Opportunity Starts at Home

The episode explores the work of the campaign’s state-based affiliates in Ohio and features Gina Wilt, advocacy director at the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio (COHHIO). Throughout the episode, Ms. Wilt discusses the housing crisis in Ohio, the opportunities and challenges of building multi-sector partnerships, best practices for organizations looking to build a multi-sector coalitio...

In this episode, we discuss the work of the Opportunity Starts at Home campaign’s Racial Equity Working Group with Peggy Bailey, Vice President of Housing Policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Throughout the episode, Ms. Bailey discusses the history of racism in housing policy, the first steps when organizations embark upon racial equity work, her major reflections and takeaways, t...

In this episode, we talk with Dr. Myra Jones-Taylor, Chief Policy Officer at ZERO TO THREE, about the intersection of healthy early childhood development and housing stability. Dr. Jones-Taylor discusses the research around baby and toddler development, persistent racial disparities, effective best practices, the short- and long-term impacts of COVID-19, and why ZERO TO THREE is pushing Congress t...

This episode discusses the intersections between racial equity and housing with Amanda Andere, CEO of Funders Together to End Homelessness. Ms. Andere discusses the work of her organization, how racial inequities manifest in housing and homelessness, the history of housing discrimination, what it takes to achieve large-scale policy change, the common mistakes that organizations make in pursuing ra...

This episode discusses the intersections between the growing coronavirus pandemic, housing instability, and homelessness with Dr. Barbara DiPietro, senior director of policy at National Health Care for the Homeless Council. Dr. DiPietro explains why those experiencing housing instability and homelessness are especially susceptible to the virus and what solutions should be implemented immediately t...

This episode discusses how the housing affordability crisis impacts Latino households across the nation, featuring Agatha So, Senior Policy Analyst at UnidosUS. UnidosUS, formerly the National Council of La Raza, is the nation's largest Latino nonprofit advocacy and services organization and is a Steering Committee member of the Opportunity Starts at Home campaign. Ms. So discusses recent findings...

This episode features an array of elected officials, experts, advocates, and people with lived experience to discuss two major pieces of bipartisan housing legislation that were recently introduced in Congress. This is a live recording of a Congressional Briefing hosted by the Opportunity Starts at Home campaign in Washington D.C. on January 14, 2020. The Eviction Crisis Act, introduced by Senator...

This episode focuses on the intersections of affordable housing and criminal justice reform. Two experts from the campaign’s multi-sector Steering Committee join the conversation: Mel Wilson, senior policy consultant for social justice and human rights at the National Association of Social Workers; and Dylan Hayre, senior policy advisor at JustLeadershipUSA. In the episode, Mr. Wilson and Mr. Hayr...

“Victims of domestic violence struggle to find permanent housing after fleeing abusive relationships. Many have left in the middle of the night with nothing but the clothes on their backs, and now must entirely rebuild their lives. As long-term housing options become scarcer, victims are staying longer in emergency domestic violence shelters. As a result, shelters are frequently full and must turn...

This year marks the 30th anniversary of "Out of Reach," a report published annually by the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC). NLIHC chairs and leads the Opportunity Starts at Home campaign. "Out of Reach" has become an indispensable, landmark resource to help people understand the affordable housing crisis and its solutions. Year in and year out, its findings are cited in the press, by...

Truly understanding all the dimensions of the nation's housing affordability crisis requires listening to those with lived experience – people who have experienced homelessness and housing instability. In this episode, we look at issues of affordable housing through the stories of seven people across the country who have been directly impacted. These stories were captured by the campaign's partner...

In this episode, we talk to Dr. Dan Kammen about the many intersections between housing policy and climate policy. Dr. Kammen is one of the world’s leading energy experts. He is a Distinguished Professor of Energy at UC Berkeley, where he holds appointments in the Energy and Resources Group, the Goldman School of Public Policy, and the Department of Nuclear Engineering. He is a former Science Envo...

