Advocacy & Policy

Our Work in Advocacy & Policy

Building Changes partners with housing and homelessness advocacy organizations, public entities, and private philanthropy to promote effective programs, pass legislation, and maintain or increase funding aimed at ending homelessness. Our advocacy efforts are informed by emerging research and best practices from around the country.

Washington State Advocacy

As a key advocate for ending homelessness in Washington State, Building Changes works hand-in-hand with community leaders and advocacy partners to influence how state and local funding are used to prevent and end homelessness. We collaborate with leaders across multiple systems and programs to develop new approaches for ending homelessness and to build political will for lasting change.

We are currently developing our priorities for the 2012 legislative session. For an overview of our past legislative priorities, go to State Advocacy.

Federal Advocacy

Building Changes supports the advocacy strategies of national partners to enact federal legislation and regulatory changes that will help end homelessness in Washington State. We coordinate efforts with a range of national organizations, including the National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH) and the Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH,) and offer important evaluation data and best practices from Washington State to support effective federal policies. Our goal is to increase federal funding and support for Washington State and to promote innovation. For an overview of the Federal policy issues affecting our state, go to Federal Advocacy.

Policy Work

Building Changes is advancing its mission to end homelessness in Washington State by developing policy recommendations around a number of key strategies that map to the USICH Federal Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness. In February 2011, we released a policy paper on emerging approaches to ending family homelessness. To access the policy paper, go to Family Homelessness Strategy.