OPAL Ambassadors Take It to America

— from Judy Whiting —

Rusty Diggs, Eros Belliveau and Carla Stanley, homeowners in OPAL’s Bonnie Brae and Wild Rose Meadow neighborhoods, met recently to share insights following their national advocacy on behalf of community land trusts and permanently affordable housing.

Eros Belliveau, Rusty Diggs and Carla Stanley, Eastsound homeowners who live in neighborhoods built by OPAL Community Land Trust, recently returned from Los Angeles, where they met with affordable housing advocates from around the country.

According to Diggs, of the 1800 people who attended, not many knew about community land trusts. “We fielded lots of questions,” said Belliveau, “and many people thought the CLT model might work in their communities, too.”

“Among CLTs nationally, OPAL is highly regarded,” added Stanley. “It’s the model that folks want to repeat.”

While in LA, the three islanders attended training sessions to develop their knowledge and leadership skills related to affordable housing and their communities.

“We brought tools back home that we can plug in here,” explained Stanley. “I was inspired to become more active,” added Diggs. “What I learned, I can apply to my neighborhood and the larger Orcas community.”

The three islanders participated in the Ambassador Initiative, an advocacy program sponsored by Grounded Solutions Network, formerly the National Community Land Trust Network and Cornerstone Partnership.

They joined 10 other homeowners chosen from community land trusts in Vermont, Florida, Kentucky, Minnesota, California and Oregon, including two homeowners from the San Juan Island Community Home Trust, Chinmayo Ricketts and Maia Yip. There are a total of 16 ambassadors presently.

In late September the ambassadors will speak at the Grounded Solutions Network national conference in Park City, Utah. Later they will go to Washington, D.C., to meet with members of Congress. They will tell their individual stories and advocate for permanently affordable housing and the community land trust model.

The three OPAL homeowners have made a commitment to participate in the Ambassador Initiative for the next few years, meeting monthly with other CLT residents via teleconferencing, and taking time off work and away from families and the island to attend national gatherings. Travel expenses and training were provided by the national organization.

“I so appreciate having the opportunity to own my own home,” said Stanley. “I like being able to pay it forward.”

“Yes, Orcas has a housing crisis,” summed up Belliveau. “But really it’s the whole country. It feels good to be part of something that will grow and help provide a solution.”

Incorporated in 1989, OPAL serves 132 rental and ownership Orcas Island households and continues to accept applications from people who are not able to purchase a house in the traditional market. For more information, go to: www.opalclt.org or call (360) 376-3191.