PICO California Action Fund

In 2023, the PICO California network embarked on a statewide campaign to address the states massive and growing housing affordability and homelessness crisis. Our broad, consistent, and powerful organizing ensured that state representatives heard our voices loud and clear about the urgent need to protect renters and prevent homelessness. As a result, we helped to pass three pieces of legislation streamlining the state approval process for affordable housing development on faith institution and school land, protecting low-wage renters against no-fault evictions and closing common eviction loopholes, and making it unlawful for landlords to use nuisance ordinances to discriminate against renters.In March, our first of two leadership assemblies united leaders from across the network to uplift vulnerable communities and affirm our organizing agenda based upon the urgency of housing justice. And thus, the Home Is Sacred campaign was born. Our network selected three bills that affect different areas of the housing market: ?SB4: Streamlining the process for affordable housing to be built on faith and educational institution lands?SB567: Protecting millions of tenants from unjust evictions and closing loopholes exploited by corporate landlords?AB1418: Making it unlawful for landlords to use nuisance ordinances to discriminate against tenants With our legislative champions and co-sponsors, we held a press conference in March for the launch of the Homelessness Prevention Act (SB567), our cornerstone bill.In April, 672 leaders, organizers, and clergy from 19 counties descended upon the State Capitol to demand an end to unjust evictions, skyrocketing rents, and corporate influence over the states housing policies.We met with 43 state legislators and gave powerful public testimonies on the Capitol doorsteps. Our team drove thousands of calls and emails to state legislators and contacted thousands of voters through phone banking with our partners at the Million Voters Project.In April and May, we overcame the first major hurdles in our fight. Despite relentless opposition from powerful corporate interests, our organizing efforts and public actions from San Francisco to Pasadena pushed our Home Is Sacred bills past their respective committees and onto the floors of the Senate and Assembly, where they would later pass.Our Home is Sacred Summer was an inspiring season of organizing as thousands of grassroots leaders rallied for housing justice across California through community actions, research meetings with legislators, and sharing their stories at legislative committee meetings.Our message echoed in the news, social media, and the halls of the Capitol. Legislators heard our voices and felt our collective power as we called on them to cut off the pipelines to homelessness and keep our families housed. San Jose - Dozens of PACT SJ leaders from across Santa Clara county gathered to share how the housing crisis has affected them and their loved ones.San Diego - More than 200 leaders and clergy from the San Diego Organizing Project dove into our Home is Sacred campaign with Assemblymember David Alvarez.Oakland - Our siblings from Faith in Action East Bay convened with a shared purpose, rooted in faith and driven by the urgent need to advocate for housing for all.Sacramento - Nearly 200 grassroots leaders from Sacramento Area Congregations Together reflected on urgent housing needs and expressed power with their elected officials.Central Valley - The stories and experiences of our siblings from Faith in the Valley echoed the struggles and pain of our siblings across California.Northern California - Faith leaders of True North Organizing Network in Humboldt and Del Norte counties drove calls to Assemblymember Jim Wood urging him to take action on the states housing and homelessness crisis.Silicon Valley - Dozens of leaders in Faith in Action Bay Area met with council members in Redwood City to demand that the city establish harassment protections and a right to stay ordinance that protects renters after renovations.Inland Empire - Grassroots leaders from across Riverside and San Bernardino counties representing Inland Congregations United for Change drove calls to state legislators to demand greater protections against unjust evictions.Los Angeles - LA Voice held a weeklong Preaching and Teaching series for Home Is Sacred with dozens of congregations in their community.In late September and early October, Gov. Newsom signed our three Home Is Sacred policy priorities into law. After months of organizing with clergy, grassroots leaders, organizers, and communicators, and thousands of faith-based, justice-oriented Californians meeting with legislators, marching in processions, making calls, sending emails, flooding social media, writing op-eds, and holding vigils and prayers, our bills made it across the finish line. We estimate that our Home Is Sacred policy priorities passed into law will benefit over two million Californians by closing common eviction loopholes, increasing the supply of affordable housing, and preventing evictions due to nuisance ordinances.