Our Future Begins With Home

The only impossible challenge is the one we don’t try to solve. We have the power to create change — together. Our region has the resources to build a new future — if we choose to use them.

Change is possible.

We have the power to transform the future of the Bay Area — if we work together.

Our region has the resources to build a new future — if we choose to use them.

Together, we can unlock a new future for the Bay Area. Where every child has a roof over their head. Where the Bay Area can remain diverse and vibrant and thriving. Where all 8 million Bay area residents have a place to call home. And where our homes aren’t something that only belong to the highest bidder — but a basic necessity and a human right.

Now is the time for every city, and every community, to believe and invest in solutions that match the scale of the challenge. A thriving Bay Area begins with home.

 

Rooting solutions in a regional approach
A woman

This is all of our problem to solve. The kind of big, ambitious change we need requires regional solutions. More of us need to demand bold action and investments in proven solutions at a scale we haven’t yet seen. Learn more about our movement.

a group of people holding signs

We believe working for housing justice means collectively redesigning our current structures so that they reflect our values of community, inclusivity, and equity. Housing justice means that everyone has a safe and dignified place to call home.

Our Approach

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Build more affordable homes

Invest in the production of affordable homes for people with low incomes so we can keep the Bay Area vibrant and diverse.

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Keep more homes affordable

Preserve existing affordable housing options so our neighbors can all live in the communities we’ve always called home.

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Stop homelessness before it happens

Prevent homelessness by keeping people in their homes. Building more affordable homes is the best long-term solution.

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Keep renters in their homes

Protect our neighbors from the threat of eviction, displacement, and rents that rise faster than wages so they can stay in their homes and communities.

It’s Time For a Change.

There are nearly 8 million of us in the Bay Area. But the status quo of unaffordable and insecure housing isn’t working for any of us.

Rents and home prices are rising faster than our wages. The result? Too many of our families, children, and elders are being uprooted from their schools and displaced from their communities.

 

9 out of 10

people experiencing homelessness said housing costs were the main barrier to permanent housing.

9% increase

in people pushed into homelessness from a $100 increase in median rent.

8 residents

hold more wealth than that of the bottom 50% of residents in Silicon Valley.

We’re living under rules created decades ago — based on outdated priorities, exclusionary and racist policies, and inaction — that have never served everyone and are failing all of us now.

But if we take bold action together, we can show our neighbors that change is possible. And we can change the rules that hold us all back — no matter what we look like, how much we earn, or where we lay our heads down to sleep.

 

BIPOC Communities are most impacted
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Historic housing discrimination and systemic racism disproportionately impact our Black, Indigenous, and Latine neighbors. We must prioritize equity and systemic change.

a group of people holding signs

Years of failing to invest in affordable housing while adding thousands of high-wage jobs in the Bay Area has driven up rents and pushed more and more people into homelessness.

The Bay Area has led the nation in economic growth, but most of us would never know it. The gap in median household income between the Bay’s highest and lowest wage earners only continues to widen.

Plus, income inequality is increasing the racial wealth gap, exacerbated when people of color, and Black people in particular, are displaced from the communities in the Bay Area they call home.

Housing justice is economic justice. We need policies that raise wages, reduce income inequality, keep renters in their homes, and build more homes that are deeply affordable — so low-income communities and communities of color can stay and prosper in the Bay Area.

(Photo credit: WPUSA)

a group of people holding signs

We live in a world built on racism and exclusion — some of our nation’s most unjust housing policies were invented here in the Bay.

Generations of exclusionary policies and institutional racism continue to impact housing realities for communities of color, particularly Black residents of the Bay Area.

We can't separate racial justice from housing justice.

Strengthening communities most impacted by injustice is how we move the whole Bay Area forward. We can begin by acknowledging how we got here and addressing past and present discriminatory policies in housing, employment, and the legal system.

That’s how we build a future that leaves no one behind. Because justice begins with home.

(Photo credit: ACCE)

MOST OF US IN THE BAY AREA AGREE: EVERYONE DESERVES A SAFE PLACE TO CALL HOME.

 

The vast majority of us believe that everyone deserves to have a roof over our heads, but our region struggles to make that a reality. We’ve stopped believing that change is possible and that we have the power to make it happen.

If we give into cynicism, we let a narrow few continue to profit from keeping housing out of reach and unaffordable for too many of us.

But we can choose a different future, one where we invest in each other and where all of us can thrive.

 

We have the power to create change together
Protesters at San Francisco City Hall demand the removal of the eviction order from the International Hotel located at 848 Kearny Street. 1976 photo by Nancy Wong

The Bay Area has been at the forefront of social movements for justice and equality, and now we’re catalyzing the charge for housing justice. Sign up to join our movement.

Person holding a sign
A family of 4
Three people at a rally
Photo credits: Bay Rising; NPH; HLC

BE PART OF THE SOLUTION.

 

Together, we can build a movement in the Bay Area where everyone’s humanity is valued. Where everyone is treated with justice and equality. And where everyone belongs.

It’s time to act. We’re coming together to build support for transformative, regional solutions that unlock an equitable future. We’re coming together to change the rules to place people, not profit, at the center of housing in the Bay Area.

