AHAB selects presenters, frames message for Affordable Housing Month proclamation on May 20

At its May 8 meeting the Affordable Housing Advisory Board agreed to present the City of Lawrence’s Affordable Housing Month proclamation to the City Commission on May 20, and selected presenters for the proclamation. Chair Christina Gentry and AHAB member Mariel agreed to present; staff invited directors of local affordable housing nonprofits to attend and comment.

Board members recommended a proclamation message that balances urgency and accomplishment. Leah Rosen, the city staff liaison, explained national and state funding contexts being discussed at affordable housing conferences and said those trends informed the recommended messaging. She told the board that a proposed federal budget had included large cuts to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) programs and that state changes to the low-income housing tax credit had already reduced a local financing tool. Rosen said the combined effect would “have a very dire impact on communities across the country” if enacted.

Members said the proclamation should uplift lived experience and call the broader community—nonprofits, university, hospital systems and private partners—to innovate on local funding and solutions. “Instead of wallowing in despair, I would really encourage us to lean in a little bit deeper in how we use this trust fund and how we talk about affordable housing policy,” a member said. Several members also asked that the proclamation highlight recent local accomplishments, such as Delmar Place, a 32-unit senior housing project expected to open in October and using voucher-based units to address a local waitlist.

Board members noted the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund as a local asset and urged the proclamation to call for finding additional funding sources. They also discussed logistics: the AHAB subcommittee will begin meeting on May 20 (some members’ calendars overlap), and staff confirmed presentations normally occur early in the city commission agenda; staff asked participants to arrive for the May 20 commission meeting beginning at 5:45 p.m.

No formal vote was required to schedule presenters. The board endorsed the presentation plan and messaging priorities and asked staff to coordinate attendees with city commission staff.