It is often said that wisdom comes with age, but I have discovered that truly, wisdom knows no age…
Recently, I had the great opportunity to spend time with a group of high school students volunteering with Habitat for Humanity of Cabarrus County. They are the steering committee for the Youth United Program, an initiative in which youth sponsor and build a Habitat home. However, these young leaders have gone above and beyond the call of duty. In addition to the hard work of fundraising and construction, they have discovered the important role of advocacy in accomplishing Habitat’s mission.
Last year, the Youth United group was disheartened to discover that their local Habitat for Humanity affiliate would not be able to build as many homes and serve as many families as it had the year before, because of shrinking funds. The students realized that this problem might be avoided if there were more state and federal dollars devoted to the development of affordable housing. With the help of Habitat Cabarrus, they decided to take the matter into their own hands and hold an informational forum for their local, state, and federal elected officials to let them know of the issue. Prior to the event, the steering committee invited Chris Estes, from our organization, to come and share information about housing needs and data for North Carolina. They used that information to fashion a presentation for the forum.
Because of the success last year’s event, the steering committee was eager to hold another in 2009. I had the pleasure of holding an advocacy workshop with the group, as Chris did last year. I shared information about the importance of advocacy, housing data for North Carolina and Cabarrus County, and the legislative priorities of the NC Housing Coalition as well as Habitat for Humanity International. The students used that information, as well as their own research and experience to make a presentation to their local elected leaders last Friday. The conference room was packed with officials including city council members, county leaders, Representative Linda Johnson, and Deputy District Director for Congressman Larry Kissell.
As a younger person working in housing advocacy, I am certainly aware of the fear and intimidation that comes with addressing elected officials. Will I be taken seriously? Will they care what I have to say? These inspiring students have not let their fear get the better of them, quite the opposite actually. They are using their enthusiasm and knowledge to make a positive impact. If we all had the drive, passion, and clarity of thought of these young leaders -- what a world this would be!
Everyone, at any age, deserves a safe, decent, affordable place to live. Just the same, we can advocate for housing whether we are five or ninety-five.
Thank you to our Youth United friends in Cabarrus County for keeping us all inspired!
Carley Ruff
Policy and Outreach Coordinator
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