Friday, June 6, 2008

FBDI Sponsors Event on Developing Affordable Housing and Community Facilities

Members of the Northern Virginia faith community are invited to a “Call to Action: Resources for Houses of Worship Developing Affordable Housing and Community Facilities.”  The event is being sponsored by the Faith-based Development Initiative, and co-hosted by the Northern Virginia Affordable Housing Alliance and the MeetingHouse Corporation. 

The luncheon-dialogue will be held onTuesday, June 24, from12:30 - 2:30 PM at Manassas Baptist Church, The Rock Community Center, 8800 Sudley Road, Manassas, Virginia.   The faith community is invited to participate in a dialogue on the topic of faith-based development.  This luncheon will be what we hope isthe first step in increasing the participation of faith-based organizations in developing affordable housing and community facilities. 
High housing costs, inadequate supply, and flat wages make it difficult for low and moderate-income families to find suitable housing.  In addition, there continues to be a need for organizations to provide services to the homeless, elderly and youth.  Many faith-based institutions currently own property and/or have the ability to purchase property which could be developed as affordable housing.  This could have a significant impact in addressing the compelling human needs of our neighbors. 

For the past two years, Enterprise Community Partners and its Faith-based Development Initiative (FBDI) co-conveners, East of the River Clergy-Police-Community Partnership (ERCPCP) and Georgetown University (GU) have worked to provide connections to intellectual and financial capital for houses of worship that own land and have an interest in developing affordable housing and/or community facilities.  We are looking to expand our outreach in a targeted way to bring this service to faith communities in Northern Virginia.
The day will feature dialogue regarding the scope of the housing need in Northern Virginia and examples of current faith-based developments. We would also like to discuss perceived needs and the resource gaps in faith-based development.  We will ask attendees to indicate their desire to participate in future in-depth trainings that address the needs expressed.

We hope that your schedule will allow you to join in this discussion.  This is your opportunity to have a conversation with other leaders of faith about the actions that the faith-based community can take to alleviate the shortage of affordable housing.

The luncheon is free, but we ask that you RSVP by Tuesday, June 17, 2008.  Please contact Jennifer Bonsall at 202-842-9190 ext 22 or via e-mail at jbonsall@enterprisecommunity.org to RSVP or with any questions regarding the luncheon.