Resources for Reimagining Sacred Land

How Faith, Lived Experience, & Cross-Sector Collaboration Can Lead to Affordable, Permanent Cottage Communities

Our program on May 20, 2025, showed how faith, lived experience, and cross-sector collaboration can turn underutilized land into thriving, affordable communities. Here’s what you need to action locally, statewide, and nationally!

On this resources page (click to access)

Agenda – May 20, 2025

  1. Check-in / Snacks / Reflection Questions
    • Reflection Questions:
      How can we encourage more compassionate community responses to the housing shortage crisis?
      How does your faith inform your individual and collective moral duty to ensure all in our community are safe and cared for?
  2. Opening Welcome & Reflection
    • Fr. Paulson, Christ the King
    • Dr. Karen Hernandez, Interfaith Council of Contra Costa County
  3. EBHO Welcome
    • William Goodwin, EBHO
  4. Framing the Vision
    • Evita Chavez, LISC & Jasmine Tarkoff, Hope Solutions/MFAC
  5. Personal Story
    • William Goodwin, Hope Solutions REP Team & Board of Directors
  6. Case Studies & Panel Discussion
    • Moderated by Jasmine Tarkoff
      • Pastor Mark Burnham, Pastor Christy Dickt
      • Mayor Cindy Darling (Walnut Creek) & Vice Mayor Dionne Adams (Pittsburg)
      • Cheryl O’Connor & Woody Karp
      • William Goodwin
      • Michelle Eklund, Wendy Caballero
  7. Breakout Session – Small Group Work and Brainstorming, Sharing
  8. Wrap-up and Closing Reflection
    • Greg Colley OFS, Multi-Faith ACTION Coalition

Key Steps: How You Can Make a Difference

  • Support Local Affordable Housing Projects
    • Be vocal! Share your support for affordable housing developments with your neighbors, faith groups, schools, etc., and don’t forget that social media can be a powerful tool.
    • Plug into your network. Connect with existing local organizations that are experts at this work and support their developments.
  • Engage With Your City’s Housing Element
    • Attend city council and planning commission meetings to support policies and zoning changes that reduce barriers to developing affordable housing on underutilized land.
    • Urge your city to prioritize affordable housing in its own Housing Element and create pathways for 100% affordable developments.
  • Advocate for Funding and Policy Solutions at ALL Levels

Local & Regional:

  • Be on the lookout for upcoming affordable housing bond measures and urge leaders to lower voter thresholds for housing bonds.
  • Engage with regional efforts, like the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority, that issue bonds and raise funds.

State:

  • Vote in state elections and on propositions impacting housing
  • Track and support key state legislation, such as:

– AB 736 (Wicks) and SB 417 (Cabaldon): the Affordable Housing Bond Act of 2026, placing a $10 billion affordable housing bond on the statewide ballot.

– AB 906 (Gonzalez): Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH), strengthening AFFH requirements in the housing element process to promote integrated neighborhoods and ensure that local jurisdictions analyze key fair housing issues.

– AB 804 (Wicks): Medi-Cal Housing Supportive Services, making Medi-Cal housing supportive services a statewide benefit to allow California to take advantage of federal funding and to improve service delivery and accessibility.

Federal:

  • Urge Congress to expand and protect affordable housing programs, including the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHHTC), HOME, and Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) programs.
  • Support efforts to preserve and expand federal protections for at-risk affordable homes. In the upcoming years, thousands of subsidized units in California are at risk of converting to market-rate units.

Your Next Steps

Learn who your federal, state, and local representatives are!

As a Faith Leader or Congregant

  • Host a housing justice event or panel at your church.
  • Share success stories and educate your congregation on the importance of housing justice.
  • Follow up with us if your congregation is interested in exploring the development of affordable housing on your land.

As a Constituent

As a Community Member

  • Participate in public workshops or housing element implementation updates in your city.
  • Volunteer with local housing organizations.
  • Join community forums, advocacy days, and other organizing opportunities.
Logos of event sponsors

Multi-Faith ACTION Coalition

For over 10 years, the Multi-Faith ACTION Coalition has joined with Contra Costa faith communities to advocate for systemic change to reduce poverty. Our work began when shocking statistics about poverty in our county were received as a clarion call for action by people of faith committed to making a difference for our vulnerable neighbors.

Our past campaigns included work on HealthCare4All, Measure X, Raising the Minimum Wage in California, and Senate Bill 4 (2023) in support of affordable housing on faith-owned land. We continue to focus on the main drivers of poverty, such as Healthcare, Racial Justice, Housing and Shelter, and Food Security. We invite all Contra Costa faith communities to join in our advocacy work. Faith voices raised together are a powerful tool for repairing the world and working for greater justice.

Interfaith Council of Contra Costa County

The Interfaith Council of Contra Costa County facilitates and fosters peacebuilding, respect, and collaboration among people of diverse faiths and Indigenous traditions, spiritual expressions, and cultures. We focus on promoting interfaith understanding through community service, dialogue, and support of freedom of religion and belief. Through the lens of reconciliation and transformation, we work to build bridges and celebrate our common humanity throughout Contra Costa County and the greater San Francisco Bay Area.

East Bay Housing Organizations

East Bay Housing Organizations (EBHO) was founded in 1984 as Oakland Housing Organizations (OHO). Our movement began as a series of informal, monthly brown bag lunches where affordable housing developers, architects, advocates, City staff, and community activists gathered to discuss how to advance affordable housing in Oakland.

EBHO continues to mobilize the power and wisdom of our members to produce, preserve, and protect affordable housing opportunities for low-income communities in the East Bay. We envision a racially and economically just East Bay where everyone has a safe, stable, and affordable home.

Hope Solutions

At Hope Solutions, we heal the effects of poverty and homelessness by providing permanent housing solutions and vital support services to vulnerable families and individuals.
Our proven model of permanent housing coupled with supportive services sets Hope Solutions apart and gives us confidence in our clients’ future success. We are working to heal the multi-generational impact of poverty, trauma, substance use, mental health issues, and inadequate access to healthcare.

Local Initiatives Support Corporation – Bay Area

White Paper

Harnessing Faith-Owned Land for Innovative Housing Solutions: A Policy Solution

Related Posts

Scroll to Top