The pandemic has created a terrible eviction crisis, which the federal government is trying to address with emergency rental assistance. But how do we reduce the precariousness of housing in the long run so that a public health crisis or other disaster doesn’t snowball into displacement? Many people are calling for more social housing as part of that solution. What does that mean? What will it take to make it happen?"

This 90-minute in-depth webinar, jointly organized by NPQ and Shelterforce, brings together four leading voices in the field to discuss these issues:

Gianpaolo Baiocchi is a sociologist at New York University and a leading author of a proposal to develop a Social Housing Development Agency that can support housing co-ops and community land trusts and help ensure access to housing for all.

Bernie Mazyck is president and CEO of the South Carolina Association for Community Economic Development, a coalition of over 70 community development groups.

Krystle Okafor is a J.D. candidate, Root-Tilden-Kern Scholar, and Moelis Urban Law and Public Affairs Fellow at the New York University School of Law. She is the co-author of "Under One Roof: An Abolitionist Approach to Housing Justice" with Sophie House. 

Roberto de la Riva Rojas is co-director of Inquilinxs Unidxs por Justicia (United Renters for Justice), a tenant housing justice group based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

This webinar will explore:

• What is housing? How is it commonly viewed? And how should we conceive of it?

• What is the current US housing system? Why is it producing outcomes that are making housing affordability ever more tenuous for millions of people?

• What is the level of threat to housing security right now, as eviction moratoria expire?

• What does it mean to approach housing justice from an abolitionist perspective? What conditions would make achieving this housing justice vision possible?

• Why is more money for affordable housing not enough? How would a social housing policy framework change how we think about housing?
  
  
• What is the idea behind a Social Housing Development Agency? How would it effectively implement a public policy and vision of social housing?
  
  
• In what ways would social housing boost currently community housing ownership strategies such as community land trusts and housing cooperatives?

• What role does tenant organizing play in bringing about a new housing policy vision? What can we learn from tenant organizing of housing cooperatives?
  
  
• What can nonprofits and philanthropy do to support housing justice and help make a vision of social housing a reality?

Whether you’re a nonprofit leader, board member, or engaged in community-based organizing, this webinar will provide you with real-life examples and lessons learned that can inform your work in your own community.

Register to learn how nonprofits and movement activists are advancing strategies to address the economic and social inequalities of our time!

The moderators for this webinar are NPQ Economic Justice Program Director Steve Dubb and Shelterforce Editor in Chief Miriam Axel-Lute. Miriam has been an analyst of housing justice and community development issues for over 20 years. Steve has worked with cooperatives and nonprofits for over two decades and has been both a student and practitioner in the field of community economic development. You can send your questions to editorinchief@npqmag.org to have them answered during the web event.

*The recording and slides of this webinar will be available on the NPQ website 2-3 days after the live event.