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NASW Joins Opportunity Starts at Home Steering Committee


WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is pleased to announce it is joining the steering committee of Opportunity Starts at Home, an unprecedented multi-sector campaign to advance federal policies that expand affordable housing for low-income people.  

Through Opportunity Starts at Home, a broad array of leading national organizations is raising awareness about the housing affordability crisis and pushing for solutions.  

Research has increasingly shown that housing is a critical driver of positive outcomes in many areas of life, including education, health, civil rights, food security and poverty reduction. 

NASW joins the Steering Committee alongside the National Low Income Housing Coalition, Catholic Charities USA, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Children’s Defense Fund, Children’s HealthWatch, Community Catalyst, Food Research & Action Center, Make Room, the NAACP, National Alliance to End Homelessness, National Alliance on Mental Illness, National Association of Community Health Centers, National Education Association, National League of Cities, and UnidosUS. 

“NASW is honored to join these esteemed organizations on the steering committee of Opportunity Starts at Home because this organization’s mission strongly reflects the values of the social work profession,” said Angelo McClain, PhD, LICSW, executive director of NASW. “Social workers for generations have joined forces with others to address this nation’s challenges, including providing good, affordable housing for all. This issue is particularly crucial now as housing costs soar and millions of American families struggle to pay rent and mortgages.”   

As a Steering Committee member, NASW will provide on-going strategic and tactical advice to the campaign, and work to mobilize its own network of social workers around federal policy actions that will expand housing affordability.  

The ability for social workers to help their clients overcome life’s challenges is often inextricably linked to whether people have access to stable affordable homes in neighborhoods where they can grow, learn, and thrive.  

“We are extremely pleased to have the National Association of Social Workers join the Steering Committee,” said Mike Koprowski, National Director of the Opportunity Starts at Home campaign. “Our nation’s lack of affordable housing is a crisis.  When people lack access to homes they can afford, it negatively impacts their health outcomes, educational attainment, and ability to climb the income ladder.  That’s why influential national organizations from different fields are joining forces to make this issue a top national priority.” 

To learn more about the campaign, please see www.opportunityhome.org   

The National Association of Social Workers (NASW), in Washington, DC, is the largest membership organization of professional social workers. It promotes, develops, and protects the practice of social work and social workers. NASW also seeks to enhance the well-being of individuals, families, and communities through its advocacy.

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