Housing Assistance and Sustainable Practices will co-sponsor a showing of the documentary “A Rising Tide” on June 7th at 9:30 a.m. at the Chatham Orpheum Theater. Seen primarily through the eyes of women and children of color living through housing insecurity in California’s Alameda County, “A Rising Tide” seeks to identify how and why homelessness occurs.
The film juxtaposes the perspectives of various stakeholders affected by the “affordable-housing industrial complex.” It captures the adversity faced by homeless families in Oakland and explores the plight of service providers and social workers on the frontlines of the housing crisis.
Learn more about the film at ARisingTideMovie.com. Tickets can be purchased at chathamorpheum.org or at the theater’s box office.
Carole Lyons, a member of the outreach team at the First Congregational Church of Falmouth, says it’s surprisingly easy to put together a team for the Walk for Hope. Last year, the church had an 18-person team participate in the fundraiser for Housing Assistance.
“Everybody looks forward to it and asks me when the walk’s going to be,” said Lyons. “We think that every person on the Cape, regardless of their economic income, should be able to have good choices in where they live. The feeling of knowing that you’re helping people who are less privileged or maybe just don’t have as much as you do find stable housing and at the same time being with friends, it makes for a wonderful day.”
Registration is now open for individuals and teams who want to fundraise through the 7th Annual Walk for Hope. The three-mile walks will begin at 1 p.m. in Falmouth, Hyannis, and Orleans on Sunday, June 1. Funds raised will support Housing Assistance’s mission to strengthen the Cape Cod and Islands region by empowering individuals, fostering community connections, and increasing affordable housing opportunities.
Sharon Mabile, a Realtor with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices/Robert Paul Properties, the top fundraising team last year, is recruiting colleagues to participate again. “It’s such an easy ask,” she said. “It’s really just about reminding them of the importance of basic security.
“Those of us who work in this industry know how our success has created problems for people who grew up here and can’t afford to live here. We need to do everything that we can to show that we support them. It’s an easy, short commitment of time that has a huge impact on so many.”
The Falmouth walk will begin at Peg Noonan Park on Main Street and Elm Arch Way. The Orleans walk will start and conclude at Mid-Cape Home Centers at 15 Main Street. The Hyannis event will begin and end at the Village Green off Main Street.
Along with fundraisers, Housing Assistance is seeking sponsors for this year’s walk. Businesses interested in becoming a Walk for Hope sponsor should contact Deanna Bussiere at dbussiere@haconcapecod.org.
For more information about the Walk for Hope, visit HACWalkforHope.org or email events@haconcapecod.org.
Housing Assistance invites you to Give Hope Where You Live! As Cape Codders, we take care of our own. Our community has always been strong, and each one of us can make a difference.
This time of year, cold weather and financial pressures take their toll. But YOUR support can help lift spirits and ease the stress of those facing homelessness and housing instability.
As the Housing Assistance team works on housing solutions, we need YOUR help to keep the hope alive.
To start making a difference locally at HACGiveHopeWhereYouLive.org. To learn more about engagement and sponsorship opportunities, contact events@haconcapecod.org.
Mark your calendars for December 15!
Participants will receive a special invitation to recognize our collective impact and thank our many supporters with a celebration event at the end of the campaign.
Get started online at HACGiveHopeWhereYouLive.org
Thank you to our Event Sponsors!
Give Hope Where You Live Partner Sponsor
In doing regular cleanups and mulching at Housing Assistance properties, the Lourenco Brothers Yardscape & Design team has become familiar with Housing Assistance’s work.
“We see the amazing work from the front row,” said Jeferson Lourenco, who owns the business with his brothers Fernando and Paulo. The local company is a Partner sponsor of the Give Hope Where You Live campaign.
“We always have it in mind for our company to return to the community the good fortune that others have done for us,” he said. “Our families live here, and we see the difficulty that many have in finding housing that is accessible. We struggle to find enough workers because they don’t have the ability to live here on Cape Cod because of the housing costs. We see how it affects people and that’s why we need to contribute and give back to the community. It’s a great opportunity to be part of this campaign.”
