Statehouse Scoop: Bringing affordability into focus

The English poet Christina Rossetti penned a remarkable holiday-themed piece that was published under the title “A Christmas Carol” in 1872, but it is also published elsewhere as “In the Bleak Midwinter.”  

Legislative sessions, especially non-budget sessions like the one Indiana will have in 2026, can feel a bit like a bleak midwinter: frosty, hard and somewhat unforgiving. There is no opportunity to add investments to programs that have been hit by federal policy changes or to reverse budget cuts or holdbacks that occurred during the last session.  

Across Central Indiana, we can see the sticky challenges facing our neighbors: being priced out of housing, child care, health care and other necessities like food. Our policymakers have spent years adopting new laws and regulations they hoped would bring greater prosperity to all Hoosiers, but too often many have been left behind by the practical results of those policies. Inflation continues to eat into any real wage growth, which makes it more challenging even for households that may be economically stable to feel that way. More than a third of households in our region are still in or near poverty.  

So, what is there to do? Ms. Rossetti’s poem illustrates something that is key to our approach to the 2026 legislative session: “If I were a Wise Man I would do my part,” she wrote. “Yet what can I give Him, give my heart.”  

Our priorities this session align with bringing the heart of our central issues to the legislature, through the stories of our nonprofit partners, the Hoosiers they serve and their impact on our region.  

You will likely see us doing more storytelling through these platforms this session, and we hope these stories will help you as you offer a little of yourselves in advocating for those in or near poverty.  

This is a session for helping our policymakers understand the outcomes of policy in practical terms. It is a chance for us as advocates, educators and citizens to ensure good governance and prudent lawmaking are geared toward the heart of what it means to be a successful state.  

As the General Assembly reconvenes in 2026, its members must make affordability its focus. Hoosiers need policy responses to these cost pressures if they are to thrive. With your help and your voice, we can bring these needs into sharp relief for policymakers.  

Join our public policy efforts: