FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE : November 16, 2022
Media Contact: Edie Irons, [email protected], 510-334-1344
San Francisco — Today, All Home released the Big Moves for Housing and Economic Security to address the root causes of homelessness and poverty in the Bay Area. Developed by All Home’s Regional Impact Council (RIC), the Big Moves are five visionary proposals to increase both housing and economic security for the million people with extremely low incomes in the Bay Area.
All Home released the Big Moves today with support from key California legislators including Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, Senator Dave Cortese, and Senator Josh Becker, along with other regional leaders. There is clear momentum behind the Big Moves, which have been developed in consultation with Bay Area local governments, nonprofits, businesses, and people with lived experience of homelessness. When introduced as legislation and implemented, these policy proposals would contribute to making the Bay Area a place where everyone can thrive. The Big Moves and the Regional Action Plan (RAP), which All Home released last year, are our region’s first and only plans focused on homelessness and poverty.
The Big Moves for Housing and Economic Security would:
- Increase housing supply by meeting the Bay Area’s regional targets for 57,000 extremely low-income housing units.
- Build a dignified and effective social safety net that recognizes housing as a basic human need.
- Design a regional workforce development system to serve people overcoming barriers to employment.
- Boost economic and housing security by giving direct financial assistance to the people who need it most.
- Inspire the Bay Area to value and include people with extremely low incomes as vital members of our communities.
“Every person has value regardless of one’s ability to formally participate in our economy. When an individual or family can get stabilized, housed, and have an opportunity to thrive, it affects everything and everyone around them,” said Tomiquia Moss, CEO of All Home. “The Big Moves will make our entire region stronger, safer, healthier, and more vibrant.”
The Big Moves were developed with an eye to what could meaningfully address homelessness and poverty, emerging opportunities, and promising solutions that are already in motion. Each proposal includes attainable, concrete steps to make it a reality. This is a roadmap the region’s leaders can support to change our communities for the better.
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Download the PDF of the Big Moves for Housing and Economic Security
What Elected Officials and Community Leaders Are Saying:
State Assemblymember Buffy Wicks: “Homelessness and affordable housing has been a top priority of mine since I began serving in the legislature, and I believe it is the defining issue of our time. I have said time and again that we need to attack the homelessness and affordable housing crisis from all angles. I am happy to see that the Big Moves aim to address the root causes of homelessness so that we can fix the systems that cause people to become homeless in the first place. I look forward to working with All Home and partners throughout my district to implement these policy proposals.”
State Senator Dave Cortese: “These policy proposals would be transformative for my district and our entire region. Housing affordability and income inequality are some of our biggest challenges, and we need to work regionally to solve them. That’s why I serve as a Steering Committee Member of the Regional Impact Council, and why I’m looking forward to advancing these proposals. As chair of the Senate Labor Committee, I’m especially excited about the connections between workforce development and homelessness in these plans.”
State Senator Josh Becker: “To tackle homelessness in the Bay Area, we need to make housing and the cost of living here more affordable. The Big Moves offers actionable solutions to lift our neighbors up out of poverty and make the critical connection between housing and income. I look forward to working with All Home to develop meaningful legislation to move the needle on these pressing issues.”
Michael Tubbs, former Mayor of Stockton and founder of End Poverty in California (EPIC): “Poverty lies at the root of homelessness in California, and poverty is a set-up. The Big Moves are the kind of ambitious ideas we need, to upset the setup and improve the lives of millions of people with extremely low incomes in the Bay Area and across the state.” The fact is, housing unaffordability, low wages, and other systemic issues exist in all our communities and we won’t make real progress until we take bold action to address them. I look forward to working closely with All Home and all our partners to permanently disrupt homelessness and end poverty in California.”
Jim Wunderman, CEO of the Bay Area Council: “The best way to solve homelessness is to prevent it from happening in the first place, and the best way to prevent it is by ensuring our region has an abundant supply of housing affordable to all who want to live here. The Bay Area Council is proud to support these Big Moves and is excited to partner with All Home and others to make homelessness a thing of the past.”
Jason Pu, Regional Administrator, Region IX, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development: “Thank you to All Home and all of your partners for being allies with HUD in the fight to address homelessness and housing insecurity throughout the Bay Area. Big Moves for Housing and Economic Security aligns with HUD’s House America, Our Way Home, and Bridging the Wealth Gap initiatives to rehouse the homeless with wrap-around services, to increase the supply of affordable housing in our communities, and to provide the opportunities our community members need to climb the economic ladder. HUD appreciates and applauds your efforts and we look forward to continuing the work together.”
Carla Javits, Senior Advisor to the President and CEO of REDF: “With people who are homeless experiencing unemployment at ten times the average rate, employment is an essential component of any strategy to end poverty and homelessness. The Big Moves elevates the need to create a regional commitment to reduce this sky-high unemployment, and increase incomes by providing the resources and systems that bring talented people who are overcoming barriers to employment into the workforce. The results – reduced homelessness, and the social and financial benefits that flow from an inclusive Bay Area economy that works for everyone.”
Alicia John-Baptiste, President and CEO of SPUR: “The Bay Area should be a place where everyone can thrive. Today that’s simply not possible. Housing and economic insecurity are a constant problem for so many. The Big Moves provide a blueprint for how we can begin to address the root causes of homelessness and poverty.”
Fred Blackwell, CEO of the San Francisco Foundation: “Racial and economic equity are at the heart of the Big Moves, as they should be for our region. These solutions acknowledge the stark racial disparities in who experiences homelessness and poverty in the Bay Area, and they’re designed to work for the communities that are most in need. When people who are struggling to get by can thrive, contribute, and stay here, everyone in the region will be better off.”