Shelter JH, a housing advocacy group that started in Jackson in 2016, is expanding statewide.

Dozens of Shelter JH board members, advocates and local electeds recently filled a downtown restaurant for tacos, beer and a special announcement from co-founder Mary Erickson: Shelter WY, a new statewide partner of the local organization, will launch in 2025.

“The most sweeping changes need to be made on a state level,” Erickson said.

The expansion will include opening chapters in Cheyenne, Laramie and Sheridan and hiring employees to staff the new group like an executive director and a policy director.

In Teton County in the past year, Shelter JH has been a major player in local elections and developments. It is the only nonprofit in the region with an advocacy status that allows political endorsements.

Organization leaders advocated for guarantees of affordability and integration in plans for over 1,000 homes in Northern South Park, which county commissioners approved this year. It could become the largest housing development in Jackson Hole’s history.

Clare Stumpf, who leads the group, and others also weighed in on regulations for workforce housing in the former assisted living facility, Legacy Lodge. The organization, which has been around since 2016, has about 600 dues-paying members, according to Stumpf.

Though housing has long been prohibitively expensive in Jackson Hole, affordability has emerged as a statewide issue the group said.

Specific goals will be decided by a future policy director. But Stumpf said Shelter WY will likely focus on property tax relief, housing mitigation and local control.

“It’s become increasingly clear that if we want to continue to be successful supporting housing justice we need to move the needle at the state level,” Stumpf said.

Shelter WY was made possible by a “large grant” from an unknown funder. Stumpf said they’re unable to disclose either at this time but will share more details in the future.