Advocacy

Advocacy

What is advocacy?
Advocacy is the behind-the-scenes action that allows Habitat for Humanity to work toward its mission of eliminating substandard housing. Building is the most tangible aspect of Habitat’s mission, but it is not the only piece of the puzzle. It takes more than a hammer to end poverty housing―it also takes advocacy.

For example, building cannot take place if local Habitat affiliates are without land to build on. Affiliates cannot acquire land, if local governments do not help them secure it. Local governments will only help us if public opinion favors it. Advocacy is when we work with local governments and members of the public to educate and convince them of the importance of affordable housing.

To learn more, listen to Habitat's advocacy podcast. (Please note, Act! Speak! Build! Week is now a year-round event with no registration deadline.)

Why advocate?
Volunteers everywhere are supporting Habitat’s mission to eliminate poverty housing by physically lifting a hammer and building houses. This is a part of ending poverty housing, but it does not end there.

Habitat for Humanity has built or repaired over 400,000 homes with more than 2 million people around the world. The need for safe, decent shelter, however, is increasing faster than we can build. More than 100 million people in the world today are homeless, according to United Nations’ estimates. Millions more face severe housing problems—living without adequate sanitation, electricity and security.

To solve the present worldwide housing crisis, Habitat for Humanity would need to build 200,000 homes per year for the next 50 years. At the end of those 50 years, we would still need to build an additional 1 billion houses. Why? To keep up with the growth of the world’s population during those years!

It is clear that other actions are necessary to assist people who live in poverty. Habitat needs to change systems, attitudes, policies and institutional behaviors that lead to inadequate housing and homelessness. These goals require new ways of thinking and long-term efforts in every facet of the organization to bring about lasting change. Advocacy is one part of that effort.

Advocacy tools and resources

  • Advocacy toolkit
    The toolkit is a comprehensive guide to youth advocacy. It includes Habitat for Humanity statistics and information, as well as checklists and tips for planning and implementing advocacy events.
  • Youth activities
    This guide has a variety of simple, interesting activities to help youth educate others while promoting change.
  • Habitat for Humanity’s Government Relations and Advocacy site
    Habitat for Humanity defines advocacy as changing systems, policies and attitudes to achieve decent housing for all.
  • Act! Speak! Build! Week
    This special week is Habitat’s international, student-initiated week of advocacy. It empowers youth to educate themselves and their communities and move people to social action.