This past week, Habitat SKKC launched our inaugural Housing Impact Day. Nearly 30 staff members, homeowners, and volunteers traveled to Olympia for a full day of meetings with legislators to lobby for affordable housing and homeownership.
“This is an opportunity to bring the lived experience of our homeowners, volunteers, and staff directly to lawmakers and transform abstract policies into human realities. These aren’t just statistics walking into the state house—they’re parents, essential workers, and community members who dream of having a safe, decent, and affordable place to call home,” said Ethan Robinson, Habitat SKKC’s Advocacy & Policy Manager.
That included homeowners like Tiruwork A. and Daniel S., a couple moving into one of our Columbia City builds.
“We were the beneficiaries of this program, so we want to advocate to support it and help others who are looking for affordable housing,” Daniel said of their decision to take part in Housing Impact Day.
The group spent the day talking to more than 20 legislators, including Representative Davina Duerr and Senator Rebecca Saldaña, about the need for prioritizing affordable housing in the state budget. Habitat SKKC doesn’t focus on the operations budget; we focus on the capital budget. For background: The operations budget covers everyday expenses that the government needs to run its services and programs. The capital budget is used for one-time investments, such as long-term investments in infrastructure as well as affordable housing projects.
It has only been in the last three to four years that the legislature has invested in affordable housing. Habitat SKKC can’t build if the state doesn’t invest in affordable housing, which is why we asked that the budget set aside 20% of the Housing Trust Fund for competitively awarded affordable homeownership projects.
More funding equals more housing, or as Chief Advocacy Officer Ryan Donohue puts it, “If we can fund it, we can build it.”
We also advocated for HB 1516, which asks for a study of insurance coverage options specifically for affordable homebuilders. This would have a big impact on our work. Right now, insurance companies treat us the same as for-profit builders, despite our very different business models. If passed, HB 1516 would help bring down insurance costs for building permanently affordable homeownership units, which means we can build more condos at a lower price point.
A recent example of our work is Olympic Ridge. Multiple soon-to-be residents of this new building traveled to Olympia to advocate for affordable housing and HB 1516. That included homeowners like Ha T. Originally from Vietnam, Ha and her mother immigrated to the US over a decade ago. She considers Washington her second home, but she worried she would have to move in order to be able to afford a house. Moving into her new home at Olympic Ridge means she can focus on her career and remain the sole earner for her family. She attended Housing Impact Day because she believes affordable housing is essential.
“It provides the opportunity for stability and dignity,” Ha added.
Ha’s soon-to-be-neighbor Amir Y, who moved to Washington from Minnesota in 2019, attended Housing Impact Day for similar reasons. Despite working hard in the healthcare technology industry and saving money by renting a room in a shared home, he said that buying his condo wouldn’t have been possible without Habitat for Humanity, which he called, “A beacon of hope.”
When asked why he participated in Housing Impact Day, Amir reflected on the new opportunities that will be afforded to him as a homeowner, from stability to equity-building. With a door newly opened to him, he added, “I can hold that door open for those coming after me.”
Habitat Young Professionals member Clayton Shuster Sasaki, who has been on the HYP Board since 2019, explained that HYP is growing their advocacy work, so participating in Housing Advocacy Day was a natural fit for their goals. He said, “It’s important to spread awareness about these bills, and it was inspiring to deliver that message.”
Habitat SKKC builds strength, stability, and self-reliance through shelter. Meeting with legislators and hearing their support of our work reinforced the importance of our mission.