About the Alliance

Who we are​

A broad coalition of government, nonprofit, and business organizations working together to overcome Linn County’s current housing crisis.

The Alliance for Equitable Housing was formed in the aftermath of the dual crises of the Covid-19 Pandemic and August 2020 Derecho. This group, which pulls together leaders from across the public, private, and non-profit sectors, is collaboratively developing a comprehensive housing action to facilitate genuine progress toward solving the pressing issues that threaten the housing system. This work provides a framework for how community partners will behave within the collaborative environment and provides guidance and support in problem solving. 

The Alliance has both internal and external groups that work to serve the greater strategic goals. Internally, the group examines policy, funding, communication, and staff capacity as a means of breaking down barriers. Externally, there are four action planning areas of Housing Access, Housing Quality, & Housing Development, with an Equity Committee examining and providing accountability on initiatives. 

The Alliance was formed in 2021, coalescing around community conversations and creating buy-in. The group first built a framework to facilitate the work before establishing priorities across the different areas of focus. The work moving forward will be executing on the focus areas, with pilot programs rolling out across different areas in 2024 and beyond.

Our approach

The Framework​
The Alliance for Equitable Housing is made up of four action planning groups designed to work on the community-identified key issues.

The Alliance for Equitable Housing has identified a framework that allows the community to address the key issues simultaneously through dedicated action planning groups. These groups work in the short, medium, and long-term to both address urgent needs while working toward long-term solutions to systemic problems. For example, within the Access to Housing workgroups there is a balance between short-term solutions, such as maintaining shelter capacity to keep homeless individuals safe, and long-term problem solving to identify housing solutions to promote stability and keep people housed.

The four action planning groups are charged with creating action plans with tangible steps. The Alliance’s role in this framework is to help the action planning groups overcome barriers as they build and execute on these action plans. Through the SWOT analysis, we know policy, funding, and communication are all barriers action planning groups will likely encounter, and the Alliance is made up of experts to help overcome those challenges.

A key outcome of this process will be a comprehensive housing action plan to address the issues brought up by the community.

Stabilization

Streamline the housing & homeless services system to improve access to housing for the ‘housing challenged.’

Quality

Improve Linn County’s housing stock quality and energy efficiency to be more resilient for increasing intensity and frequency of disasters.

Development

Increase community capacity for more housing development in Linn County in a way that addresses identified gaps.

Equity

Dedicated to fostering inclusive and equitable practices across all action planning groups by building relationships and championing transparency and continuous improvement through comprehensive Equity Audits.

Stay Informed

Addressing the housing crisis in Linn County depends on all of us. We must work together to make sure Linn County residents don’t get priced out and people at all income levels can find a great place to live. Sign up below to stay informed and discover new opportunities to get involved.