Give Hope Where You Live Partner Sponsor
Brothers Van and Michael Haidas opened The Knack in Orleans in 2014 and a second outlet in Hyannis in 2022. The restaurants’ burgers, onion rings, and shakes have built a loyal fan base. Grateful for the community support, they’re committed to giving back, donating 10 percent of the sales of desserts to local charities.
When they added the second location, they expanded their donations, which now go to 10 local nonprofits, including Housing Assistance for the last three years. The brothers added a little extra this year to reach the Partner sponsorship level of the Give Hope Where You Live campaign.
“Housing is a huge problem on Cape Cod, as it is nationally for a lot of systemic reasons,” said Michael. “There’s nothing more important to people than having a place to live and somewhere you’re not worried about getting kicked out of a few months down the line. We love the work that Housing Assistance is doing and we’re happy to be able to support it.”
Van said they have seen the effects of the housing crisis up close. “We’ve had employees who have moved three or four times in a year, just trying to find something that they can afford and stay local,” he said. “We’ve also lost numerous employees to Vermont or anywhere else where they can find a better situation for housing. We pride ourselves on paying very well for a restaurant, and we want our employees to be able to afford to live here, but it is difficult.”
Art met advocacy in a November 2nd collaboration between the Cape Symphony and Housing Assistance. Between classical pieces performed by the Rasa String Quartet, five actors spoke about the facts and emotions behind Not In My Backyard (NIMBY) and Yes In My Backyard (YIMBY) sentiments.
The event was organized by Richard Chwastiak, Cape Symphony’s Manager of External Affairs, as part of a MASSCreative fellowship. “We want to marry art and advocacy to inspire empathy and really pull at the heart strings,” he said.
The goal was to raise awareness about the housing crisis and provide some guidance about how to respond. The music beautifully conveyed the passions, tensions and hopes associated with the housing crisis. Pieces included William Grant Still’s “Summerland,” Joaquín Turina’s “Prayer of the Bullfighter” and Felix Mendelssohn’s String Quartet Op. 13 No. 2 in A Minor, mvt. 1, Adagio – Allegro vivace.
Chwastiak said the Symphony is well aware of Cape Cod’s housing crisis. Over 90 percent of the Symphony’s performers commute from off-Cape. Chwastiak hopes to replicate the recent performance and bring it to other communities across the Cape to spread awareness and inspire change.
The third annual Housing to Protect Cape Cod (HPCC) Summit focused on ways Cape Codders can leverage the new policies in the historic Affordable Homes Act signed this summer by Gov. Maura Healey.
The passage of the act created a range of resources to create more attainable year-round housing across our region, said Housing Assistance CEO Alisa Magnotta. “All of us here today are very excited to keep this momentum going and to take this historic legislation and figure out how to make it implantable in our towns,” she said. “We’re not here to talk about the problem, but to commit to action.”
Edward Augustus, Massachusetts Secretary of Housing and Livable Communities, referred to the adage that the world is run by those who show up. “That’s literally true in New England where we have a town meeting where whoever shows up that night gets to decide,” he said. “We know in the housing space, with that kind of instinctive nimbyism that we see in so many places, there is always going to be somebody who shows up and says, ‘Not here, not now. It’s a good idea, but it doesn’t belong here.’ The question is, are the rest of us going to show up and give voice for those DPW workers who are living on the beach or in a shack or the other folks who are making that trip every day over the bridge to plow your roads, to clean those hotel rooms, work in those restaurants, and keep the economy of Cape Cod running?”
State Senator Julian Cyr said he was grateful to the community housing advocates who put in time and effort to help shape and pass the housing act. “I don’t talk to a leader in the region on any issue who doesn’t bring up housing as the number one issue,” he said. “Whether you’re an employer in our healthcare sector or human services sector, whether you’re trying to figure out how you make a town run or keep a restaurant open, the biggest challenge is finding a workforce – and that challenge is directly tied to housing.”
More than 300 people, including local officials, business leaders and community advocates, attended the summit. Panel discussions focused on ways the region and individual towns can implement key elements of the act, including the Seasonal Communities Designation and the loosened restrictions on the construction of ADUs (accessory dwelling units).
