“We applaud Attorney General Campbell for her commitment to enforcing state housing laws so that all people have opportunities to find homes they can afford in communities they choose,” said CHAPA CEO Rachel Heller. “We hope that communities utilize the many resources available to implement the law, including CHAPA’s cost-free technical assistance program.”

Since May, I’ve talked to over 30 Massachusetts housing experts from multiple sectors –advocates, developers, funders, regulators – with another dozen local and national interviews scheduled for my summer calendar. These interviews have surfaced three areas of “yes,” where CHAPA’s new Housing Policy Action Center can add value.

As Heller puts it, “There’s been a lot of good policies that have been put in place over thelast few years. And we need more.”

“We have generational wealth being created by those who had access to homeownership,”Gasser said. “And all the economic benefit that comes from that system perpetuates itself,and unless you’re going to create the supply necessary to create affordable new entrypoints, it’s going to be very difficult to narrow the racial homeownership gap.”

“It’s a very holistic look at what we need to move forward,” said Jenna Connolly, director of communications and events at the Citizens’ Housing & Planning Association. “It doesn’t just focus on one part of the industry. It really just lays out like this is everything we need in order to have the future we want for Massachusetts.”

The Boston Globe
“As disappointing as the vote in Needham is, the overwhelming trend in Massachusetts is unchanged: cities and towns are consistently giving the green light to more housing because voters know that the future of our commonwealth depends on investing in housing,” Rachel Heller, the group’s chief executive, said in a statement.”