The Housing TAsk Force

 Beginning in the fall of 2023 with the first official meeting taking place in January 2024, the Housing Task Force is present again to continue work that was started a few years back: Housing Choice Vouchers (Section 8) as a Protected Class. We aim to engage with landlords, residents, the ALICE (Asset Limited Income Constrained Employed) and BIPOC (Black Indigenous and People of Color) populations to resolve this issue of denial of housing assistance from those in the position of renting their properties. Much of our goal is outlined in the Greater Green Bay Blueprint to Prevent and End Homelessness so they are a natural partner to engage the concerns of landlords and renters alike to ensure that affordable housing is an option.

The Housing Task Force and Housing Policy Institute planning began in 2023 where we believe every person deserves a fair playing field to ensure success in obtaining a stable home. JOSHUA is dedicated to addressing housing inequities and ensuring that the voices of those who have experienced and are currently experiencing housing injustices are heard and empowered to advocate on their own behalf at the county and state levels.

JOSHUA is implementing the Housing Policy Institute in April 2025 to train those affected by housing instability. This model will be heavily based off of the previous year’s training that was also in April. Between now and then, our team has a lot of engagement and partnership efforts ahead of us. That also ties into the largest grant that JOSHUA has received to date, the Basic Needs Giving Partnership Grant that funds systems change initiatives, totaling $225,000 over three years. It is our goal to have Housing Choice Vouchers passed as a Protected Class by 2027. We will do this by working with Wise Women Gathering Place, Legal Action, the Blueprint, and more, but most importantly getting those directly affected to our tables! Those who are closest to the problem are also closest to the solution.

JOSHUA also had the neat opportunity for a couple of educational events in October: The Invisible Class documentary screening that gathered a room of almost 30 people together to take a glimpse into the lives of those who are chronically homeless and why; and also, Canvassing with WISDOM on our housing issues where we passed out 300+ brochures to a Green Bay City neighborhood.