Nehemiah: Making Home Affordable for All

Winning Criminal Justice Reform at The State and Local Levels

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Building Power & Training New Leaders and Organizers Through On-Going Local Action

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We are leaders and organizers who use the power we build to improve the lives of our families, communities, regions, and nation.

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Featured Video

Watch the CBS News/Ted Koppel story on IAF Nehemiah Housing work:

Remembering

Ed Chambers

Edward Chambers, Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) National Director, died 10 years ago on April 26, 2015. We stop to remember "Big Ed” Chambers, as Studs Terkel affectionately and respectfully called him, for his leadership in creating the modern IAF after the death of IAF’s founder & Ed Chambers’ mentor, Saul Alinsky. IAF organizers and leaders are inheritors of the IAF legacy Ed Chambers created along with other organizers and leaders of his and our generation—50+ IAF organizations across the US and abroad, 130 professional organizers and many thousands of trained leaders building and wielding power, doing politics, and winning proudly and strategically to make change on housing, immigrant rights, criminal justice reform, and more at the local level, state, and national levels. We share these remembrances from 10 years ago to honor Ed Chambers—our teacher, agitator, and public friend.

Willam Chambers

Sam Freedman in the New Yorker

Michael Gecan, IAF Co-Director Emeritus

Sister Christine Stephens, former IAF Co-Director

Victories

		Key Victories from 2024 In 2024, IAF/Metro IAF organizations demonstrated the power of local organizing to win major victories at the local, metropolitan, and state levels on multiple issues. Here is a summary of those victories.
		Stable Homes Unanimously Approved New plan, money, to help mobile home residents displaced by development in Cary, NC. Learn more.
		Public Land for Public Good In New York, Queens Power and EBC turned out to pressure the governor to keep her comment to affordable housing. Learn more.
		More Funding for Community Mental Health Workers More than $400k dedicated to support and expand the Mentes Fuertes (Strong Minds) program in Orange County, NC. Learn more.
		Ending Parole Fees Starting in October, Marylanders reentering society after a period in prison will no longer face a state fee for parole supervision. Learn more.