State and National Actions- Letters to the Housed

Resources: State and National Actions You Can Support

by Paul Asplund

In California

Living Wage Campaigns:

Living Wage for All California is pushing for a $22-24 minimum wage statewide. The campaign believes California's current minimum wage is not nearly enough, and they are working with lawmakers including Assemblymember Ash Kalra who introduced Assembly Bill 1516 to study wage impacts and build momentum for higher wages.

Local victories are adding up: Los Angeles just voted to raise the minimum wage to $30 for tourism workers by 2028, creating a model other cities can follow. Find out if your city has active minimum wage campaigns and get involved.

For more details, follow the links below:

🔹 Living Wage

  • AB 1516 (2023–2024) – Minimum Wage Working Group

  • Introduced by Asm. Ash Kalra to study wage impacts.

  • 📄 Bill Text – LegiScan

  • 📄 Committee Report PDF

  • Living Wage for All California Campaign

  • Advocates for $22–$24/hr statewide minimum wage.

  • 🌐 Campaign Overview – One Fair Wage

  • Los Angeles Minimum Wage Ordinance (2025)

  • Raises wages for tourism workers to $30/hr by 2028.

  • 📰 LAist Coverage

Affordable Housing Movements:

Housing California continues advocating for statewide solutions. They supported Proposition 5 to make affordable housing bonds easier to pass, and while it didn't succeed in 2024, the fight continues.

Bay Area Housing Finance Authority is working on regional housing bonds. Though the $20 billion housing bond was pulled from the 2024 ballot, BAHFA continues working to produce and preserve affordable housing.

Rent control campaigns are active across the state. Housing California supported Proposition 33, which would have repealed Costa-Hawkins restrictions on rent control. Local tenant organizations are fighting for rent stabilization in cities statewide.

For more details, follow the links below:

🔹 Affordable Housing

  • Proposition 5 (2024) – Affordable Housing Bonds

  • Sought to ease passage of local affordable housing bonds.

  • ❌ Failed in Nov 2024.

  • 📚 Background – Housing California

  • BAHFA Bond Campaign

  • $20B Bay Area bond pulled from 2024 ballot, still in planning.

  • 🌐 BAHFA Overview – MTC

  • Proposition 33 (2024) – Rent Control Expansion

  • Attempted repeal of Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act.

  • ❌ Failed in Nov 2024.

  • 📚 Prop 33 Summary – Ballotpedia

Universal Healthcare Push:

California Nurses Association and Healthy California Now are leading the CalCare campaign. Assembly Bill 2200 would create the California Guaranteed Health Care for All program, and SB770 requires the state to develop a federal waiver framework by November 1, 2025.

Join the movement: These organizations need volunteers for advocacy, outreach, and building public support for single-payer healthcare in California.

🔹 Universal Healthcare

  • AB 2200 (2024) – California Guaranteed Health Care for All (CalCare)

  • Would establish a state single-payer system.

  • 📄 Bill Overview – Asm. Kalra

  • 📄 Bill Text – LegiScan

  • SB 770 (2023) – Federal Waiver Planning for Single-Payer

  • Requires California to develop a waiver framework by Nov 1, 2025.

  • 📄 Bill Overview – Healthy California Now

  • Organizations Leading CalCare Efforts

Nationwide

Federal Living Wage:

The Raise the Wage Act would have increased the federal minimum wage to $17 by 2030. Led by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Bobby Scott, this would raise wages for 22.2 million workers nationwide. Contact your representatives and demand they support this crucial legislation.

National Employment Law Project coordinates minimum wage campaigns across the country. A record 88 jurisdictions will raise their minimum wage by the end of 2025, showing the momentum is building. Find campaigns in your area and volunteer.

For more details, follow the links below:

🔹 Federal Minimum Wage

National Healthcare:

Medicare for All Act has been reintroduced in Congress. Sen. Bernie Sanders, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, and Rep. Debbie Dingell are leading this effort to create a single-payer system that would end health disparities and control costs.

National Nurses United and Physicians for a National Health Program are key organizations fighting for Medicare for All. Join their campaigns, attend town halls, and pressure your representatives.

Medicare4All.org coordinates grassroots advocacy. Seventy percent of people support Medicare for All, and in 2018, 70 congress members formed the first Medicare for All caucus. The public support is there—we need to convert it into political action.

For more details, follow the links below:

🔹 Medicare for All

  • Medicare for All Act of 2025

    • 🏛️ H.R. 3069 – Congress.gov

    • 🏛️ S. 1506 – Congress.gov

  • Leading Organizations

  • Public Support

    • KFF (2022): ~63–70% support Medicare for All

    • 📊 KFF Polling

    • Data for Progress (2023): ~70% support

    • 📊 Data for Progress Survey

Federal Housing:

The Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act has over 100 bipartisan cosponsors in the House. This legislation would expand and strengthen the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, the federal government's most effective tool for building affordable housing. This is winnable—contact your representatives now.

