Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation

Berkshire Taconic’s HousingUs Campaign Wins Award

December 16, 2010

SHEFFIELD, MA—Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation announced today that its HousingUs campaign, designed to raise awareness of the need for affordable housing, has been recognized by The Connecticut Chapter of the American Planning Association (CCAPA) with an award for Outstanding Planning Effort in Connecticut. The American Planning Association is the national organization of professional planners and citizens involved in planning for our nation's communities.

At its annual awards luncheon on December 3, 2010 in Middletown, Connecticut, the CCAPA announced award recipients for outstanding planning efforts across the State of Connecticut.

Berkshire Taconic’s HousingUs initiative is a tri–state collaborative effort of nonprofit organizations and community leaders promoting broad–based affordable housing options in towns throughout the northwest corner of Connecticut as well as parts of New York State and Massachusetts.

HousingUs launched a multi-media campaign designed by the design firm Winterhouse Institute of Falls Village, CT that included a website, a direct mail campaign, an insert in four local newspapers, radio interviews and billboards. The campaign’s purpose was to “put the us back in housing” by putting a human face on the need for affordable housing for teachers, seniors, volunteer firefighters, nurses, grandparents and young families. The newspaper insert which also served as a direct mail piece was particularly poignant, featuring residents of Salisbury, Norfolk and Canaan. The insert begins, “They are firefighters and school teachers, farmers and carpenters, plumbers and bank tellers and artists. They are our neighbors and friends, our grandparents and grandchildren. They are US.”

“The response to the HousingUs awareness campaign has been phenomenal,” said Jocelyn Ayer, HousingUs coordinator. “People have approached us to say that the campaign has given them a new perspective on who in our small towns need affordable housing and asking how they can help. Local housing committees are forming and working together to find solutions that work for all their citizens.”

HousingUs has followed up the awareness campaign with the development of the Accessory Apartment Program, an effort geared toward establishing apartments in homes as one way to address the need for affordable housing.

Said Ayer, “The need for housing options in our small towns isn’t going away any time soon. We are doing all we can to raise awareness of this need and to proactively address the issue with creative solutions.”

For more information about local housing organizations visit HousingUs.org, or contact Jocelyn Ayer or 413.229.0370 x105.

The HousingUs awareness campaign was created by Winterhouse Institute, 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 northwest Litchfield County, CT; Berkshire County, MA; and Columbia County and northeast Dutchess County, NY, acting as an agent for positive change in the region.

Since 1987, Berkshire Taconic has managed a growing collection of charitable funds created by individuals, families and businesses. Each year, the foundation distributes over $7 million through grants and scholarships for programs in the arts and education, health and human services and environmental protection, helping thousands of donors achieve their philanthropic goals and hundreds of nonprofits carry on their good work. Berkshire Taconic is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity.

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