“Solidarity in Action” – Three Takeaways from Housing California 2025

The 2025 Housing California Conference, themed “Solidarity in Action: Building Power to Transform Communities,” brought together advocates, policymakers, direct service providers, affordable housing developers, and community organizers committed to solving California’s housing crisis. From narrative strategies to data-driven interventions, the conference demonstrated how collective action and clear messaging are essential to achieving housing justice.

1. Narrative is Power – But Simplicity is Key

At multiple sessions, panelists emphasized that narrative isn’t just a communications tool — it’s a strategy. Yet many participants also expressed that housing issues often feel overwhelming or “too complex” to effectively advocate around.

The takeaway? Narratives must be made digestible. If advocates want to scale up their involvement, the messaging must clearly communicate what policies do, who they benefit, and what the trade-offs are. Advocates must communicate with hope and make clear the connections between housing and other policy issues, such as mitigating climate change, perceptions of public safety, and public health.

2. We Can’t Shift Policy Without Shifting Public Perception

Sessions like “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: New Findings From Voter and Messaging Research About Housing Policy“ and “Lessons From a Year-Long Campaign to Shift Voter Mindsets“ provided insight into how voters view housing issues — and how those perceptions can be changed. Research revealed both support and hesitancy among voters, particularly when proposed policies might impact affordability.

To win public support, advocates must craft messages rooted in empathy, shared values, and the lived experiences of individuals directly affected by housing instability.

The team behind the Begins with Home campaign provided useful framing around using hope in messaging in such a complex and deeply personal policy issue:

“We talk a lot about hope in the Begins with Home strategy, and we want to be clear what we mean and don’t mean. We don’t mean that everything is fine or will be fine, that the status quo is acceptable. We mean that the status quo is a choice, and we have the power to make things better. We don’t mean that we can’t talk about the problem, or injustice, or our grief. We mean that the problem is not insurmountable — that injustice can be rectified. Hope is a precursor, an antidote to cynicism, a foundation for getting organized and taking action.”

3. Data-Driven Solutions Are the Future

In “Data-Driven Strategies to Reduce and Prevent Homelessness,” presenters shared how real-time data is helping to identify trends, target prevention, and inform policy. This session reinforced the need for precision: the more we understand about who is at risk, the more effectively we can deploy resources to help. However, the researchers made clear that data is meant to empower advocates, not replace people’s stories. Personal narratives are just as crucial as quantitative analysis in winning over voters and elected officials.

The intersection of data and storytelling could be one of our most powerful tools moving forward.

You can view all of the session recordings and presentations. A big thank you to Housing California for hosting such a successful convening!