When you sign up to join Begins with Home, you’ll receive opportunities to take action in your community in order to:

Increase investments in affordable housing at the scale we need

Create permanent supportive housing to help people experiencing homelessness gain stability and support

Join local organizations working for housing justice

Advocate for policies to help renters live free from fear of eviction and rent gouging

Vote for affordable housing and housing justice

Organize and reach out your neighbors and friends - we have power in numbers

Join the movement to create a more liveable and affordable Bay Area.

Take Action

Join the movement to create a more liveable and affordable Bay Area.

Take Action

Join the movement to create a more liveable and affordable Bay Area.

Take Action

Join the movement to create a more liveable and affordable Bay Area.

Take Action

Join the movement to create a more liveable and affordable Bay Area.

Take Action

Join the movement to create a more liveable and affordable Bay Area.

Take Action

FAQs

Achieving housing justice starts with taking action, no matter how small. Because we have the power to create change — together. Regardless of our race, income, or where we lay our head down to sleep, when we join our voices together we can change the rules that hold all of us back.

Activists and leaders across the Bay Area are advocating for proven solutions to increase affordable housing, keep renters in their homes, and prevent homelessness — even if you don’t always hear about it on the news. Our region has a wealth of resources to build a new future, if we choose to use them. We’re mobilizing to have every city, and every community, invest in solutions that match the scale of the challenge.

Begins with Home is calling on our neighbors to join us in organizing, educating, canvassing, voting, and working together to ensure all our neighbors and families have a safe place to call home. Learn more and take action now.

A home is considered to be affordable if the household pays less than 30% or less of their income towards rent or mortgage payments. There aren’t enough affordable homes in the Bay Area for everyone who needs them.

Affordable housing is a type of home that is often built with subsidies and available to people with low, very low, and extremely low incomes, as compared to the median income in their area, including low-wage working families, seniors on fixed incomes, veterans, people with disabilities and the homeless. Newly built affordable homes must remain affordable to families with low incomes for a period of 55 years, creating several generations of opportunity and stability.

There are many other ways to help homes of all kinds be affordable for a range of families, including public housing (owned by a local housing authority), Section 8 vouchers that help people rent privately owned homes, and privately owned housing developments with restricted rents.

While affordable homes can take many shapes and serve many people, one thing is certain: we urgently need to invest in more affordable housing all across the Bay Area to ensure that everyone has a safe place to call home.

Right now, there just aren’t enough affordable homes for everyone working in the Bay Area. Decades of bad policy and inaction have led to a status quo that only benefits a narrow few — but we can change that if we join together.

By building a powerful movement of advocates and neighbors — renters and landlords, homeowners and people experiencing homelessness — we can unlock a new future for our communities where no one is left behind.

Across the Bay Area, we’re advocating for proven solutions that match the scale of the challenge and invest in our future. We can prevent displacement and create a more equitable Bay Area by building more affordable housing, keeping more homes affordable, keeping renters in their homes, and stopping homelessness before it happens.

Join the movement by taking action in your community, advocating for better policies, demanding increased investment, and voting for affordable housing investments. The future of our Bay Area communities begins with us.

The solution for homelessness is housing. Being homeless makes it incredibly difficult to keep a steady job, go to school, or take care of a family. Having a safe home is the first, most basic foundation we all need to build thriving lives and strong communities.

Providing housing to people who have been pushed into homelessness is a proven approach that ensures people can rebuild their lives. 89% of people experiencing homelessness note housing costs as the greatest barrier to re-entering permanent housing — because there isn’t enough affordable housing for everyone who needs it.

We can also do more to prevent homelessness before it happens, including with stronger renter protections, and provide safe, dignified places for people who are unsheltered to live while they get connected to permanent housing. Join our movement.

A majority of Bay Area residents believe that housing is a human right and support building more affordable housing in their neighborhoods. 84% of us are concerned about low-income and disadvantaged families being able to find an affordable place to live in the Bay Area.

But for too long, we've accepted a Bay Area that's out of reach and out of compassion for too many of us. This moment demands more action from us, from our neighbors in the Bay — all of us who want to see a Bay Area where everyone has a home.

When we join our voices together, we have the power to create change. Our region has the resources we need to build a new future — if we choose to use them. When we organize, take action, and vote our values, we can create a different future, one where we invest in each other and where all of us can thrive.

The bigger the challenge, the more of us are needed to solve it together. When we come together across the whole nine-county Bay Area, we can tackle any problem, including making our region a place where everyone has a safe place to call home.

Just like our jobs and lives in the Bay Area aren’t restricted within county borders, our housing solutions require a region-wide approach, and region-wide investment to succeed. The Bay Area has led the nation in economic growth, but most of us would never know it. It’s time to put our region’s abundance of resources to work for all of us, while empowering local communities to enact policies that meet their unique needs.

It's up to all of us to build a Bay Area rooted in justice, community, and possibility. If we take bold action together, we can help every city, and every community, invest in solutions that match the scale of the challenge and achieve housing justice in the Bay Area. Join us.

Most voters in the Bay Area believe that having a decent place to live is a basic human right. It’s a matter of basic justice and who we are as a community. Housing is essential: just like food, health care, and education.

Our homes shouldn’t be something that only belong to the highest bidder — they are a basic necessity and a human right. But we’re living under rules created decades ago — based on outdated priorities, exclusionary and racist policies, and inaction — that have never served everyone, and are failing all of us now. If we take bold action together, we can show our neighbors that change is possible, and we can change the rules that prevent every person from having a safe place to call home.

Sign up to join our list