Building a Future Without Homelessness at the BIASC BIS Show

One of the things I have always appreciated about the building industry is the strength of its relationships. When builders, trade partners, manufacturers, designers and other industry leaders come together, there is an incredible opportunity not only to talk about what we are building, but also about the communities we are building together.

I recently had the opportunity to attend the Building Industry Association of Southern California (BIASC) Building Industry Show (BIS) alongside two of our HomeAid affiliates Gina Cunningham and Melissa Auten of HomeAid Orange County | Los Angeles and Sue Evans of HomeAid Inland Empire.

For HomeAid, events like BIS are important because the building industry has been at the heart of our mission from the very beginning. HomeAid was founded on a simple but powerful idea: the same industry that builds our communities can help ensure that people experiencing or at risk of homelessness have a safe and dignified place to call home.

That idea continues to drive our work today.

Throughout the show, we had the opportunity to reconnect with longtime HomeAid supporters, meet new industry leaders and talk about the many ways companies and individuals can become involved with HomeAid America or your local HomeAid affiliates across the country. Whether through serving on a board, providing donated labor or materials for a construction project, volunteering at a community engagement event, offering financial support or simply helping us expand the conversation about homelessness, there is a role for everyone.

It was also meaningful to attend BIS together as representatives of HomeAid America, HomeAid Orange County | Los Angeles and HomeAid Inland Empire. Our organizations operate at different levels and serve different communities, but we share one mission and one vision: Building a Future Without Homelessness.

Southern California is where HomeAid’s story began more than three decades ago, with the Orange County Chapter of BIASC and the industry remains essential to where that story goes next. The challenges surrounding homelessness and housing affordability are significant, and no single organization or sector can solve them alone. Progress requires collaboration among nonprofits, government, philanthropy, service providers and the private sector.

The building industry brings something especially valuable to that partnership. It brings expertise, resources, relationships and, perhaps most importantly, people who know how to take an idea and turn it into something tangible.

That is what HomeAid has been doing with the industry for more than 37 years.

Thank you to BIASC for bringing the industry together and providing opportunities for conversations, connections and partnerships that extend well beyond the show floor. And thank you to Gina, Melissa and Sue for representing HomeAid and for the work they do every day in their communities.

Every connection we make has the potential to become a partnership. Every partnership has the potential to become a project. And every project represents an opportunity to help someone take another step toward stability and a new beginning.

Together, we are building more than housing. We are Building a Future Without Homelessness.