Our History

The Washington Housing Alliance Education Network has a rich history reaching back more than three decades. Its roots can be traced to the Washington Coalition for Rural Housing (WCRH), which was created in 1980 to advocate for more affordable housing in rural Washington.  

In the mid-1980s, WCRH became part of a group of organizations across the state that sought more resources to develop affordable housing, and through coordinated legislative activities helped create the first funding for homeless programs in the state in 1982, to create the Washington State Housing Finance Commission in 1983, and the Washington State Housing Trust Fund in 1986. The creation of the Housing Trust Fund became a catalyst that led to the creation of what would become the Washington Housing Alliance Education Network. 

In the past four years, the Housing Alliance Education Network has: expanded its membership; reconfigured its board to allow room for new leaders to get involved; set its sights on diversifying its funding to be more sustainable; and launched new education and communication initiatives.