbors, your community and your nation. Our goal of helping 10 million people to have better access to affordable housing seems lofty—but it’s possible with your help.

You can become an advocate for Habitat for Humanity Greater Orlando & Osceola County with just five steps.

Understand the issues

Central Florida is experiencing an affordable housing scarcity – especially for low-income families and individuals. This means local people are choosing between feeding their families nutritious meals – or paying rent. They’re living in unsafe, overcrowded living conditions to better afford shelter as well as food, healthcare, education and transportation.

But you can counteract this by influencing policies on:

• Increasing the creation and maintenance of affordable homes.
• Increasing credit access for low-income families.

Sign up for our advocacy emails

Sign up to be an Advocacy Ambassador—you’ll be the first to know about opportunities to contact legislators and advocate for affordable housing in Central Florida.

Reach out to your lawmakers

Learn who your state and congressional lawmakers are through the Find Your Representative program. This information is the first stepping stone to monitoring their voting record and contacting them or their staff about important issues – like the lack of affordable housing.

Recently, we asked you to contact Gov. Ron DeSantis about vetoing the proposed move of funds originally allocated to affordable housing to general revenue.

Check on your voting status

Be ready to take on proposed amendments or laws affecting the affordability of housing in the ballot box. Register to vote or update your record with a new address, name or party affiliation.

New registrations or updates can be made online through the Florida Division of Elections available here: https://registertovoteflorida.gov/en/Registration/Index.

Spread the word about the affordable housing crisis

Ensure that your friends and family are aware of Central Florida’s affordable housing crisis – and make efforts to correct this issue.

Keep an eye on our blog and social media accounts for shareable, poignant content to share with your friends and family. For example, Yosmarily, who is wheelchair-bound, has endured life in an inaccessible home which limits her mobility even further. Hers is just one of many examples of the challenges families face trying to afford a decent place to live.

Follow us on Twitter @HabitatOrlOsc, Instagram @HabitatOrlandoOsceola, and LinkedIn, and like us on Facebook.