Happy Hump Day, Shit Givers.
It’s a surprise to no one that we are dealing with a housing crisis. In fact, when we’ve polled you about the subject, a whopping 91% of you said that affordable housing is either an Extremely Important or Very Important issue in your community.
The good news is (like the vast majority of the mounting crises we address here) we know how to fix it. We know that building more housing near transit works. We know that Housing First dramatically reduces chronic homelessness. We know that exclusionary zoning is a huge reason entire cities can’t build enough homes.
So let’s get it done.
— Willow
The housing crisis is a policy choice
Positions: Housing First for homelessness
Here are some reasons we’ve added housing to our list of mounting crises: we stopped building enough homes (the US is short somewhere between 4 and 7 million homes), we allowed institutional investors to hoard supply, and we gutted the programs that keep people housed when things go wrong.
The most urgent thing right now: the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act passed the Senate earlier this year with bipartisan language that would require large institutional investors to sell bulk-purchased single-family homes within seven years. Today the House passed an amended version that strips that provision entirely. Now the watered down version is going back to the Senate.
Here’s what you can do:
‼ Tell your senators to restore the institutional investor limits in the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act and pass a stronger version. (go)
Tell your reps to support the Prevent Homelessness Act of 2025, which would create an emergency housing stabilization fund for the lowest-income renters and homeowners. (go)
And have them support the Housing Is A Human Right Act while they’re at it, which would fund communities pursuing alternatives to criminalizing homelessness. (go)
Donate to the National Coalition for the Homeless to support their work advocating for affordable housing, and increased services and resources for unhoused people. (go)
Support the National Homelessness Law Center, an organization that trains attorneys to advocate for unhoused people. (go)
The zoning problem
Positions: Apartments allowed near transit and jobs, No parking minimums, Anti-displacement protections in rezoned areas
We know how to build more housing. What’s standing in the way is often local zoning policy, exclusionary land use rules, and the political power of people who already own homes and want to keep supply tight to protect their property values. Transit-oriented development, removing parking minimums, allowing missing middle housing: these are the levers.
Here’s what you can do:
Tell your reps to support the Build More Housing Near Transit Act, which creates incentives for affordable housing projects near transit lines. (go)
Be heard about the Identifying Regulatory Barriers to Housing Supply Act, which requires communities receiving federal housing dollars to report what they’re actually doing to encourage more housing development. (go)
And tell your reps to support the Reducing Homelessness Through Program Reform Act, which cuts red tape for homelessness service providers so federal programs can actually work efficiently. (go)
Homelessness in your city
Positions: Housing First for homelessness
Becoming unhoused isn’t a personal failing, it’s what happens when housing costs outpace wages and the safety net is full of holes. Housing First — the evidence-based approach that gives people stable housing before addressing other issues — works. Criminalization doesn’t.
Here’s what you can do in your city:
NYC → Good Old Lower East Side provides housing advocacy and direct services on the Lower East Side. (go)
Baltimore → GEDCO provides affordable housing, emergency services, and employment support. (go)
Detroit → Detroit Action is building political power for working people and families. (go)
LA → Los Angeles Mission provides meals, shelters, and support services on the front lines. (go)
Dallas → Bonton Farms supports community development, housing stability, and food sovereignty. (go)
Buffalo → PUSH Buffalo fights for affordable housing and economic justice. (go)
👉 Not your city? Find more local organizations in the app here.
And another thing!
If one of our Principles is that everyone deserves housing, then that means worldwide. The same forces driving the US housing crisis (underinvestment, inequality, inadequate infrastructure) play out everywhere. Housing isn’t a luxury, it’s the foundation of health, education, and economic stability. When people don’t have it, everything else falls apart.
Here’s what you can do:
Donate to BRAC, one of the most effective poverty-elimination organizations in the world, working across health, education, and housing in Africa and Asia. (go)
Volunteer or donate to Habitat for Humanity, which builds and repairs homes in communities across more than 70 countries. (go)
Support Engineers Without Borders, which designs and builds water, sanitation, and energy infrastructure — the stuff that makes a house livable — in rural communities worldwide. (go)
That’s it for this week.
Thank you — as always — for giving a shit.
— Willow
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