Become Informed and Inspired.

1. Learn about Columbia’s housing crisis and the Affordable Housing Coalition. Read recent minutes from the Affordable Housing Coalition.

Help with an Immediate Crisis.

2. Pay for a one week stay for a family at a local hotel.

3. Provide an “essentials” care basket to a newly homeless family.

Volunteer to Help People Get and Stay Housed.

4. Become a Love Columbia housing search coach (help people find affordable housing, enhance their rentability, and view properties/talk with prospective landlords).

5. Become a Love Columbia housing maintenance coach (teach basic cleaning, simple home maintenance skills, and tenant rights/responsibilities).

6. Become a Love Columbia financial or career coach (teach basic financial and career success practices).

7. Help people furnish their homes (join a Love Seat furniture bank delivery team or help a family in transition move their belongings).

8. Help people on the path to home ownership (coach an individual or teach a class).

Donate Individually or as a Group.

9. Pay an old utility bill preventing a family from securing permanent housing.

10. Sponsor an Extra Mile transition home by paying utility bills for one month, one year or ongoing.

11. Sponsor an Extra Mile Homes family (provide welcome basket and family activities).

12. Donate unneeded furniture and housewares to The Love Seat furniture bank.

13. Host a neighborhood furniture drive for The Love Seat furniture bank.

Create Affordable Housing.

14. Learn about projects currently planned by affordable housing coalition partners and financially support them.

15. If you own property, lend a unit to the Extra Mile Homes program (where families with kids transition from homelessness to affordable housing).

16. If you own property, learn about housing choice vouchers and new landlord support program. Consider renting to someone with a voucher.

17. If you own property, consider renting at less than market rate.

18. Buy property for Steps 15, 16 or 17 — either individually or as a faith community or other group. Promote neighborhood revitalization by choosing to repair an abandoned/neglected property.

19. If you are a developer, learn about funding options to build affordable housing and work with others to build a multi-unit complex with supportive services.

20. Dream big and collaborate with others to finance and build transitional and affordable housing. Look at Columbia with new eyes to see current unused property that could become affordable housing.

Advocate for Our Unhoused Neighbors.

21. Help inform city, county, and state officials and your neighbors about the Columbia housing crisis and urge them to make solutions a priority.

22. Believe Columbia can become a model city where our neighbors who want housing can find and keep it. Then, converse with others to stimulate creative solutions.

If you are interested in further discussion on how you can step into the housing crisis, click the button below to get in touch.