Our Strategies

In 2024, the Home for All Coalition partnered with Brightspot Consultants to develop a strategic plan. In March 2024, the Coalition launched four new action-oriented workgroups, each with distinct but complementary objectives. These workgroups, both independently and collaboratively, are advancing our two core goals: expanding affordable and deeply affordable housing, and preventing homelessness and housing insecurity in the Greater Seacoast region of NH and ME.

Work groups and their purposes include:

 
 

Local Advocacy

Co Chairs: Emily Flinkstrom, Executive Director FairTide, Ryan Pope, Housing Navigator, City of Dover, & Ben VanCamp, Chief Collaborator and President, The Chamber Collaborative of Greater Portsmouth

The Local Advocacy Workgroup is dedicated to driving impactful change at the grassroots level by engaging with local municipalities, key stakeholders (such as developers, landlords, and the business community), and the broader public. The group focuses on educating, building awareness, and fostering collaboration to address challenges related to housing affordability, homelessness, and housing insecurity. By working closely with community leaders and decision-makers, the workgroup aims to influence local policies and build partnerships that prioritize housing stability and expand deeply affordable housing opportunities across the communities we serve.

Current Projects: This fall, the workgroup is launching the Neighbor to Neighbor Housing Chat Series in Kittery, Portsmouth, and Dover as part of new initiative Shift the Seacoast. These community gatherings aim to raise awareness and inspire action on homelessness and deeply affordable housing. By fostering intimate, grassroots conversations, the group seeks to build a network of informed and engaged citizens who will advocate for solutions to housing instability and support efforts to increase the supply of deeply affordable housing in the Greater Seacoast region

Resource and Data Workgroup

Co Chairs: TBD

The Resource & Data Workgroup is focused on enhancing the quality of data and improving resource coordination to better serve unsheltered and housing-insecure individuals.

Current Projects: The workgroup is piloting Pop-Up Care Villages in collaboration with partner agencies across Rockingham, Strafford, and York Counties. These Pop-Up Care Villages function as service hubs, similar to a farmer’s market, designed to support individuals facing systemic vulnerabilities such as homelessness, addiction, mental health issues, poverty, and language or cultural barriers. By bringing together service providers and essential resources in one location, the model facilitates equitable access to services like case management, healthcare, clothing, haircuts, food, and more. Each one-day event not only upholds the inherent dignity of guests but also connects the wider Seacoast community with underserved populations.

Story Telling and Communications

Co Chairs: Sarah Wrightsman, Manager, Community Engagement and Education at New Hampshire Housing, NH Housing & Jay Childs, Director, JBC Communications

The Storytelling and Communications Workgroup is dedicated to amplifying the voices of those impacted by housing instability and homelessness. By using personal stories, this group aims to raise awareness, inspire action, and advocate for meaningful change. The workgroup's primary objective is to source and share compelling narratives that highlight the individuals behind the statistics, thereby fostering a deeper understanding and connection within the community. This group collaborates closely with other workgroups to ensure a cohesive and impactful communication strategy, building public support for affordable housing solutions and showcasing the coalition’s impact.

Current Projects: This fall, the workgroup is partnering with the Portsmouth Public Library on a series called Housing Insecurity and the Meaning of Home, which will run from November 1st to December 15th, 2024. This exhibit will highlight the urgent need for diverse and deeply affordable housing in Portsmouth and the broader Seacoast region. More information to come.

State and Federal Advocacy

Co Chairs: Will Arvelo, Executive Director Cross Roads House & Nick Taylor, Executive Director, Workforce Housing Coalition of the Greater Seacoast

This workgroup focuses on advancing policies at the state and federal levels that support the development of affordable and deeply affordable housing. By advocating for increased resources, equitable access, and innovative solutions, the workgroup aims to ensure housing is within reach, even for the most vulnerable members of our community.

As a coalition dedicated to our mission, we believe it is important to lend our perspective to policies that impact the communities we serve. Our state and federal advocacy efforts are guided by the overarching principle that housing is a human right and a fundamental human need.

We support policies that positively impact the following policy areas:

  • Deeply Affordable Housing: We support policies that advance deeply affordable housing (affordable to 60% AMI or less). There is a significant need for all types of housing in our region, but our efforts are best focused on housing for those who need it most.

  • Increase Financial Resources: Deeply affordable housing and transitional/supportive housing requires significant financial resources to operate and we support policies that increase the financial investment in unhoused and supportive housing services.

  • Supportive Housing: Supportive housing assists residents in achieving maximum self-sufficiency and provides the best opportunity for long-term success. We support policies that increase access to supportive housing and supportive services.

  • Equitable Access and Removing Barriers to Housing: We understand that low-income and vulnerable populations often face obstacles beyond their socioeconomic status—such as poor or no credit history, criminal records, etc.—that make accessing housing challenging. We want to advocate for policies that eliminate these barriers and promote more equitable housing access.

  • Radical Creativity: We support policies that think beyond the status quo and encourage radical creativity when exploring diverse housing options and supportive service delivery.

  • Increased Density: We support policies that increase allowable housing density. Housing density is needed to create deeply affordable housing, but too often land use regulation prevents the density needed to build the housing we need.

  • Education and Research: We support policies that improve data collection, educational efforts, and positive outcomes.