Posted January 21, 2022; last updated March 2nd
Please register today for Legislative Action Day 2022, taking place online tomorrow, Thursday, March 3rd, 9:30-11:30 a.m. This year’s Legislative Action Day event will be sponsored by State Representative Jim O’Day.
For Legislative Action Day, look forward to hearing from inspiring speakers, learning how to advocate with legislators, and meeting virtually with your state legislators and legislative staff to talk about issues and policy recommendations to address homelessness in Massachusetts.
Legislative Priorities
At Legislative Action Day, we will be pushing for key FY23 budget priorities (chart and PDF overview sheet) and 2021 -2022 bill priorities (chart and PDF overview sheet), including:
- Increasing access to and funding for homelessness prevention resources through the Residential Assistance for Families in Transition program (RAFT) and Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP)
- Guaranteeing housing stability during the pandemic and beyond
- Easing access to Mass ID cards for people experiencing homelessness
- Passing the bill of rights for people experiencing homelessness
- Extending HomeBASE benefits for families facing a return to homelessness
- Maximizing housing and services for unaccompanied youth and young adults
- Strengthening cash assistance programs for families with children, elders, and people with disabilities
- Creating more housing subsidies under the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program and the Alternative Housing Voucher Program
- And more!
Meeting with Legislative Offices
Meeting virtually with legislative offices is a key part of the event. Just indicate on your registration form if you need help setting up meetings with your legislators, and we will work to set up appointments for you. During the meetings, pick a few of our priorities that are most important to you and let legislators and staff know why. Here are some other tips for meeting with legislators and State House staff. After meeting with legislators and their staff, please fill out this online form to share feedback with us.
Registration
Registration is quick, easy, and free: Register now. The Zoom link has been sent to all registrants who signed up on/before the morning of March 2nd, and will be sent out on a rolling basis to new registrants.
Guest Speakers
Confirmed guest speakers include:
- Representative Jim O’Day, House First Division Chair (14th Worcester District)
- Senator Harriette Chandler, Senate President Emerita (First Worcester District)
- Representative Marjorie Decker, House Chair, Joint Committee on Public Health (25th Middlesex District)
- Senator Adam Gomez, Senate Chair, Joint Committee on Children, Families, and Persons with Disabilities (Hampden District)
- Senator Becca Rausch, Senate Chair, Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources, and Agriculture (Norfolk, Bristol, and Middlesex District)
- Representative Smitty Pignatelli, House Vice Chair, Joint Committee on Rules (4th Berkshire District)
- Representative Christine Barber, House Vice Chair, Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight (34th Middlesex District)
- Senator John Keenan, Senate Chair, Joint Committee on Housing (Norfolk and Plymouth District)
- Aisha Sleiman, Massachusetts Law Reform Institute
- John Lane, Cathedral Church of St. Paul
- Judy Gustafson, Homeless Improvement Project
- Marybeth Worden, Worcester Fellowship
- Renee Spencer, Massachusetts Union of Public Housing Tenants
- Y2Y Harvard Square Program Participant
- Whitney Airgood-Obrycki, Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University
- Whitney is a Senior Research Associate at the Joint Center for Housing Studies, working on research related to affordable rental housing for low-income households and serving as the project manager and lead author on the America’s Rental Housing report. Her working papers have examined the housing needs of older adult renters, suburban neighborhood change, and affordable housing supply gaps for families. Whitney holds a BA in History from Simmons College, an MS in Historic Preservation from Ball State University, and a PhD in City & Regional Planning from The Ohio State University.
- Whitney will be speaking about the Joint Center’s new report, America’s Rental Housing 2022.
- You can read the report here.
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