GBIO Housing Justice Campaign
Greater Boston Interfaith Organization (GBIO), founded in 1998, is a broad-based organization that works for the public good by coalescing, training, and organizing people across religious, racial, ethnic, class, and neighborhood lines. Membership consists of 60 dues-paying members in Greater Boston, representing more than 107,000 individuals. GBIO organizes people and institutions at neighborhood, city, and state levels.
GBIO for the past year has been focused on a Housing Justice Campaign to establish new affordable housing and improve the maintenance of existing affordable housing. In-district leadership teams from Hancock, Temple Isaiah, Temple Emunah and Temple Shir Tikvah organized meetings with legislators, invited people with important stories to share and coordinated all aspects of the meetings, including turn out and logistics. At these In-District Meetings (including two at Hancock) state legislators were asked to a) significantly increase the state’s public housing budget, b) include at least 1.6 billion for capital repair funding in the Governor’s bond bill, and c) give communities a chance to locally pass real estate transfer fees to raise funding for local affordable housing. Additionally, legislators were asked to support IDs and increase rental certifications for formerly incarcerated persons.
A large housing justice action was held on Sunday March 3 in Boston at the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center (ISBCC) attended by more that 1,750 (including 38from Hancock) to demonstrate to legislators the power of GBIO in addressing these needs. Hancock, Temple Isaiah and Temple Emunah members travelled in on two school buses to the action. On the buses new relationships were ignited and old ones deepened as we sat together, sharing our common values and hope for more equitable and accessible housing for all.
GBIO brings to these actions the power of the people, of many faiths, races, genders and socio economic backgrounds, suburban and urban together for the common good.
In addition, an open letter signed by GBIO member clergy to the legislature clearly demonstrated the need for this action.
While we are aware that our state faces urgent budget and shelter crises. These actions will immediately impact many of our most at-risk neighbors and get people off waiting lists and shelters and into homes. In the long run, decisive action on affordable, secure housing will help avoid such crises as it saves money and helps solve housing problems that afflict all of us.. We are not immune to Housing crisis in the suburbs. We have heard stories from many living in the more affluent suburbs that they need to leave after retirement due to a fixed income and increased taxes. Others speak with frustration that their children cannot afford to live nearby and others have adult children returning home to live due to the high cost of rent. GBIO’s platform on Housing Justice is simple, urgent, with moral solutions will make a concrete difference on the crisis we face.
When some among us suffer, our leadership, our faith, our integrity, and our very lives are judged by whether we do what is within our power to make things better. We have a tremendous opportunity before us now to love our neighbors and to love ourselves by making it possible for more people to secure affordable, safe, quality housing in Massachusetts. Hancock has been a member of GBIO since 2018 and we truly appreciate the support of Hancock Church and a special thanks to the 38 people who attended the action on March 3rd and the many Hancock members who made calls and attended the In district Meetings.
We can be the compassion we wish to see in the world if we all stand together.
GBIO is planning a major housing justice campaign rally on Monday, June 26 to address the following key housing justice issues:
Safe and Dignified State Public Housing
- Approve $184 million in operating funds for Local Housing Authorities across the Commonwealth in the 2024 annual budget.
- Authorize through the 2023 five-year housing bond bill, $8.5 billion in capital funds to sustain public housing facilities and work off the accumulated backlog of deferred capital projects.
- We support the Mass Union of Public Housing Tenants ask for $6.7 million critical new “wrap-around” tenant support in the 2024 budget as well as MassNAHRO’s ask for $8 million for Resident Service Coordinators.
More Funding for Affordable Housing and Homeownership
- Pass statewide enabling legislation for a local option to collect real estate transfer fees to increase funding for affordable housing, (H.2747/S.1771).
Access to Quality Housing for Returning Citizens
- Pass S.878 which would support accessible housing by adding Returning Citizens to the list of individuals, such as families of veterans, who receive priority in state funded programs, and allocates Section 8 vouchers for Returning Citizens.
- Pass S.1506 so that ALL Returning Citizens are guaranteed state IDs upon release.
Increasing Housing Supply
- We ask the Healey Administration, Attorney General Campbell, state legislature, and local governments to use all available tools to fully implement the MBTA Communities Act and create more multifamily zoning, without penalizing housing authorities and their tenants.
More information will be provided soon. To register for this event click on the link below. To connect with our GBIO delegate, please contact Office@HancockChurch.org.