The event concluded with recognition of four local housing champions:
• State Senator Julian Cyr: For his consistent advocacy at the State House on behalf of our region’s needs
• Michael Galasso: For his dedication to developing affordable housing in Falmouth
• Tara Vargas Wallace: For her leadership in giving voice to marginalized members of our community and speaking up in Barnstable to ensure equity on the town’s ad hoc housing committee
• Lynne Rhodes: For speaking up in Barnstable to ensure equity on the town’s ad hoc housing committee
To learn more or join the Housing to Protect Cape Cod coalition, visit housingtoprotectcapecod.org.
The third annual Housing to Protect Cape Cod (HPCC) Summit on Thursday (Oct. 17) focused on ways Cape Codders can leverage the new policies in the historic Affordable Homes Act signed this summer by Gov. Maura Healey.
The passage of the act created a range of resources to create more attainable year-round housing across our region, said Housing Assistance CEO Alisa Magnotta. “All of us here today are very excited to keep this momentum going and to take this historic legislation and figure out how to make it implantable in our towns,” she said. “We’re not here to talk about the problem, but to commit to action.”
Edward Augustus, Massachusetts Secretary of Housing and Livable Communities, referred to the adage that the world is run by those who show up. “That’s literally true in New England where we have a town meeting where whoever shows up that night gets to decide,” he said. “We know in the housing space, with that kind of instinctive nimbyism that we see in so many places, there is always going to be somebody who shows up and says, ‘Not here, not now. It’s a good idea, but it doesn’t belong here.’ The question is, are the rest of us going to show up and give voice for those DPW workers who are living on the beach or in a shack or the other folks who are making that trip every day over the bridge to plow your roads, to clean those hotel rooms, work in those restaurants, and keep the economy of Cape Cod running?”
State Senator Julian Cyr said he was grateful to the community housing advocates who put in time and effort to help shape and pass the housing act. “I don’t talk to a leader in the region on any issue who doesn’t bring up housing as the number one issue,” he said. “Whether you’re an employer in our healthcare sector or human services sector, whether you’re trying to figure out how you make a town run or keep a restaurant open, the biggest challenge is finding a workforce – and that challenge is directly tied to housing.”
More than 300 people, including local officials, business leaders and community advocates, attended the summit. Panel discussions focused on ways the region and individual towns can implement key elements of the act, including the Seasonal Communities Designation and the loosened restrictions on the construction of ADUs (accessory dwelling units).
The event concluded with recognition of three local housing champions: affordable housing developer Michael Galasso; Lynne Rhodes, president of the Cape Cod chapter of the NAACP; and Tara Vargas Wallace, CEO of Amplify POC.
To learn more about HPCC, visit housingtoprotectcapecod.org.
In the closing hours of their legislative session, Massachusetts lawmakers overwhelmingly voted to pass the Affordable Homes Act, which will provide $5.16 billion in funding for housing and legalize accessory dwelling units throughout the state. Crucially, the act also authorized the creation of a seasonal communities designation, which will provide specific tools and resources to help Cape & Islands towns address the housing crisis. Thanks to everyone who contacted their representative or senator in support of the bill. Your advocacy makes a difference.
Join us at the third annual Housing to Protect Cape Cod Summit, where we will dive into the details of the Affordable Homes Act and discuss how we can leverage the new policies and resources in the act to create more attainable year-round housing across our region. You will have the opportunity to connect with state and local officials, business leaders, and community advocates as we reflect on progress made over the past year and chart the course for the year ahead.
Join us 8 a.m.-1p.m. on Oct. 17 at the Emerald Resort, 35 Scudder Ave. (near the Melody Tent), Hyannis, and take action to keep Cape Cod a thriving, year-round community. Registration opens soon.
Founded in 1974, Housing Assistance is a 501 (c) (3) Massachusetts nonprofit organization. EIN: 23-7431255.
Phone:
508-771-5400
Email:
hac@haconcapecod.org
Main Office: 255 Independence Drive, Hyannis MA 02601
Upper Cape Office: 1252 MA 28-A,
Cataumet, MA 02534
Lower Cape Office: 78 Route 6A,
Orleans, MA 02653