NeighborWorks Association of Pennsylvania (NWAP) took part in Home Matters Day at the State Capitol on June 6, joining hundreds of others to educate and inform legislators about the need for additional resources to support and sustain the creation of affordable housing throughout the state.

Organized by the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania, Home Matters Day is an annual day of advocacy and education in Harrisburg that brings together stakeholders to increase housing resources, end homelessness, and eradicate blight in Pennsylvania. NeighborWorks Association of Pennsylvania is a membership-based statewide network of eight non-profit organizations dedicated to creating equitable housing options and improving quality of life across the Commonwealth. The collective group, as well as individual organizations, are charter members of NeighborWorks America, a network of nearly 250 nonprofit organizations across the United States that work together to create affordable housing, support residents, and strengthen communities. NeighborWorks builds skills, supplements resources, and amplifies the reach of network organizations to increase potential impact.

NWAP member organizations include Arbor Housing and Development based in Corning, NY; HDC MidAtlantic in Lancaster, PA; NeighborWorks Northeastern Pennsylvania in Scranton, PA; NeighborWorks Western Pennsylvania in Pittsburgh, PA; NHS of Greater Berks, Inc. in Reading, PA; PathStone Corporation in Chambersburg, PA; and New Kensington Community Development Corporation and HACE in Philadelphia, PA.

During Home Matters Day, NWAP members met with elected officials to discuss the need for additional funding resources for affordable housing, including increasing the funding cap on the state housing trust fund (PHARE), and demonstrate the positive impact safe housing makes in people’s lives. Through the NeighborWorks network, NWAP members are able to leverage every dollar of federal funding into $102 of impact in communities, making a greater difference for those in need of safe and affordable housing.

As individual nonprofits supported annually by NeighborWorks, NWAP utilizes impact data and analysis, direct work within communities, and on-the-ground support of individuals and families to help legislators understand the critical need for support of affordable housing throughout the Commonwealth.

Home Matters Day took place during NeighborWorks Week this year, an annual week of service from June 3-10 that showcases the collective ways NeighborWorks members from across the country are able to strengthen communities. The theme of this year’s NeighborWorks Week was “Empowering Communities for Success.”