Habitat Greater Boston President and CEO Jim Kostaras is a tireless advocate for affordable homeownership, from Beacon Hill to Capitol Hill.

Jim traveled to Washington, D.C., in February to join representatives from hundreds of local Habitat affiliates calling for Congressional leaders to respond to the nationwide housing crisis and provide some relief to families who can’t afford another rent hike.

During the three-day annual Habitat on the Hill legislative conference, advocates met with Congressional leaders to draw attention to the crisis and discuss workable solutions. Jim met with staffers for Massachusetts Reps. Jake Auchincloss, Katherine Clark, and Ayanna Pressley, as well as Sen. Ed Markey, all of whom represent parts of Habitat Greater Boston’s service area.

The staffers said their bosses are squarely behind Habitat Greater Boston’s mission of creating affordable homeownership opportunities for hardworking families and that they support increasing federal funding for initiatives to address the region’s acute shortage of affordable housing.

“We were very well received,” Jim said. “I left feeling very inspired.”

This year’s Habitat on the Hill conference focused on highlighting advocacy for impact, with special emphasis on advancing Black homeownership and addressing the historic low supply of affordable homes. Increasing Black homeownership is central to Habitat Greater Boston’s mission as a means to build generational wealth and help shrink the region’s staggering racial wealth gap.

The conference was also an opportunity for representatives of local affiliates throughout the United States and around the world to make connections and share strategies for maximizing the impact of efforts to address a critical shortage of affordable homes.

“Across the country and the globe housing is in a crisis,” Jim said. “What we do here is local and global at the same time.”