Longstanding Advocacy Organizations Unite to Strengthen Affordable Housing Policy and Combat Homelessness in Vermont and Appoint Executive Director
Vermont Business Magazine In a landmark move to address Vermont’s urgent housing and homelessness challenges, the Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition and the Vermont Coalition to End Homelessness, two advocacy organizations with deep-rooted histories in Vermont, have merged to form a single organization: the Housing & Homelessness Alliance of Vermont (HHAV). As a merged organization, HHAV will help to unite voices from the housing and homelessness fields and leverage the expertise of its board and 60+ member organizations to meet the needs of vulnerable Vermonters and advocate for effective policies to ensure that all people living in Vermont have safe, stable, affordable homes and if homelessness occurs, it is brief, rare, and non-recurring.
Leadership from both organizations expressed their enthusiasm for this merger.
“The two organizations operated in tandem for over 30 years with shared membership and an overlapping vision of creating access to safe, stable, and affordable housing for all Vermonters.” said HHAV board member Kara Casey. “I am looking forward to seeing what the stronger merged organization will accomplish in the coming years.”
“As the Housing & Homelessness Alliance of Vermont, we will have a stronger and more unified voice in the Statehouse, a larger staff with more capacity, and more stable and sustainable funding streams,” said HHAV board member Jess Hyman. “The new organization will work toward a future in which all people living in Vermont have opportunity and choice in their housing. This includes the full spectrum of the affordable housing landscape, from rentals to homeownership, from shelter to subsidies and services, from new development to sustaining existing affordable housing, and so much more.”
The HHAV Board of Directors has also selected Frank Knaack as its Executive Director to lead the organization at this pivotal time when the state faces a critical affordable housing shortage and homelessness crisis that was exacerbated by the COVID pandemic and the recent devastating flooding.
Knaack, who grew up in Manchester and is a graduate of the Stratton Mountain School and the University of Vermont, will step into the leadership role at HHAV after nearly 20 years of implementing and advancing human rights initiatives across the country.
“Ensuring safe and stable housing is a first step toward building communities that are truly safe and equitable for all,” said Knaack. “I am excited and grateful for the opportunity to join HHAV’s dedicated staff, board, and members and work toward a Vermont that ensures the basic right to housing for all.”
Knaack previously served as Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of South Carolina, the Montana Innocence Project, and the Alabama Appleseed Center for Law and Justice and has also served in leadership roles with the ACLU of New Hampshire, ACLU of Virginia, and ACLU of Texas. His experience developing and leading statewide organizations is accompanied by a proven track record of integrating strategic communications, community organizing and mobilization, research and documentation, litigation, and legislative advocacy to achieve major public policy victories, including ending judicial override in capital sentencing and stopping sheriffs from personally profiting from jail food money in Alabama, expanding overdose prevention tools in New Hampshire and Virginia, and reining in the school-to-prison pipeline in Texas.
The boards and membership of both the VAHC and VCEH successfully voted to merge in August 2023, and its membership drive is live. For more information or to become a member or donate, go to: https://helpingtohousevt.org/membership/.
Knaack began his position on December 18.
Source: 1.8.2024. Montpelier, VT - Housing & Homelessness Alliance of Vermont