“We have built a school funding system that is reliant on geography, and therefore the school funding system has inherited all of the historical ills of where we have forced and incentivized people to live" -- Rebecca Sibilia Because school funding largely comes from local property taxes, housing plays a pivotal role in how much schools can spend on students’ education. In this episode, the CEO of...

Dr. Richard Florida is a world renowned urbanist and one of the leading public intellectuals on economic competitiveness, demographic trends, and cultural and technological innovation. He is a co-founder and editor at large of CityLab and a senior editor at The Atlantic. He is a university professor in the University of Toronto’s School of Cities and Rotman School of Management, and a distinguishe...

John King served in President Barack Obama’s cabinet as the 10th U.S. Secretary of Education. Secretary King is one of the most prominent voices on the connections between housing policy and education policy, particularly with respect to pervasive socioeconomic and racial segregation. We sat down with Secretary King in Los Angeles to discuss the state of modern-day school and housing segregation,...

The philanthropic community is increasingly focused on safe, decent, affordable housing as a cornerstone for progress in a variety of other areas. The Funders for Housing and Opportunity (FHO) is one of the nation’s most prominent examples of this. In this episode, we talk to Susan Thomas and Jeanne Fekade-Sellassie. Susan Thomas is the Chair of the FHO collaborative and the Senior Program Officer...

Health insurance providers increasingly understand that good housing is good health. To more effectively address health conditions, insurance providers across the country are developing and implementing new ways to improve access to safe, decent, affordable housing for the people they serve. In this episode, we talk to Rhys Jones and Rashi Venkataraman with America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP)....

Senator Todd Young (R-IN) has been one of the most prominent voices on the housing affordability crisis and its spillover effects into other sectors. We sat down with Senator Young in his Washington, D.C. office to discuss a range of topics: his prioritization of the housing affordability issue; the impact of the affordability crisis throughout his home state of Indiana; his recent bipartisan legi...

David Williams is the Policy Director of Opportunity Insights, the new research and policy institute led by world-renowned economists Raj Chetty (Harvard University), Nathaniel Hendren (Harvard University), and John Friedman (Brown University). In this episode, David discusses the fading American Dream, the work of his organization, the recent research showing how neighborhoods drive life outcomes...

“Very nearly we talk about housing just as much as we talk about hunger. The people we serve keep telling us it’s housing; it’s rent; it’s having a safe place to call home.” – Jeff Kleen, Oregon Food Bank Recorded in Portland, Oregon, this episode explores the intersections between food insecurity and affordable housing with Alison McIntosh of the Oregon Housing Alliance and Jeff Kleen and Annelie...

Andrew Sperling, Director of Legislative and Policy Advocacy at the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), discusses the intersections of affordable housing and mental health. NAMI sits on the Steering Committee of the Opportunity Starts at Home campaign. Andrew explains NAMI's commitment to housing affordability issues, the history of housing and mental illness, the current housing barriers...

Lisa Hershey from Housing California and Angela Jenkins from Kaiser Permanente talk about the intersections of housing and health, and how new cross-sector relationships and innovative solutions are playing out in California. They discuss the work of their respective organizations, why the health and housing sectors are increasingly cooperating, how that cooperation is changing the game in terms o...

In this episode, we explore the intersections of housing affordability, segregation, zoning, and education with Richard Kahlenberg, senior fellow at The Century Foundation. Kahlenberg has been called “the intellectual father of the economic integration movement” in K-12 schooling and “arguably the nation’s chief proponent of class-based affirmative action in higher education admissions.” He is als...

In this episode, we explore the intersections of faith-based agencies and affordable housing with Curtis Johnson, Senior Director of Housing Strategy for Catholic Charities, USA. Mr. Johnson discusses the many ways Catholic Charities is involved in affordable housing development and advocacy, why it joined the Opportunity Starts at Home campaign, his personal experiences from a 30-year career in h...

Episode 3 - Dr. Heather Schwartz This episode dives into the deep connections between housing and education with a nationally recognized expert in the field: Dr. Heather Schwartz from RAND Education. She is the author of some of the most influential studies over the past decade on the connections between housing and schools. Dr. Schwartz takes the audience through her work, showing how affordable...