For almost two decades, the Marin Environmental Housing Collaborative has been an advocate for affordable and sustainable housing. The group has advocated for pro-affordable housing policies, individual housing projects and tenant protections.
MEHC recently announced a name-change and, at the same time, launched a new collaborative initiative: Call Marin Home. The coalition steering committee includes the North Bay Leadership Council, Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco, Bolinas Community Land Trust, Canal Alliance, Community Action Marin, Eden Housing, Legal Aid of Marin, Homeward Bound of Marin, North Marin Community Services and San Rafael Chamber of Commerce. These partners represent a cross-section of the community — spanning advocacy, legal support, business and direct housing development. Marin Community Foundation provided funding to support the coalition’s initial work, including strategies to improve funding for affordable housing.
According to the group, Marin faces some of the highest housing costs in the nation, with limited availability of affordable homes for the local workforce and vulnerable residents. Call Marin Home aims to tackle these systemic barriers through collaborative policy initiatives, public education, and support for housing production, preservation and tenant protection efforts countywide.
“Access to housing is a central issue across our community and one that diverse leaders understand,” said Gina Guillemette, Community Action Marin’s chief strategy officer. “From schools to employers to individual families, Marin’s housing crisis impacts all of us.” The housing coalition is unique in that it will address the “3 Ps” of affordable housing: housing production, affordable housing preservation and tenant
protections.
“We need strong, coordinated action to address the housing crisis,” said Jennifer Silva, executive director of Call Marin Home. “We have lost more affordable housing in the last two years than we have created, due to code violations and the tragic Canal fire. We must both build more housing and protect what we have.”
For more information about Call Marin Home, visit callmarinhome.org.
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