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Advocate

Since 1983, Asheville Habitat has helped 2,200 adults and children build better futures though our Home Repair and Homeownership programs. However, nearly 1 in 3 Buncombe and Madison County households are cost-burdened by housing, struggling to keep a roof over their heads. This is unacceptable.

This is why Asheville Habitat advocates to change policies and systems at the local, state, and federal level, to eliminate barriers to adequate and affordable housing. Join us, and use your voice to change and challenge systems to create a world where everyone has an equal opportunity to decent housing.

Cost of Home

Cost of Home, launched in 2019, was a five-year advocacy campaign through which local and state Habitat for Humanity organizations, partners, volunteers and community members across the United States worked together so that millions of people have access to an affordable home.

Cost of Home concluded on June 12, 2024. U.S. Habitat affiliates, including Asheville Habitat, successfully and collaboratively advocated for more than 400 policies at the local, state and federal levels.

Here are some local successes Asheville Habitat achieved during the Cost of Home campaign:

  • Advocated for and achieved $1.6 million in ARPA funds from Buncombe County towards housing initiatives.
  • Worked alongside other local organizations to campaign for the $40 million affordable housing and open space bond. Voters passed this in the 2022 election.
  • Advocated alongside community advocates and other local nonprofits for protection for renters against source of income discrimination (SOID). The City amended Housing Trust Fund policy to prohibit SOID and require acceptance of rental assistance by all developers receiving funding. Buncombe County amended Affordable Housing Services Program policy to prohibit SOID and require acceptance of rental assistance by all developers receiving funding.
Learn more about the Cost of Home Impact
Cost Of Home Website Graphic

View an evidence brief from Habitat Int’l, along with a series of short videos overviewing the Benefits of Homeownership.

Use Your Voice!

If you would like to use your voice to help Habitat and support smart housing policies, please sign up for our Advocacy Alert emails. This list enables us to mobilize our supporters to act quickly on issues that are important to our organization and the people we serve. Click below to sign up for the email list.

JOIN US
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About Advocacy at Asheville Habitat

Advocacy is defined by Habitat for Humanity as “changing policies and systems to eliminate barriers to adequate, affordable housing in order to create a world where everyone has a decent place to live.” In other words, while not visible like homes themselves, laws, regulations and rules about land and building are a major part of housing. Smart policies and systems can promote access to decent housing, while uninformed policies and systems may create unnecessary barriers, making it harder than it needs to be to find land for construction, build the home itself or be able to afford a place to live. Just like building, advocating for smart policies and systems is a way to create a world where everyone has a decent place to live.

LEARN MORE

Watch our Documentary

After discovering a racial covenant in a deed of a South Asheville property Asheville Habitat developed for affordable housing, Habitat decided to delve deeper and learn more about the history of discriminatory housing practices and how they shaped our city.

Watch the full film here.

WNC Resources

The WNC Social Justice Advocacy Guide provides a comprehensive list of resources and allies around Western North Carolina dedicated to addressing social justice. This collection of nonpartisan organizations and nonprofits is for those wishing to learn more about specific issues, to establish connections with other groups, and to peruse volunteer opportunities. The Jubilee! Community’s Social Justice team began this site in 2018.