Cambridge City Manager Yi-An Huang is seeking volunteers to serve on a new LGBTQ+-Friendly Housing Task Force.   

The Task Force will consider opportunities for new or revised practices and procedures to improve LGBTQ+ persons’ access to, and inclusion in, existing housing.  The Task Force will also evaluate possibilities for new housing to be more LGBTQ+-friendly.  The Task Force will issue a final report with concrete recommendations and action plans for ensuring LGBTQ+ housing access, safety, and inclusivity in Cambridge. 

Applicants are sought from various backgrounds and stakeholder groups, including, but not limited to: 

- Affordable housing providers,  
- Private real estate developers,
- Individuals who have worked on LGBTQ+-friendly housing efforts in other municipalities,
- Residents with lived experience as members of the LGBTQ+ community familiar with or searching for inclusive housing, and
- Residents with experience related to and/or regarding housing inequity who seek to participate in developing LGBTQ+ inclusive housing opportunities.

The City of Cambridge is committed to advancing a culture of antiracism, diversity, equity, and inclusion.  Members of the LGBTQ+-Friendly Housing Task Force will represent a diverse cross-section of the community and must have the ability to work and interact effectively with individuals and groups with a variety of identities, cultures, backgrounds, and ideologies. Members of the LGBTQ+ community, women, minorities, and persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.

The Task Force is anticipated to be approximately 15 members, with two co-chairs appointed by the City Manager.  The full Task Force will meet eight to ten times between March 2023 and January 2024.  Smaller working groups may investigate specific topics and report back to the full Task Force.  Working groups are anticipated to meet more frequently.  Meetings of the full Task Force will be open to the public.  

If you are interested in being considered for the LGBTQ+-Friendly Housing Task Force, please apply online at www.cambridgema.gov/apply.  Paper applications are available in the City Manager’s Office at Cambridge City Hall, 795 Massachusetts Avenue.  When applying, please submit a cover letter or brief statement of interest, and a résumé or summary of relevant experience. The application deadline is Monday, February 6, 2023.  

Please contact Jennifer Mathews, LGBTQ+ Commission Executive Director, at [email protected] or 617-349-3355, or Maura Pensak, Housing Liaison, at [email protected] or 617-349-6337, with any questions about the LGBTQ+-Friendly Housing Task Force or application process.