Valley Interfaith Project (VIP) led the charge in advocating for the Sonoran Landings project, which would provide 272 affordable housing units to low-income seniors and veterans. 

Leaders held a press conference on December 9th to build support for the project, highlighting the severe need for affordable housing in Maricopa County, where over 2,000 seniors are homeless and the median rent is $2,301 in Chandler.

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...faith leaders and lawmakers from both sides... support two bills. The first: HB 2815, known as “Yes in Gods Back Yard”.

About HB2815, Rev. Sarah Oglesby-Dunegan, Minister at Valley Unitarian Universalist Congregation said, “Many of our congregations are sitting on unused land that they're eager to convert into affordable housing. This bill would adjust zoning to make it easier to do so. With restrictions on density to ensure projects fit with neighborhoods and requirements that the units be affordable to low- and middle-income people."

Then there’s HB2576. This would renew the state's low-income tax credit.  Both bills work to address a long-term affordable housing solution while leveraging private equity.

Religious Leaders Calling on State Lawmakers to Address Housing Crisis, ABC 15 [pdf]

Religious Institutions Want AZ Law to Allow Low-Income Housing on Their Property, KJZZ [pdf]

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What we kept hearing was housing, affordable housing in particular, and rental housing,"

said Barb Quijada of the Valley Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Chandler.

....VIP had been hosting open house meetings for about two years, where representatives ask people about the real-life problems they are confronting.

Interfaith Group Maps Campaign for Dominion, Arizonan SanTan Sun

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“Despite our differences in theology, we have so many things in common across the different denominations,” said Quijada, who is a member of Valley Unitarian Universalist Congregation.

One of those things in common is affordable housing in the Valley. These congregations, which include Catholics, Methodists, Episcopalians and even Muslims, are all coming together through VIP to fight for issues they believe are worth fighting for.

Interfaith Effort Fighting for Affordable Housing in Chandler, ABC 15 [pdf]

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"I think as a community, as a church, most of us are looking out for each other. It's important we stay together as a congregation and the people we know and love aren't forced to move away," Davis says.

....VIP is assembling Chandler residents, like retiree Susan Davis, to share their personal experiences of housing insecurity with elected officials in hopes of garnering support for the project.

• Davis, who is a member of Saint Matthew's Episcopal Church, moved to Chandler in 2019 to be closer to the church. At the time, her rent was $1,100. It's now $1,900, plus fees.
• "I'm struggling now to survive month to month. I'm just making it by the skin of my teeth," she tells Axios Phoenix.

How Metro Phoenix Churchgoers Are Fighting Against NIMBYs, Axios Phoenix [pdf]