When a great ship is harbored and moored, it is safe, there can be no doubt. But that is not what great ships are built for.– Clarissa Pinkola Estés

On Sunday, over 150 VOICE leaders gathered at St. Paul UMC in Woodbridge for our Annual Meeting—a powerful moment of unity, vision, and renewal in a time of uncertainty. We came together to celebrate recent victories, set our course for the year ahead, and strengthen the trusted relationships that sustain our work.

A Moment of Vision and Commitment The Annual Meeting was a chance to reflect on what we have accomplished and to recommit to the work that lies ahead. We extend our deepest gratitude to Virginia Housing for sponsoring the event and for their ongoing commitment to expanding affordable housing across the Commonwealth.Throughout the meeting, leaders engaged in small group discussions and reaffirmed our core commitments as a collective:

Expanding affordable and abundant housing locally and statewide.

Implementing innovative strategies to support families facing behavioral health challenges.

Strengthening our emerging partnership with organized labor.

Protecting our communities from federal-level harms.

Now is the Time to Engage
Our local strategy and action teams are where our shared priorities take shape and bear fruit. Now is the time to reconnect with your local core team, your organizer, and your fellow leaders. Bring your personal power to this collective work—because real change happens when we come together.What we experienced on Sunday—and what we are reminded of time and again—is that it’s easy to become cynical, isolated, or even despairing when we’re doom-scrolling alone. But when we gather in person, we sustain hope, generate creative energy, and build the momentum needed for real change.

Step Back In
Whether you were able to attend the meeting or not, we encourage you to reach out, schedule a one-on-one with someone new, and step back in. The urgency of this moment demands all of us.Additionally, we know that this work is not possible without sustained support. If you are not yet a sustaining donor of VOICE, we hope you will make 2025 the year you begin giving monthly. The work ahead is urgent, and we need you in it. Donate here.

Key Resources from the Annual Meeting:

Impact Report

Strategic Plan

Honoring Leadership Transitions

We also want to take a moment to acknowledge the exceptional leaders cycling off VOICE’s Strategy Team (Board of Directors) due to term limits. Their dedication has been invaluable:

• Rev. Dr. Keith Savage, First Baptist Church of Manassas (former Co-Chair)
• Hillary Horn, Temple Rodef Shalom
• Kevin Harris, Alexandria Redevelopment & Housing Authority
• Saif Rahman, Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center

At the same time, we warmly welcome our newest Strategy Team members:

• Rev. Dr. Michael Sessoms (newly elected Co-Chair)
• Sis. Shellie McKinney, Mothers of Muslims Network
• Imam Naeem Baig, Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center
• Rabbi Jeffrey Saxe, Temple Rodef Shalom

We are grateful for your leadership and look forward to the year ahead as we continue to build power together.

The work is urgent. Let’s move forward—together.

On January 20th, VOICE leaders and allies in the Commonwealth Housing Coalition (CHC) participated in a second day of lobbying in Richmond, pushing for bold action to tackle Virginia’s housing crisis. We learned a lot, and we moved the needle with many key legislators. Unfortunately, since then, all three bills CHC was backing have been killed or severely watered down. 

But we’re not backing down. The fight for more affordable and abundant housing isn’t over—it’s just moving into a new phase. We need to make it easier to build a lot more homes if we’re going to make a real dent in this crisis. That’s the core issue we brought to Richmond, and it’s laid out clearly in this Washington Post article.

We’re regathering, strategizing, and setting our next steps—and we need you with us. Join us at VOICE’s Annual Meeting on February 23rd, where we’ll map out the next phase of this fight. This is a key moment—don’t miss your chance to help shape what comes next.

Sign up for the Annual Meeting here!

Why It Matters

Virginia needs over 200,000 more affordable homes, yet too many policies still make it harder, not easier, to build them. Families are being priced out, seniors struggle to find accessible housing, and workers can’t afford to live near their jobs. This crisis won’t fix itself—we need bold action.

That’s why we showed up in Richmond—to make sure legislators heard directly from us. Over 30 VOICE leaders and allies met face-to-face with key decision-makers, pushing them to prioritize housing. Since this campaign began, we’ve met with other 50 local and state leaders. Our presence made it clear: Virginians are organized, informed, and not backing down.

This is a multi-year fight, and every conversation moves us closer to change. Join us at VOICE’s Annual Meeting on February 23rd to plan our next steps and keep the pressure on.

On the 13th, 20 dedicated VOICE leaders joined forces with HOME as part of the Commonwealth Housing Coalition (CHC) for an impactful lobbying trip to Richmond. Our mission? To advocate for bold, pro-housing solutions to address Virginia’s growing housing crisis. Together, we met with 18 state legislators to build support for three critical housing bills currently under consideration in this legislative session.

Here is a summary of the three Bills our group lobbied for on Monday. Getting all three of these pieces of legislation passed is a key part of our ongoing Affordable and Abundant housing campaign. 

Yes in God’s Backyard | SB 1351 | Fact Sheet  | Video There are 74k acres of land in the commonwealth of Virginia owned by faith institutions. Many of those institutions are eager to use that land to build more affordable housing units. Cumbersome zoning regulations at the local level have impeded this effort. Senator Srinavasan’s (SB1351) bill will help to address those regulatory roadblocks and we urge the Senate to pass this bill. 

CHC is also supportive of the goals of the Faith in Housing Bill ( HB 2153  |  SB 233 ) However we believe stronger state leadership is needed. We urged a change to line 25, “any locality may by ordinance adapt a faith and housing program that creates an expedited or simplified zoning or approval process”, changing “may” to “shall” would ensure any faith institution in any locality would have the freedom to use their property to build affordable housing units should they wish to. 

Allowing Accessory Dwelling Units | HB 1832 |  SB 932  |  Fact Sheet This legislation would enable homeowners across Virginia to build backyard cottages on their property. Allowing homeowners to build an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) in their backyard, side yard, or within their existing house is an important step to address our housing needs by easily increasing housing density. All Virginians – no matter their age, income or background – deserve a place to call home, and this bill will help to build more backyard cottages across the Commonwealth.

Allowing Homes Near Jobs | SB 839  | Fact Sheet The Commonwealth Housing Coalition proudly supports Housing Near Jobs to provide desperately needed homes near employment centers and commerce by legalizing apartments and mixed-use buildings in commercial areas. This bill is good for workers, business, and the economy by allowing Virginia’s workers to leave near hobs. We urge you to support this critically needed legislation.  

Putting “Yes in God’s Backyard” Front and Center

One of the primary focuses of our efforts was the “Yes in God’s Backyard” legislation, a forward-thinking proposal aimed at cutting through the red tape that hinders faith communities from building affordable housing on their land. With over 73,000 acres of faith-owned land statewide, even modest steps toward development could make a substantial impact. This legislation empowers faith communities to answer the call to serve their neighbors by creating desperately needed affordable housing while reducing the years of delays and high costs associated with zoning and permitting.

VOICE leaders have been working tirelessly to advance this key piece of legislation. Across our regions, we’ve met with 20 local elected officials, held listening campaigns in our communities to learn more deeply about the issue and have been  building momentum for this transformative initiative. In Richmond, we brought this energy and passion directly to lawmakers, sharing personal experiences from faith institutions trying to convert their land into affordable housing developments and stories from individuals affected by the housing shortage that underscored why this bill matters to our families, our neighbors, and our faith communities.

What’s Next?

We are doing it again! Join us next Monday the 20th for another day of lobbying for pro-housing legislation in Richmond. 

Sign up here!

Also check out our video we made in collaboration with the Commonwealth Housing Coalition highlighting the housing crisis in Virginia and our proposed solutions!