{"id":18322,"date":"2025-06-04T07:25:52","date_gmt":"2025-06-04T11:25:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bruu.org\/www2\/?page_id=18322"},"modified":"2025-10-08T17:44:25","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T21:44:25","slug":"voice-virginians-organized-for-interfaith-community-engagement","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bruu.org\/www2\/voice-virginians-organized-for-interfaith-community-engagement\/","title":{"rendered":"VOICE (Virginians Organized for Interfaith and Community Engagement)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Register<\/a><\/strong> to tell VOICE you are coming. When you register, you can sign up for a bus lreaving from Manassas Church of the Brethren (<\/span>10047 Nokesville Road) or <\/span>First Baptist Church of Manassas (9258 Center Street.)
\n<\/span>Carpools<\/a><\/strong> from BRUU will assemble starting at 2:15pm and leave at 2:30pm on October 19.
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BRUU has been an active member of VOICE<\/a> from its beginning.\u00a0 VOICE is a 501(c)3 non-profit and non-partisan organization. It is led by a diverse team of religious, lay, and community leaders from across Northern Virginia.<\/p>\n

This multi-racial, multi-faith organization includes nearly 50 member institutions representing over 125,000 persons. VOICE is designed to “organize people, organize money” to increase social justice. VOICE unites people across lines of race, class, religion, political party and geography to take action on key issues in our community.<\/p>\n

Typically, VOICE members focus on three important social justice issues.\u00a0 Choosing them requires careful listening to the priorities of member organizations and finding where there are common threads.<\/p>\n

When VOICE started in 2008, there was a nationwide housing foreclosure crisis that was especially critical in Prince William County. \u00a0By seeking commitments from the three major lenders for mortgage adjustments, VOICE ensured funding for five new, non-profit housing counselors and up to $60 million in adjustments of loans for “underwater” homeowners.<\/p>\n

VOICE pressured the lenders who made inappropriate loans to step up and implement solutions – and a\u00a0Washington Post article<\/a> shows how VOICE has praised the financial institutions that responded to the challenge. VOICE also shaped the General Assembly decision in 2013 to allocate funding from the Foreclosure Fraud Settlement for “robo-signing” of foreclosure documents.<\/p>\n

More recently, BRUU has worked with VOICE to tackle the current shortage of affordable housing.\u00a0 By partnering with other faith institutions, we amplify the impact of our engagement.<\/p>\n

After many meetings with Prince William County staff and the 8 elected members on the Board of County Supervisors, VOICE succeeded in getting $5 million\/year annually to be included within the county budget and to formally establish the Housing Trust Fund to allocate that funding.\u00a0 More meetings led to adoption of the county’s first Affordable Dwelling Unit ordinance<\/a> on June 3, 2025 in a 5-3 vote.\u00a0 VOICE advocacy made that decision possible.<\/p>\n

The terms of that ordinance were constrained by state law.\u00a0 It created the opportunity for developers to dedicate a higher percentage of new dwelling units as “affordable,” in exchange for zoning approval of a higher number of units per acre.\u00a0 An affordable unit was defined as one that could be purchased\/rented by a family spending no more than 30% of its income, if that family earned 80% or less of the Areawide Median Income.<\/p>\n

Want more details, or to be part of the solution?\u00a0 Contact the VOICE Core Group at BRUU at voice@bruu.org<\/a><\/p>\n