WESTPORT — An “Affordable Housing Advisory Council” has been established by Homes with Hope, the Westport-based nonprofit that focuses on issues of homelessness and hunger in the region.

The council’s mission is to “advocate for and participate in developing affordable, supportive housing initiatives in keeping with Homes with Hope’s mission to prevent and end homelessness,” according to a statement issued Wednesday.

The Homes with Hope action comes as state and local officials grapple with what one advocacy group estimates is a shortfall of nearly 90,000 units of housing available and affordable to Connecticut’s lowest-income renters. Others renters are forced to spend too large a share of their income on housing costs, forgoing other necessities like food and health care.

In Westport, officials are moving ahead with several initiatives to boost the town’s in inventory of affordable housing, as outlined in a state-mandated affordable housing plan, although these recent efforts have yet to win final approval.

The Affordable Housing Advisory Council, approved by the agency’s board of directors at its annual meeting Monday, recognizes that “Homes with Hope has always understood that the only way to truly deal with homelessness is to provide homes,” Helen McAlinden, the president and CEO of Homes with Hope, said in the Wednesday statement.

Homes with Hope provides case management services to individuals and families living in 52 units of supportive housing in Westport and Norwalk, according to its website, including the Westport Rotary Centennial House, Linxweiler House, Powell Place and some units at Westport Housing Authority complexes.

The agency’s Gillespie Center and Hoskins Place are emergency shelters for single men and women, respectively.

Lauren Soloff, who has been a Homes with Hope board member 12 years, is chairwoman of the new council.

“As an organization, we are hoping to enlist knowledgeable experts who can advance Homes with Hope’s understanding of the current state of affordable housing and help us grow as a resource for the community,” Soloff said in the statement.

Among those appointed to the council are: Jim Marpe, former first selectman; Ross Burkhardt, former CEO of New Neighborhoods Inc.; Michelle Lapine McCabe, executive director of the Connecticut Main Street Center, and David McCarthy, founder of Heritage Housing Inc.

Board members who also will participate are: Brian Baxendale, Jen Ferrante, Becky Martin, Kate Weber, Ralph Yearwood and Will Haskell, former state senator.

“Those interested in being considered for the council and with expertise in an area that supports the council’s purpose are welcome to contact me via email at lhsoloff@gmail.com,” Soloff added.