ABOUT US
OUR MISSION
Through Education, Advocacy, and Community Partnerships, the Utah Housing Coalition is dedicated to promoting equitable and sustainable communities to ensure all Utahns have a safe and affordable place to call home.
We seek to accomplish our Mission through the following activities:
- Advocate at the local, state, and federal level
- Provide outreach and partnership-building among diverse groups
- Organize training and capacity building for housing professionals
- Disseminate data and information
- Engage in community education and outreach
- Conduct research and policy analysis
WHO WE ARE
Our Vision is a society where every person has access to decent and affordable housing. We take a holistic approach to our mission by:
- Increasing community education on matters of housing and finance;
- Providing a network of support for professionals in the housing industry; and
- Working with influencers and decision makers in the non-profit, for-profit, and public sectors.
HISTORY
For the first 27 years, the Coalition was run by volunteers. Twenty years ago, it hosted the first affordable housing conference in Utah. It was well received and has grown to be well respected. In September of 2005, the Coalition hired its first full-time employee. In January of 2006, UHC hired an additional employee.
The Coalition helped establish the Housing Education Coalition of Utah in 2006 -07. All HUD housing counselors came together to establish one state-wide curriculum.
In 2008, the Coalition received a $60,000 grant from CFED to conduct and enact positive manufactured housing policies. UHC has been leading the legislative efforts on this matter.
Through a $1.8 million dollar grant, UHC has lead the foreclosure prevention activities in our state. Our community partnership effort has created long-term resources to Utah’s homeowners.
We host monthly membership meetings for our 100 organizational and businesses members. These meetings offer opportunities to network and meet other affordable housing practitioners.
WHAT WE DO
EDUCATION
We seek to educate Utah’s housing professionals through informative monthly meetings and networking opportunities for members, professional trainings for housing counselors and the premier housing conference in Utah: The Annual Utah Housing Matters Conference. We also work to educate the community at large on housing issues through community fairs, mortgage servicer events intended to help homeowners work through the foreclosure process, and participation in community events and by supporting the outreach efforts and organizational missions of our members. Our renter project, the Renter Toolkit, promises to help bridge the communication gap between property owners and tenants and serve as an educational tool for renters to be successful in their housing situations.
ADVOCACY
In addition to advocating for affordable, safe, and accessible housing, Utah Housing Coalition produces up to-date fact sheets on housing issues and works with other advocates in the community. We work to educate policy makers on each bill that affects housing to ensure that current protections, policies, and programs remain in place for our most vulnerable community members. Additionally, we strive to improve statewide affordable housing opportunities by introducing new, innovative legislation to improve housing conditions in our state.
COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS
Utah Housing Coalition encourages healthy and viable community partnerships between our member organizations, local and statewide nonprofits, municipalities and other housing agencies. We believe that community partnerships help to build organizational capacity and help each of us make a greater impact with the work we do. The Coalition was recognized with a Special Achievement Award at the 2010 Regional NAHRO Conference for our work in fostering partnerships among housing counseling agencies and performing community outreach and education in the area of foreclosure prevention. We oversaw a $1.8 million grant for foreclosure prevention that helped nearly 1,300 Utah families avoid foreclosure over a two year period.
WAYS TO HELP UHC
Our work can’t be completed without the financial support of our sponsors and donors. As a personal appeal to all UHC members, would you consider making a donation ? Every single donation counts and would allow the Coalition to facilitate our expert members to be at the table at the right time. We have a lot of work ahead of us following the 2022 Legislative Session. Please donate here
