Lift to Rise releases two-year action plan to bring 7,500 affordable housing units to Coachella Valley by 2026
Lift to Rise, a local non-proof organization, is working to increase affordable housing in the Coachella Valley.
They recently released a two year plan to bring 7,500 affordable housing units to the desert area by 2026.
“Our two-year action plan primarily focuses on radically increasing housing stability,” said Heather Vaikona, the CEO and President of Lift to Rise
The plan is a result of six months of community outreach and conversations among the partners that make up Lift to Rise’s Housing Collaborative Action Network.
According to Lift to Rise, the 2024-26 Action Plan details six strategic focuses:
- Pipeline: Encourage development by identifying 3,000 potential units a year that meet the criteria for the Affordable Housing Pipeline.
- Funding: Address and implement solutions to solve the funding bottleneck occurring due to scarcity of low-income housing tax credits.
- Policy advocacy: Move policy and regulations at the local, state, and federal level to enable more affordable housing development.
- Infrastructure/Utilities: Work to ensure affordable housing opportunities are not limited by utilities or underdeveloped infrastructure.
- Movement Building: Build greater public awareness and support for affordable housing in our region through strategic communications and resident leadership
- Rapid Response: Advocate for and develop supports that help residents with emergency housing needs.
Affordable housing becomes even more necessary during times of inflation like we are experiencing now. Vaikona says “Community residents are experiencing housing cost burdens. We have to adapt to a different market condition than we had a couple years ago.”
Their plan will be presented to all 9 desert cities from today until June.
“We primarily focus on what it’s going to take to bolster the number of units in our regional housing pipeline,” said Vaikona. “And we look for the policy hiccups and the investment hiccups. We’re going city by city because it’s really in the hands of our local municipalities to activate this plan together.”
Their first city council meeting will take place at Indian Wells City Hall today at 1:30.
