Lift to Rise celebrates successful rollout of Action Plan for affordable housing
Lift to Rise and partners spent more than seven months developing and deploying their new two-year strategic plan for building more affordable housing in the Coachella Valley.
And on June 25, they celebrated those months of hard work with a dinner event at Casuelas Café in Palm Desert.
Lift to Rise, a Coachella Valley nonprofit, and the more than 75 partners that make up its Housing Collaborative Action Network (CAN) officially released their 2024-26 Action Plan in May and have since been working to share its strategies and goals with the wider community. A special town hall event presenting the Action Plan to the public was also held June 25 at UC Riverside-Palm Desert prior to the evening celebration.
The network of partners, including private and public sector leaders and community advocates, are working on a bold 10-year plan to radically increase housing stability and economic mobility in the Coachella Valley. A key component of that plan is the creation of 10,000 new units of affordable housing in the valley by 2028.
Every two years, partners assess their progress toward that goal and set new strategies using data analysis and community input.
The new Action Plan sets a goal of reaching 7,500 new units of affordable housing by 2026, with an emphasis on units connected to early childhood education and health services. The Action Plan also lays out six strategic priorities, including building greater public awareness and support for affordable housing in the region and working to ensure affordable housing opportunities are not limited by utilities and underdeveloped infrastructure.
"The Action Plan is our roadmap for the next two years," said Lift to Rise CEO and President Heather Vaikona. "We created it out of our continued commitment to a belief that we can achieve dramatic results that meet the scale of the challenges facing our community. Our motivation remains deep love and care for everyone in the Coachella Valley. All people need shelter, and we are striving to meet that need in every way we know possible."
Developing the new Action Plan was an authentic collaborative process that began in December with a series of community listening sessions where residents across the Coachella Valley shared their concerns about the cost of housing and other economic hurdles. Then in January, partners came together for a two-day conversation about the wins and challenges over the previous two years, and to name priorities and strategies for the next two years.
Since 2022, the CAN's collaborative effort has led to a dramatic increase in affordable housing production in the Coachella Valley: approximately 1,200 units in 2024, up from a yearly average of 38 units prior to 2018. Additionally, Lift to Rise launched the Affordable Housing Pipeline Portal, a publicly available online tool for mapping and tracking affordable housing development; grew We Lift: The Coachella Valley's Housing Catalyst Fund to $44 million with $26 million in loan commitments; and partnered with local governments, state policymakers, and a growing network of engaged community members to advance affordable housing policies and projects.
Lift to Rise recently presented the Action Plan at meetings of all nine city councils in the Coachella Valley. Riverside County and every city in the valley are partners in the Lift to Rise collaborative network working on increasing affordable housing locally.
The Action Plan also points out ways that anyone, regardless of background or interests, can join Lift to Rise's work and contribute to a brighter future in the Coachella Valley. Residents can join the new initiative Committees by Cities, business owners can support affordable housing and living wage initiatives and nonprofit workers can joining the Housing CAN or Resident Leadership Table.
More information about the Action Plan and ways to get involved can be found at lifttorise.org/actionplan.
Barrett Newkirk is the director of strategic communications for Lift to Rise.