For many months now, Sandy Springs Together has been educating the community about the dangers of losing our workforce housing — the housing affordable for teachers, officers, nurses and others.
We have also shared what surrounding communities are doing. We understand that our lives can get busy, making it easy to lose our focus and get distracted. It happens to each and every one of us.
But, we must do more.
So, we offer a challenge: If we do nothing, we are, in fact, doing something.
If we allow our elected city leaders to continue to look at each of the current revitalization projects as individual, separate efforts, we are almost certainly doomed to make the same mistakes as other cities who now find themselves WITHOUT the means to offer affordable housing to their working families because the land costs have skyrocketed.
When taken in their totality, the Greenline, the new access to the river, the proposed community center and the redevelopment of four shopping centers — ALL will have a measurable impact on the lack of affordability of housing, which, as we know, will have a negative impact on traffic congestion, our public schools, businesses and the diversity of our community.
At the end of the day, it’s up to you. It’s up to all of us.
- How many times have you told someone that you are worried about the cost of housing in Sandy Springs?
- How many elected officials, federal, state, county or local, have you met with to share your concerns?
- How many times have you shared one of our blogs or Facebook posts about affordable housing with someone in authority?
In order to truly change attitudes, we must start by sharing our information, knowledge and concerns. There are simple actions that can be taken by all our elected officials, regardless of their level of government, to move the needle towards more affordable housing solutions.
But sadly, without you urging them to do it, it won’t happen. We must move from blatant complacency to clear, decisive action.
Ready to get involved?
Here is a list of actions, ranging from just 30 seconds to 3 hours, that YOUcan take to make affordable housing solutions a reality.
- 30 Seconds: Share an SST Facebook Link or blog post with your friends & family
- 1 Minute= Start your own conversation, “Did you know….”
- 3 Minutes = Offer your thoughts at the Public Comment Section of a City Council Meeting
- 10 Minutes= Call your elected federal, state and local officials to share your ideas and concerns
- 15 Minutes = Host a conversation over coffee or a meal
- 30 Minutes = Talk with a neighbor, colleague, employer, or your child’s teacher
- 1 Hour = Attend a Sandy Springs Together community education meeting
- 2 hours = Join SST and knock on doors or join a phone banking event
- 3 hours = Volunteer with SST at our community and neighborhood meetings
Don’t be one of so many who look back and say, “If only I had said….”
Take the initiative and let your Voice Be Heard!
