Members of the Open Communities Alliance Coalition work together to improve access to opportunity in Connecticut through grassroots advocacy, particularly on housing issues. This means that as a coalition member we need your help educating your community and policy stakeholders about the importance of policy changes that will generate access to opportunity. Coalition members:
- Attend quarterly meetings;
- Advocate for changes at the state level;
- Examine municipal policies that discourage inclusion and underpin segregation and promote systemic changes, and
- Elect 20% of OCA's Governance Board
Once you sign up for the Coalition, you will receive an email about upcoming Coalition meetings.
Take the Pledge: As a member of the Open Communities Alliance Coalition, I believe that:
- Where people live can have a significant impact on health outcomes, education, and job access, exposure to crime, and food security, among other opportunity factors.
- The disparities in access to opportunity available to different groups are caused by historical forces, contemporary government policies, discrimination, and lack of full information on housing options and neighborhood characteristics.
- Opportunity disparity must be addressed by both bringing resources to areas that are struggling and connecting people in need of opportunity to areas that are thriving. Many people in “lower opportunity” areas want to move to lower poverty areas. Many other people want to stay and strengthen their neighborhoods. We must all work together to make this choice possible.
- I am one of a broad cross section of Connecticut residents from all areas of the state care about diversity and want their children to grow up with others who reflect the full racial and ethnic diversity of our state.
- Because the population that is growing in Connecticut is the population of color, promoting diversity and integration is critical to the future economic success of Connecticut.
- To meet this challenge I will work with Open Communities Alliance and its partners to advocate for housing policies that promote access to opportunity, housing choice, and racial and ethnic integration using a range of advocacy strategies including legislative, administrative, and civil rights litigation approaches.
YES! I would like to join the Coalition!