If you are reading this, you already believe that housing is one of the most critical elements in the life of a family, as well as an essential economic engine for the community. And you are probably fully aware of the challenges we all face in making affordable housing in neighborhoods of opportunity available to
all Virginians.
 
That's why it's so important that we work as effectively as possible - and working effectively means working together.  HOME was a founding member of Housing Virginia because we believe that bringing together the wide range of interests that make up Housing Virginia - builders and developers, non-profits, government, advocates, lenders, and the real estate industry - creates a unique ability to address the barriers to housing faced by so many Virginia families.
 
A central part of the mission of Housing Virginia is to overcome community resistance to affordable housing. Sometimes just talking together helps generate ideas and possible solutions, but Housing Virginia has gone beyond discussion to find new ways to encourage regional collaboration and to provide the facts that will help affordable housing advocates make their case.

Housing Virginia has also taken the lead in an effort to bring Virginia's statewide housing organizations together to foster increased collaboration and new ways of working together. This year, for the first time, those organizations, like HOME, that advocate for policy change at the General Assembly, jointly sponsored meetings of stakeholders throughout the state. We are evaluating what each of us does, what we do best - and what we might actually let someone else do. Everything is on the table. It's a radical way of thinking, but it's the only way in which we will all accomplish our goals.

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