Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation

Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation and Winterhouse Institute Launch Housing Public Awareness Campaign

March 31, 2010

GREAT BARRINGTON, MA—Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation and award-winning design firm Winterhouse Institute of Falls Village, CT today announced the launch of a public information campaign for HousingUs, a tri-state collaborative of nonprofit organizations and community leaders whose goal it is to promote broad-based housing options for seniors and working families in towns throughout the northwest corner of CT, northeast Dutchess and Columbia Counties, NY and Berkshire County, MA.

The HousingUs awareness campaign brings the issue of affordable housing to life through compelling stories from local people struggling to find an affordable place to live. “There is no better way to illustrate the issue of affordable housing than hearing real stories from the people most affected in our community,” noted William Drenttel, designer and partner at Winterhouse Institute. “This is an issue about us as a community: our teachers, our children, our grandparents, our nurses, our firefighters, our friends and neighbors.”

The campaign kicks off in April with billboards, a website and 80,000 brochures inserted into newspapers and mailed to residents throughout the tri-state area to enhance the understanding of affordable housing as key to the future success of our region. Winterhouse initiated, conceived and designed the project and secured funding through a grant for designers to support local nonprofit initiatives. The campaign is underwritten by a $30,000 grant from Sappi Fine Paper North America’s Ideas that Matter program.

David Rich, Berkshire Taconic board member and housing expert said, “Our hope is that this campaign will deepen the public conversation and help all of us work together to keep our communities healthy – with reasonably priced housing options for people of all ages, talents and backgrounds.”

In addition to illustrating why affordable housing options are vital to a healthy community, the HousingUs brochure and website answer frequently asked questions about housing options, reveal some surprising facts and figures about housing in the region and provide resources and action steps geared toward achieving local solutions to the problem. HousingUs has also developed guides to create accessory apartments, a possible source of affordable housing. These guides are available on the website and describe the process of how to secure permission for, design, build and find a tenant for an apartment in one’s home, barn or garage.

“The housing challenge is a pressing issue on the agendas of most towns in our region,” said Jennifer Dowley, president of Berkshire Taconic. “It is one of Berkshire Taconic’s goals to help find regional solutions that will protect the rich, diverse fabric of our communities. We want young people who grew up here to be able to stay and older residents to find adequate places to live when their large homes no longer fit their needs.”

HousingUs’s mission is to dramatically increase the rate of affordable housing development in the tri-state region. The organization achieves this mission by working in tandem with local communities to:

HousingUs, an initiative of Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, is comprised both of community representatives and nonprofit affordable housing developers who are committed to the vision and mission of promoting and providing affordable housing in the tri-state region. The advisory board includes Housing Resources of Columbia County, Inc, covering Columbia and Dutchess Counties, NY; the Community Development Corporation of South Berkshire, covering southern Berkshire County, MA; and the Women’s Institute for Housing and Economic Development, covering Litchfield County, CT. Other board members include highly motivated local community representatives and professionals from each of the three states who are dedicated to the goal of creating affordable housing and to the success of HousingUs and its mission.

For more information visit www.housingus.org or contact Jocelyn Ayer at 413.528.8163 x105 or jayer@housingus.org

Winterhouse Institute is the design consultancy of William Drenttel and Jessica Helfand, located in Falls Village, Connecticut. Their work focuses on social change and innovation, publishing and online media, and cultural and educational institutions. They are the recipients of a recent Rockefeller Foundation grant to develop collective action for social impact across the design industries, as well as the founders of Design Observer, the leading website about design, visual culture and urbanism.

Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation builds stronger communities and improves the quality of life for all residents of Berkshire County, MA; Columbia County and northeast Dutchess County, NY; and northwest Litchfield County, CT. Thanks to its generous donors, in 2009 Berkshire Taconic distributed nearly $7 million in scholarships and grants for programs in the arts and education, health and human services, and environmental protection. Berkshire Taconic is a 501 (c)(3) charitable organization.

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