Texas Homeless Network is honored to receive a $50,000 grant from the Opportunity Starts at Home Campaign to fund THN’s federal advocacy work. Opportunity Starts at Home (OSAH) is a national campaign focused on advancing federal affordable housing solutions for the lowest income people, amplifying racial equity, and expanding partnerships with different sectors. 

Throughout 2021, Texas Homeless Network will use this funding to diversify Texas’ housing coalition to other sectors that intersect with our work, including healthcare, racial justice, environmental justice, criminal justice, domestic violence, anti-poverty campaigns, faith-based groups, and more. This multi-sector coalition will help to advance OSAH’s legislative agenda from Texas constituents to our state’s delegation to the U.S. Congress. 

“Not only is it critical for Congress to hear from national advocates, but also from their own constituents in the states they represent,” said Mike Koprowski, National Director of the Opportunity Starts at Home campaign. “Often, Congress is thought of as some ethereal body. However, in truth, they are servants to their constituents. Congress needs to hear from our partners and those with lived experience, so they have that knowledge at the ready to legislate on behalf of Texas’ most vulnerable,” echoes Eric Samuels, President and CEO of Texas Homeless Network. This multi-sector coalition will be a critical partner in helping the OSAH campaign achieve its goals. To be sure, the housing crisis cannot be solved without stronger federal action. And we are more likely to build the necessary political will in Congress when an array of sectors are standing shoulder-to-shoulder demanding solutions, rather than just housing advocates alone.

We know that issues facing people experiencing homelessness and the lowest-income people are deeply intersectional and require a multi-sector approach to tackle wholly. This pandemic has only deepened already existing gaps in formal and informal policy. 

Texas Homeless Network is grateful to join our newest colleagues in this endeavor. Other state grantees include: Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness, Housing Action Illinois, Idaho Asset Building Network, Minnesota Chapter of Opportunity Starts at Home, NC Child, and Prosperity Indiana. 

Thank you to member organizations of Opportunity Starts at Home’s Steering Committee for entrusting us with this funding and dedicated time towards these issues on the federal level. We look forward to working with you all. 

Follow the Opportunity Starts at Home campaign on Twitter and sign up for its e-newsletter to get the latest updates about the campaign, including new partners, calls to action, events, and research. THN will be providing some OSAH updates on Twitter and the newsletters. 

Contact for Multi-Sector Coalition

Nick Thompson, MPA (he/him/his)

nick@thn.org

(512) 537-7861