September is Affordable Housing and Hunger Action Month

Arlington County and a local nonprofit are raising awareness of housing and hunger in September.

September is Affordable Housing Month in Arlington. Throughout the month, Arlington County will be holding events that celebrate “the County’s long-term commitment to preserving and creating housing opportunities that benefit the whole community.”

There will be bus and bike tours of affordable housing complexes, a speech from national affordable housing advocate Chris Estes and a public forum about the benefits and challenges of offering affordable housing in the county.

During the month, there will also be public hearings on the Affordable Housing Master Plan on Sept. 8 and 19. The plan addresses the decline of affordable housing in the county and includes the creation of 15,800 additional affordable housing units by 2040.

“For decades, we have invested in our affordable housing programs to help us achieve our vision of a diverse and inclusive community,” County Board Chair Mary Hynes said in a statement. “These efforts support our residents at all ages and stages of life, improve our neighborhoods and strengthen our economy. This September, we will come together to celebrate our successes and discuss our challenges.”

Affordable Housing Month kicks off on Wednesday, Sept. 2 with a speech from Estes, the president and CEO of non-profit National Housing Conference. The opening reception is from 4-6 p.m. in the County Board room (2100 Clarendon Blvd, room 307).

The following events are also part of Affordable Housing Month:

• Sept. 12, 9:15-11:30 a.m. — Affordable Housing Bus Tour
• Sept. 16, 7-8:30 p.m. — Public Forum on Mixed Income Housing
• Sept. 21, 6:30-8:30 p.m. — Resident Services and Affordable Housing
• Sept. 26, 9:30-11 a.m. — Affordable Housing Bike Tour
• Sept. 30, 5-8:30 p.m. — Leckey Forum on Affordable Housing

The Arlington Food Assistance Center will also spend September educating residents about hunger and food demand in the county as part of its Hunger Action Month.

The organization will hold discussions about hunger, a golf tournament, a film screening and multiple food drives to raise awareness of Arlington residents who struggle with feeding their families.

There will also be a month-long exhibit about AFAC and hunger in the lobby of the Arlington Central Library (1015 N. Quincy Street), with an accompanying presentation on Sept. 23 at 7 p.m.

“Over 2,200 families are coming to AFAC each week to access fresh and healthy supplemental groceries, freeing up tightly stretched funds for child and health care, rent, and other financial demands. The growing need shows no signs of abating and Hunger Action Month creates an opportunity to share AFAC’s story and expand its reach to every Arlington resident suffering from food insecurity,” the organization said in a press release.