Participate.
Action Alerts provide an opportunity for you to make a real difference in the lives of homeless men, women, and children.

Please help today.

Right now, over 1.3 million children around the country are homeless. Many more are an eviction notice, medical emergency or parental pink slip away. How can this be happening in 21st century America?
  
Over the past three decades, government cuts have badly frayed the social safety net, and the cuts in housing have been especially deep. Losses of affordable housing without replacement have added to the growing gap between need and availability.

Decent housing is a basic human need, and under international human rights law it is also a human right.  Our own government set a goal of decent housing for all Americans in the federal 1949 Housing Act.  But that was a goal, not a right.

It's time for a right to housing for all - including all homeless Americans. We're starting our campaign for a right to housing by pushing for passage of H. Res. 582. It's a resolution now pending in the U.S. House of Representatives, calling for A Right to Housing for All Children with their Families. H. Res. 582 also calls for the creation and development of programs at the federal, state and local levels to address the housing needs of low-income children and youth at risk of becoming homeless.  The lead sponsor is Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), and we need to add as many sponsors as possible.
  
To do this, we need your help. You can find a summary of the bill and talking points to support it here. Call your representative between now and May 1 and ask him or her to co- sponsor H. Res. 582. You are their constituent - and your voice makes a difference!

Participate.
Action Alerts provide an opportunity for you to make a real difference in the lives of homeless men, women, and children.

Please help today.

President Obama has stated that "it is not acceptable for children and families to be without a roof over their heads in a country as wealthy as ours," and expressed his desire for the U.S. "lead by example" in terms of human rights at home and abroad. He is now considering issuing an executive order on human rights. In this time of economic crisis, the executive order would address the human rights obligations of the United States and put concrete action behind President Obama's recognition that human rights begin at home. The National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, in partnership with the Human Rights at Home Campaign, has been pressing the Administration to issue a comprehensive executive order that would integrate the U.S.'s human rights commitments into all agencies of the government.

This executive order presents President Obama with an important opportunity to uphold core American values of equality and justice for all by building a much-needed human rights infrastructure here at home. It would emphasize that human rights aren't just the responsibility of the State Department, but of the Departments of Housing & Urban Development, Health & Human Services, Justice, Labor, Education - all the agencies that help ensure Americans' human rights on a day-to-day basis.

The time for action is now: call on President Obama to issue an executive order that holds the U.S. accountable for its human rights commitments - including the full range of economic and social rights as well as civil and political rights - by sending a letter to the president today.

Click here for sample letter text.

Letters can be mailed to the White House at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20500 or emailed to president@whitehouse.gov.