Housing Huddle in Harwich provides workforce housing forum

Latham Centers’ leadership continues to advocate for creative housing options locally, joining the “Community Housing Huddle” in Harwich on February 1st and urging action from all of us. Sponsored by Housing to Protect Cape Cod and the Town of Harwich, the session was attended by nearly 60 people. Presentations were made by town officials and business owners articulating the plight of fire, police, and school departments and area businesses as they deal with chronic staffing problems exacerbated by the lack of workforce housing options.

Latham Centers President & CEO Anne McManus and VP of Organizational Development Craig Anderson listened intently to the panel of speakers and diverse perspectives from town officials, housing advocates, landlords, contractors, and others. They were joined by other Latham stakeholders including staff and Board members.

“The bottom line is that we all need to be part of the solution,” Anne said after the meeting. “Getting involved at the local and regional level is critical. Understanding what is going on in our own town’s zoning and planning boards is a first step. Showing up when workforce housing issues are discussed will make a difference. We need to make our voices heard that housing our workforce can count on is critical to the survival of Cape Cod as we know it. We can all help keep this topic in the limelight and send a strong message to policy-makers that swift, widespread action is critical so agencies like Latham Centers can focus on what we do best – human services.”

Craig said that Latham Centers has been a longtime advocate of workforce housing initiatives and will continue to do so to ensure that we continue to attract talented dedicated employees.

Our local independent weekly newspaper, The Cape Cod Chronicle, published an online story preview: “Harwich Housing Huddle Draws A Crowd.” In the midst of a housing crisis, the Housing Huddle’s aim was to encourage local action in support of developing more affordable workforce housing. (Full article is available on the Chronicle website).

If you are interested in getting involved in this effort, we encourage you to visit https://housingtoprotectcapecod.org.

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