National Low Income Housing Coalition coordinates federal housing advocacy. Their Gap report shows a shortage of 7.1 million affordable homes for extremely low-income renters. Join their Campaign for Housing and Community Development Funding to fight for increased federal investment.

For more details, follow the links below:

🔹 Affordable Housing

  • Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2025

  • Expands Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC)

    • 🏛️ H.R. 2725 – Congress.gov

    • 🏛️ S. 1515 – Congress.gov

  • Leading Organization

Full Link List

🏛️ California Initiatives

🔹 Living Wage

  1. https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB1516/id/2758256

  2. https://trackbill.com/s3/bills/CA/2023/AB/1516/analyses/assembly-labor-and-employment.pdf

  3. https://onefairwage.site/

  4. https://laist.com/news/los-angeles/los-angeles-tourism-workers-will-make-30-an-hour-by-2028-city-council-votes

🔹 Affordable Housing

  1. https://housingca.org

  2. https://mtc.ca.gov/funding/ba-housing-finance-authority

  3. https://ballotpedia.org/California_Proposition_33,_Rent_Control_Initiative_(2024)

🔹 Universal Healthcare

  1. https://a25.asmdc.org/ab-2200-ca-guaranteed-health-care-all-act

  2. https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB2200/id/2990082

  3. https://healthyca.org/sb770/

  4. https://www.nationalnursesunited.org/calcare

  5. https://healthyca.org/sb770/

  6. https://hc4us.org/calcare/

🇺🇸 Federal Initiatives

🔹 Federal Minimum Wage

  1. https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/2743

  2. https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1332

  3. https://www.nelp.org

🔹 Medicare for All

  1. https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/3069

  2. https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1506

  3. https://www.nationalnursesunited.org

  4. https://pnhp.org

  5. https://medicare4all.org

  6. https://www.kff.org/interactive/kff-health-tracking-poll-the-publics-views-on-the-aca-medicare-for-all-and-public-option/

  7. https://www.dataforprogress.org/blog/2023/5/1/voters-want-congress-to-expand-medicare

🔹 Affordable Housing

  1. https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/2725

  2. https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1515

  3. https://nlihc.org

  4. https://nlihc.org/gap

Choose to join this effort, to strengthen this community, to share your ideas, resources, and dreams to leave fear and doubt behind. There are thousands of people like us who believe in this, but until now, there’s never been a place we can all gather.

Thank’s again for reading this latest installment of Letters to the Housed. Let's end homelessness together.

To learn more about Second Grace, follow us on Substack, Bluesky, and paulasplund.com

About Paul Asplund

Paul Asplund recovered from homelessness in 1988 and has remained housed for over 35 years. After careers in technology, hospitality, and entertainment, he found his calling working directly with people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Since 2014, Paul has led teams providing street-based services, organized large-scale community events, and helped build innovative programs that center community wisdom and lived experience. He is the founder of Second Grace LA, an online platform connecting community organizations working to end homelessness.

Paul has worked with low-income communities in Bolivia, San Bernardino, San Francisco, Chicago, and Los Angeles. He is a passionate advocate for community-based solutions to inequality, poverty, and homelessness—all issues he believes are solvable through collective action and mutual aid.

He believes that everyone deserves the chance to flourish and that dignity, agency, and opportunity can change lives. He sees it happening every day.

Paul lives in Pasadena, California with his husband and their cat.

Our contact points: https://linktr.ee/secondgracela

"We will not back down on our rights nor our dignity. Instead, we will harness our energy into affecting positive change and lovingly, firmly, persistently setting and maintaining our boundaries and rights."

"Let's combine our talents into creating a world where all are treated with dignity, love, and respect. We all deserve safe shelter, proper nutrition, ample hydration, and quality health/mental care."

"Let's end homelessness together, now and for good."

#LettersToTheHoused #LTTH #HomelessnessIndustrialComplex #StreetOutreach #SkidRowLA #SecondGraceLA #RecoveryIsCommunity #MutualAidNetworks #CommunityOverCaseManagement #LivedExperienceMatters #NeighborToNeighbor #FaithAndJustice #SpiritualActivism #LAHomelessCrisis #PasadenaAdvocacy #AddictionRecovery #CommunityWisdom #ServiceProviders #NonprofitReform #GrassrootsOrganizing #PaulAsplund

Letters to the HousedPaul Asplund#LettersToTheHoused, #LTTH, #HomelessnessIndustrialComplex, #StreetOutreach, #SkidRowLA, #SecondGraceLA, #RecoveryIsCommunity, #MutualAidNetworks, #CommunityOverCaseManagement, #LivedExperienceMatters, #NeighborToNeighbor, #FaithAndJustice, #SpiritualActivism, #LAHomelessCrisis, #PasadenaAdvocacy, #AddictionRecovery, #CommunityWisdom, #ServiceProviders, #NonprofitReform, #GrassrootsOrganizingComment