NNA and Coast-to-Coast Coalition Announce Launch of Home Matters™

WASHINGTON, March 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The National NeighborWorks® Association joined a coast-to-coast coalition in announcing on Capitol Hill today the launch of Home Matters™, a unique national initiative that aims to unite America around the essential role that Home plays as the bedrock for thriving lives, families, and a stronger nation.

The initiative emerged from a growing coalition of housing and community development organizations across the country whose leaders believe that the importance of Home, as a core building block for America, is not sufficiently recognized. As it grows, Home Matters will go beyond housing and illuminate the connections between stable housing and other important facets of American life such as:

• Individual Success: Home recharges adults and children alike for the day ahead.
• Education: Children in stable homes learn and achieve more in school.
• Health: Healthy habits take root more easily in stable affordable homes.
• Public Safety: Stable homes make communities safer.

Home Matters is spearheaded by a coast-to-coast coalition of leaders, community groups, nonprofit organizations, companies, and the public at large. That coalition includes regional and local organizations providing housing and related services in 26 states – from California to Vermont, Florida to Washington – as well as national entities like the National NeighborWorks Association, Citi Community Development, and Wells Fargo.

The launch took place on Capitol Hill with hundreds of leaders of housing and community development organizations gathered from all over the nation. Launch events include a gathering later today with Members of Congress on Capitol Hill and a keynote address tomorrow by U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan.

In raising public awareness of the importance of Home, Home Matters will do the following: educate, highlighting the benefits of Home; collaborate, bringing disparate organizations and industries together; engage, rallying local leaders and mobilizing the public; advocate, encouraging policymakers to protect and support Home and related initiatives; support, raising funds and increasing investments to sustain the work that makes Home a reality for more Americans; and, celebrate, promoting and honoring the extraordinary impact of Home.

More information on Home Matters is available at www.HomeMattersAmerica.com.

SOURCE National NeighborWorks Association