Published: 16 Mar 2022 by Jack Madden

Our new campaigns and organising training programme is designed to share power, knowledge and resources with those most affected by the housing emergency.

What is the Housing Action Academy?

Our free training events will give you the skills to demand better housing rights and campaign for change. Led by a team of experienced community organisers, our trainings will help people run campaigns, organise communities and demand the changes they want to see.

Why we created the Housing Action Academy

We’re all living in the grip of a housing emergency. There are millions of us across the country that are feeling the effects of housing injustice. From renters staying in overpriced, low quality housing; to families stuck on social housing waiting lists and in temporary accommodation. And those of us forced to live on the streets.

Each day, there are far too many of us fighting just to have a roof over our heads and somewhere we can call home.

We exist to help people fight back against the housing emergency – to fight for home. We do this through services, advice and through campaigning up and down the country, with people like you.

Why join our training events?

Now we’re taking that support to the next level by offering a range of trainings on how to campaign and organise in your own community.

We’ve launched the Housing Action Academy to create change in our communities and improve our broken housing system. If we take action in every community, city, town and street; we can fight housing injustice from the ground up.

We’ve designed training events that fall into four categories:

• campaigning skills
• organising toolbox
• capacity building
• housing rights

Each training runs as a stand-alone session. You can join a training that is relevant to you, and learn the basics of campaigning and organising in your community.

Topics include:

• how to develop effective campaign strategies and tactics
• how to influence politicians
• storytelling in campaigning

We will add new training events throughout the year.

All our training events are:

• free – we do not make a charge for our Housing Action Academy training events
• entry level – you don’t need any prior knowledge to join any of our events
• run on Zoom (online) in the evenings or at weekends

As the Housing Action Academy develops and grows, we’ll add even more resources and topics.

Community organising in action – why training works

Community organising is about supporting people and communities to campaign on issues that matter to them. We do this by connecting and building a base of people who are united to take action together, and win change through campaigning.

The Housing Action Academy aims to give people the skills, knowledge and resources to make those campaigns as powerful and effective as possible.

So far, we’ve worked alongside communities to achieve some amazing wins.

This work includes:

• campaigning for more affordable housing to be added to planning proposals
• getting access to wifi and launderettes for people in temporary accommodation during the pandemic
• getting local councils to tackle poor conditions, costs and discrimination in private renting

Find out how we supported the Bristol Fair Renting Campaign

Stay in the loop

Building basic skills in campaigning and organising can help you tackle the issues you’re experiencing. You’ll become even stronger if you can find others to demand that change with you.

By signing up to our trainings, you’ll get the chance to meet other people dealing with housing issues, learn from tried and tested organising methods and go on to lead your own campaigns. Or you can join one of our national campaigns.

Join our Housing Action Academy

Find out more about our Housing Action Academy. Sign up and be the first to hear when registration opens for new trainings.