Over the past year, the Santa Fe Housing Action Coalition has striven to create and sustain real and significant positive impact on housing and housing affordability in Santa Fe. As we have always done, we have focused our efforts on engaging in critical research, thoughtful debate, intentional community engagement, and targeted advocacy. And, as always, this is not nearly enough.
Last year, together, we marched on in the midst of a global pandemic where any semblance of certainty or security had been removed and replaced with a nagging anxiety that – at any moment – the bottom could fall out. And, indeed, it did for many.
More of us got sick. More of us lost our shelter and homes. More of us didn’t have enough to eat. More of us couldn’t make ends meet.
But we also had hope and determination. While the year presented challenges, it also presented opportunities. And we took those opportunities.
This report is less a collection of numbers and grim statistics and more a reflection of who we are as a Coalition, what we’ve done this year, and the path that we have ahead of us.
Together over the last year – against the wild and uncertain backdrop that seems to be the hallmark of our modern era – we have made great strides. Over the last year, I have been immensely proud to see City and County leadership, community stakeholders and the public working together to listen and to make necessary change. I have been proud to see the Santa Fe Housing Action Coalition work together and with our partners across the City, County and State to understand the needs of our communities and push for solutions that can adequately address them. I have been proud of our determination, even as we have faced the headwinds of the individual realities that challenged and will continue to challenge us all.
And I have been so grateful for the opportunity to be a small part of the progress we have made together in creating and implementing solutions that adequately address the challenges and needs of our communities. I am inspired and invigorated by the great work of so many of our community organizations, partners and colleagues to address the housing crisis that plagues our communities and am looking forward to continuing our work together. I remain confident that, together, we can effect the real and necessary change we wish to see in Santa Fe and I’m excited about our work along the way.
Thank you for your continued support and engagement.
