Last month, advocates from around the country met in Denver for the annual Equal Justice Conference sponsored by the American Bar Association (ABA) and the National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA). The theme was partnerships, and NLCHP and the ABA Commission on Homelessness & Poverty put on a program about "Partnerships to End Homelessness."

Our program highlighted the importance of pro bono legal partnerships. They are crucial to NLCHP's work because they enable us to leverage our organization's limited resources many times over. Because of its partnerships, NLCHP is able to pursue major class action litigation. For example, Goodwin Procter devoted thousands of pro bono hours to a lawsuit against the Long Island, New York school system that ensured access to school for approximately 2,000 homeless children. Local level providers and advocates also played a crucial role in that successful case.

Equal justice starts with access to justice. NLCHP relies on its pro bono partners to ensure that the rights of homeless and poor people are protected. NLCHP advocates on all fronts: in the courts, before legislatures and with government agencies. We publish reports, manuals and other materials to ensure that advocates, policymakers and homeless and poor people know their rights.

In the coming days we'll be launching an improved e-mail alert to reach out to our LEAP firms and our other pro bono law partners. It will include information about important pro bono needs and offer opportunities to get involved in the fight to end homelessness. Please let us know if you're interested in partnering with us. In the meantime, visit our website to find out more.

Maria Foscarinis
Executive Director

On April 19, NLCHP and a coalition of public interest organizations and private law firms filed a class action lawsuit against FEMA on behalf of low-income individuals driven from their homes by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in New Orleans, alleges that FEMA unlawfully terminated assistance to the plaintiffs without proper notice or a fair opportunity to appeal the decision. The suit claims that this practice violates their right to due process under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The suit also alleges that FEMA acts unlawfully when it cuts off assistance to individuals that it claims were overpaid without explaining why it believes the person was overpaid, without informing them that they can request a hardship waiver, and without providing an opportunity to contest the overpayment determination.

"FEMA is supposed to provide assistance to people in times of great need," Cathy Bendor, NLCHP Deputy Legal Director, said. "The agency is cutting off vital housing assistance to recipients who have not had a chance to be heard and who often don't even know why their assistance is being terminated."

The plaintiffs also contend that FEMA failed to publish standards setting forth the eligibility requirements, that it operated an unresponsive system of administrative review, and that it issued termination notices that were confusing and contained little more than undecipherable acronyms.

The lawsuit seeks an injunction requiring FEMA to comply with the requirements of the Constitution by providing individuals displaced by Hurricane Katrina, and victims of future disasters, with clear notification of the reasons why they are denied continued housing assistance.

"Since the Gulf Coast hurricanes, FEMA's system of administering aid has proven time and again to be flawed," Bendor explained. "The haphazard method in which FEMA has administered assistance is unacceptable."

The law firm Steptoe & Johnson LLP is providing substantial pro bono legal assistance to NLCHP's work on the lawsuit.

Five state legislatures across the country are currently considering legislation to address the growing problem of hate crimes against homeless people. All of the bills would add homeless persons as a protected class under their states' hate crimes statute.

In Florida, the State Senate and House are each considering identical bills (HB 11 and SB 1458) that would add homeless persons to Florida's current statute. With 48 documented attacks against homeless persons in Florida last year, the state had the highest number of attacks of any state in 2006. Both bills passed favorably out of two committees each and are being considered by final committees before heading to the floors of the House and Senate for votes.

The Texas Senate bill (SB 536) passed favorably out of the Criminal Justice Committee in late March and is moving toward a vote on the Senate floor. If it passes in the Senate, the bill will cross over to the House for consideration.

The Nevada hate crimes bill (AB 83) passed out of the Assembly Judiciary Committee on April 12 and is headed for a vote on the Assembly floor. If it passes through the State Assembly, it will cross over to the Senate for consideration.

The hate crimes bills in Massachusetts (HB 2509) and in California (SB 122) have both been introduced and will be considered by committees in their respective legislatures in the coming weeks.

While hate crimes bills are moving forward in the above states, a similar bill in Maryland did not pass before the Maryland General Assembly's session ended. The Maryland Senate passed the bill with a 38 to 9 vote in favor of the bill. Unfortunately, the Maryland General Assembly session ended before the House Judiciary Committee voted on the bill. Their vote could have moved it before the House for a final vote.

