PRESS CONFERENCE: Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025, 8:30 am
NEW LOCATION: Senate Briefing Room 400, General Assembly Building, 923 E. Broad Street
RICHMOND, VA – Virginia’s affordable housing crisis has forced many communities to a breaking point. 45 percent of renters in Virginia are paying more than half of their income for housing, and there is a statewide shortage of 200,000 housing units.
“Virginia is in a housing crisis and faith communities have a surplus of land – they own 74,00 acres. A creative and viable solution to this problem is to build affordable housing on faith-owned land,” said Sheila Herlihy Hennessee, Director of Faith Organizing at the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy (VICPP),” and author of “Virginia Congregations Building Affordable Housing: A Match Made in Heaven,” a book being released on Tuesday.
This groundbreaking resource book will support faith communities, legislators, and advocates working on this crisis. It includes information about the current state of housing in Virginia, ideas for creative solutions, and more than a dozen profiles of congregations that have built or have tried to build affordable housing on their land.
A bipartisan group of legislators is supporting the Faith and Housing Bill (HB 2153) and Senate companion that will enable localities to streamline the process for congregations to use their land to build affordable housing. VICPP has been a long-time advocate for affordable housing and is leading the advocacy effort on this bill.
SPEAKERS
Sheila Herlihy Hennessee, VICPP Director of Faith Organizing
Senator Gazala Hashmi (D 15TH)
Delegate Betsy Carr (D 69TH)
Rev. Dr. Robert A. Diggs, Sr., Tabernacle Baptist Church, Petersburg
(his congregation built affordable housing on church property)
BACKGROUND
Faith communities in Virginia own more than 74,000 acres of land across 22,000 parcels and many want to use that land to help support their financial needs and help their neighbors.
Fourteen congregations across the Commonwealth have already built affordable housing on their land in response to the affordable housing crisis. More than forty other congregations are at some point in the process of development or considering building housing. Several faith communities in Virginia tried to build affordable housing but were not able to secure the funding, permits, or necessary support.
The book also includes data on faith-owned land in every legislative district in Virginia as well as information about policies that make it easier for faith communities to live their values and provide affordable housing to the broader community.
RESOURCES
Link to PDF of the book: Virginia Congregations Building Affordable Housing: A Match Made in Heaven, by Sheila Herlihy Hennessee
Faith-Based Property Ownership in Virginia. A report in conjunction with HousingForward Virginia that highlights the quantity of land across the Commonwealth owned by faith congregations.
Fact Sheet on Faith and Housing Bill – link to bill: HB 2153
CONTACTS:
Roberta Oster, Communications Director, Roberta@virginiainterfaithcenter.org
Sheila Herlihy Hennessee, Director of Faith Organizing, Sheila@virginiainterfaithcenter.org
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The Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy advocates economic, racial, and social justice in Virginia’s policies and practices through education, prayer, and action. VICPP is a non-partisan coalition of more than 750 faith communities working for a more just society.