We completed our first big step in Affordable Housing campaign discernment. Come to the community meeting to get looped in!
We are moving forward powerfully in our local research on affordable housing!
Last week we completed our first big step: We have now held local housing team launches for Salem, Lynn, Swampscott, Marblehead, Hamilton-Wenham, Beverly, Peabody, and Cape Ann.
More than 80 of you - ECCO community members from across our congregations - attended these launch meetings. Wow! At the meetings we shared the struggles we are experiencing with affordable housing and planned together for how our campaigns, and the research we do now, can have the greatest impact. We began building a vision of what our communities would be like if we all had the housing we needed. Let’s celebrate the completion of this first powerful step!
Photo of an alleyway painted with the words “Housing is a Human Right.”
Photo credit: Megan Wilson
What's happening now?
Over the coming month local housing teams are researching! We are carrying out the research actions that we identified at our launch meetings. In each city and town we are talking to local stakeholders and potential partners to identify how we can act most effectively and in a way that is coordinated across ECCO.
Leaders on each team are also talking to neighbors, friends and congregation members and inviting them to join our local teams. We can’t win unless we keep building our power.
(If you want to get connected to a local team or you need research support, reply to this email so we can connect.)
Meanwhile, ECCO clergy members are preparing for a Sermon Swap to teach about the moral imperative for affordable housing across our ECCO community! If you are a clergyperson and want to get involved, click here.
What's coming up next?
As our local research continues, we’ll come together for the ECCO community meeting on April 12th. Register below to join us, and invite others from your community!
ECCO Community Meeting
When: Tuesday April 12, 6:00-7:30 PM
Where: Virtual - click here to register.
What: Join us at the ECCO community meeting to reconnect and share exciting updates on our campaign work regarding Affordable Housing, Unarmed Crisis Response, and Immigration. We will also discuss action steps toward educating our local communities about the reality of housing injustice and the need for big change in how we think about affordable housing.
Volunteer with ECCO: Seeking Grant-Writing Support!
Do you love to write and want to lend your skills to support ECCO’s work for justice? We are seeking community volunteers with strong writing skills or fundraising experience to participate in crafting upcoming grant proposals connected to our work. Reply to this message to let us know if you might be able to lend a hand, or know someone else who might!
PS- Check out this great recent article about ECCO and Rabbi Margie in the Jewish Journal!
In Solidarity,
Aviva Herr-Welber, ECCO Racial Justice Organizer