NLCHP plans to work with the National Coalition for the Homeless, the Homeless Persons' Representation Project, and other local advocates to pass a hate crimes bill during Maryland's General Assembly session next year.

At the end of March, the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee passed legislation to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (H.R. 1427) out of the full Committee. The bill includes an Affordable Housing Fund that would help create housing for very low- and extremely low-income households. The Fund would be authorized for five years with the first year of funding directed to Louisiana and Mississippi to replace the affordable housing stock lost after the Gulf Coast hurricanes. NLCHP is working with the National Low-Income Housing Coalition and other affordable housing advocates to help pass this legislation.

Also at the end of March, the full House passed the Gulf Coast Housing and Recovery Act (H.R. 1227). The bill contains several important provisions, including a stated right for all former public housing residents to return to the Gulf Coast and a provision to extend the Disaster Voucher Program (DVP) until 2008. Households that remain in the DVP program after Jan. 1, 2008 would move into the Section 8 program. The bill would also fund 4,500 new project-based vouchers and supply funds for Disaster Voucher recipients to cover utility costs.

In addition, through a Manager's Amendment, Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) added a provision to H.R. 1227 directing the General Accounting Office to conduct a study of households that received federal housing assistance because of Hurricanes Katrina or Rita. The purpose of the study would be to determine how many households were wrongfully or erroneously terminated from assistance. The report would be due to Congress by June 1, 2007.

NLCHP is working with Gulf Coast advocates, the National Low-Income Housing Coalition, and other advocates to press the Senate to pass similar legislation.

Representative Keith Ellison (D-MN) proclaimed that "housing is a human right" during his keynote address at NLCHP's April 10 training in Minnesota on housing and human rights. Ellison praised the training for creating a movement for housing rights. "Housing forums like this are crucial, because this helps build the national conversation," Ellison explained.

Over 170 advocates, activists, service providers, and lawyers from across Minnesota attended the training, co-sponsored by the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions and St. Stephen's Human Services.

Rep. Ellison eloquently compared the Biblical parable of Jesus' feeding of the masses with homelessness and poverty in America today. Ellison stated that when Jesus fed the masses, his philosophy was to make sure there was enough for all and that everyone went home satisfied. Today, in America, there's enough for all, but our political philosophy is to give much to a few, and leave little for many. Ellison said that our job is to challenge those who say there's not enough by pointing out that some people have too much.

The training concluded with small group workshops to discuss the next steps towards creating an America where housing is a human right equally enjoyed by all. Participants agreed to meet again in one month to develop human rights talking points for public and political education and to discuss participating in shadow reporting with the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination later this year.

NLCHP thanks the Mertz Gilmore Foundation and the US Human Rights Fund for their support of regional human rights trainings.

Horizons for Homeless Children, NLCHP, and a number of partnering groups are organizing the second Young Children Without Homes National Conference in Newton, Massachusetts from May 16-18. The event will feature a series of workshops and panel discussions highlighting early childhood programs as well as the development and education needs of preschool-aged children. A diverse group of participants, including service providers, educators, and advocates, will explore current research, best practices, legal protections and advocacy goals.

The keynote speaker for the conference will be Marian Wright Edelman, President and Founder of the Children's Defense Fund. NLCHP will co-lead a workshop focused on the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act and related legal protections. Other workshops will focus on topics like "Understanding Traumatic Stress in Children Who Experience Homelessness," "Addressing the Health Concerns of Homeless Families," "A Grassroots Approach to Serving Homeless Children," "The Importance of Play in Family Shelters," and "Working with Homeless Teen Parents." For more information, please visit the Horizons for Homeless Children website.

NLCHP has a 2 person office available immediately for sublet at $950 a month. The office is fully furnished with desks, chairs and file cabinets. The office also comes with 2 phone lines and free phone and internet service. Subletters can also enjoy shared use of our kitchen, conference room and workroom. We are one block from the McPherson metro station and bus lines run close by. If interested, please e-mail Vibha Bhatia or call her at: (202) 638 2535 ext 222. Pictures available.

Read about hate crimes against homeless people in an Associated Press article published by the New York Times.

Read about NLCHP's lawsuit against FEMA on behalf of low-income individuals driven from their homes by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

Read about states considering adding homeless people as a protected class under hate crimes statutes in The New Standard.

Contact us at (202) 638-2535 or email us at network@nlchp.org