Volunteer Resources

These tools will help you advocate for fair, abundant, and affordable housing through the housing element process alongside the Campaign for Fair Housing Elements. Contact us at info@fairhousingelements.org with questions or suggestions.

Campaign Strategy 1: Build Political Will Among Local Elected Officials

Here’s how to help:

  1. Find out when public meetings are happening: Use the Statewide Hearing Schedule to monitor local agendas and identify when decision-makers are discussing housing elements and add meetings to the Campaign Calendar. Contact us for editing permissions.

    • Join us for “Drinks & Agendas” each Friday at 12 pm to volunteer with other housing advocates Register/Join Here

  2. Make your voice heard: Attend public meetings, tell your story, and tell your local governments that we need fair, abundant, and affordable housing. Find public meetings on our Campaign Calendar.

  3. Let us know what happened at the meeting: Fill out a quick meeting report at www.fairhousingelements.org/report to let the Campaign know what happened at the public meeting and what we might need to keep an eye on.

  4. Make your ideas heard: Public speaking can be a challenge! Written public comment is also important. Get ideas from our Advocacy Letters, Template Letters or request support from our team at YIMBY Law (housingelements@yimbylaw.org).

CAMPAIGN STRATEGY 2: CATCH CITIES IN THE ACT OF BAD BEHAVIOR

Here’s how to help:

  1. Find out when housing element drafts are released: Use the Draft Spreadsheet to check for drafts that we don’t have in our database. Contact us for editing permissions. Add new drafts to our database and view drafts at www.fairhousingelements.org/drafts.

    • Join us for “Drafts & Agendas” each Friday at 12 pm to volunteer with other housing advocates Register/Join Here

  2. Check your city’s housing sites (Easy): View our Groundtruthing tutorial (coming soon) and use our Groundtruthing form to identify problematic sites for the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD).

  3. Evaluate your city’s site inventory (Easy): Use the Kennedy Commission’s Site Inventory tool (coming soon).

  4. Audit the housing element draft (Advanced): Review the Explainers and use our Housing Element Audit Tool.


MORE RESOURCES

  • Join our online community to connect with other volunteers. Contact us for details at info@fairhousingelements.org.

  • Access the Public Resources for Fair Housing Elements, our shared Google Drive for various tools, resources, data, etc.

  • Collaborate with a local organization: Campaign Members

  • Organize other volunteers in your city. Check out our Organizer Resources for ideas and support.