ST. GEORGE — In Washington County, the scenario has become all too familiar: An individual accepts a position with their future employer only to turn it down a few days or weeks later because they can’t find a place they can afford to buy or rent.
This means a shortage of teachers which affects the quality of education in the classroom, less law enforcement personnel to ensure public safety, and a strain to provide the best health care to residents.
But instead of just wringing their hands, members of the Housing Action Coalition have been working to offer up real solutions to meet the housing challenge, and they’re providing opportunities for the entire community to get actively involved in those efforts, according to a news release from HAC.
To address this situation, HAC is sponsoring “Meeting the Attainable Housing Challenge: The Power of Multi-Sector Solutions for Our Community.” This is the first annual forum and expo presented by the HAC in Southern Utah. The event will be Thursday, Nov. 3, at the Dixie Convention Center, 1835 S Convention Center Drive, St. George. Expo opens at 10:30 a.m., and the program runs from 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
According to the news release, “The event will introduce HAC’s purpose and goals and present the findings of a study on housing personas to illustrate who needs housing in Washington County.”
Two panels of expert leaders will speak to some of the major challenges that historically have prevented the region from
closing the attainable housing gap including the cost of construction, outdated zoning ordinances and short-term rental policies, the news release said.
Attendees can expect to learn about “innovative, sometimes ground- breaking yet common-sense solutions to tackle the housing issue such as resource sharing frameworks, a shared-equity-home-ownership model and collaborative
partnerships,” the news release said.
The forum will close with a call to action to get attendees actively involved in one of four working groups that are part of HAC’s efforts.
For more information or to register for the event, visit the Washington County Housing Action Coalition website.
According to the news release:
The Housing Action Coalition (HAC) is a group of public and private leaders, municipal and community stakeholders and concerned citizens working collaboratively to create attainable housing for all Washington County residents. Attainable housing is safe and affordable housing of all types for all ages and income levels. HAC members seek to expand homeownership to build foundations for healthier, happier families and a stronger community.