Earlier this month the U.S. House of Representatives held hearings and heard testimony about the reauthorization of the McKinney-Vento Act - legislation that has not been reauthorized since 1992. While the programs have grown and changed over the years, through Congressional appropriators and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Congressional committees responsible for overseeing the directions of the program have been somewhat inactive until now.

The hearings were a welcome change. The Committee members were engaged, informed and interested. Now we must make sure that they hear from their constituents across the country and take action to pass legislation.

NLCHP, the National Coalition for the Homeless, the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, the National Network to End Domestic Violence, the National Policy and Advocacy Council on Homelessness, Volunteers of America, and many other organizations have endorsed the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act. But we also support key provisions of the Community Partnership to End Homelessness Act (CPEHA), a bill now pending in the Senate.

We feel that differences between the bills are being bridged and that advocates should focus on asking their legislators to support the most important parts of the HEARTH and CPEHA Acts. Ultimately we want the resulting legislation to that includes the best of each bill.

Click here to learn more about the two bills.

It is critical that the HUD McKinney-Vento programs be reauthorized and we finally have an opportunity to make it happen. We can significantly expand the act and the authorized funding amounts which would lay the groundwork for increased appropriations. While we largely prefer the HEARTH Act, either bill is an improvement over the status quo.

Let's get a bill passed now. Then let's move to an agenda beyond the McKinney Act. Let's guarantee a human right to housing.

Click here to read about our annual Forum on the human right to housing.

Maria Foscarinis
Executive Director

Earlier this month, NLCHP's Executive Director testified at a Congressional hearing about the reauthorization of federal homeless assistance programs administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Members of Congress heard testimony from advocates, service providers, researchers, and government officials about the current status of HUD programs under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act and their views on potential legislation to reauthorize the programs.

The hearings illustrated both the similarities and differences between the HEARTH Act (H.R. 840) and CPEHA(S. 1518). Both bills seek to codify the Continuum of Care planning process and provide more flexibility in program activities. Permanent housing for homeless families, which is not currently an eligible activity, would become allowable under both bills. Additionally, both bills would provide an increase in funding, with the HEARTH Act authorizing up to $2.5 billion annually and CPEHA authorizing up to $2.2 billion annually.

However, key differences exist between the two bills. Under HEARTH, local entities charged with planning how the address homelessness would be required to include homeless advocates, service providers, and homeless persons in the planning process. In CPEHA, similar provisions were removed last month when the bill was passed out of committee. NLCHP supports the requirement ensuring consultation with key stakeholders and is working with other national advocates to seek inclusion of the requirement in the Senate bill before it goes to the Senate floor.

Other significant differences between the two bills include their definition of homelessness and priority for funding. Under HEARTH, HUD's current definition of homelessness would be expanded to more closely align with the definition currently used by the Department of Education. CPEHA also would expand the definition, but not as broadly as HEARTH. In particular, someone living doubled up for economic reasons would only be counted as homeless under CPEHA's provisions if the person has changed primary residences at least 3 times in the past year or at least twice in the past 21 days. NLCHP supports the broader definition.

In addition, HEARTH would not create funding set-asides for any populations, whereas CPEHA would set-aside at least 30% of funds for serving disabled persons and at least 10% for serving homeless families. NLCHP supports greater discretion for local communities, but supports language to ensure hard-to-serve populations receive at least some housing and service funding.

CPEHA contains two important provisions not currently in the HEARTH Act. The first would provide renewal funding for permanent housing from the Housing Choice Voucher program. This provision would provide a more stable source of renewal funding for permanent housing programs and would guarantee that more McKinney funding could be used for new programs each year. CPEHA would also prohibit, in most cases, the break-up of homeless families due to shelter restrictions that prevent male children over a certain age from staying with their families. NLCHP supports both provisions and will press for their inclusion in the final legislation.

For more information, see www.nlchp.org or e-mail NLCHP Policy Director Laurel Weir at lweir@nlchp.org or call her at 202-638-2535.

NLCHP will host a National Forum on the Human Right to Housing on Monday, November 5 that will link 5 locations across the nation via videoconference. There will be training locations in Washington, DC; Chicago; New Orleans; Minneapolis; and Los Angeles.

The training will allow advocates nationwide to discuss the human rights strategies they are using to advocate on behalf of homeless and poor women, men, and children. Activists at all of the locations will be able to share their experiences with advocating for human rights and learn from one another.

By hosting the training in multiple locations, NLCHP hopes to draw substantial regional audiences beyond those with the means to travel to DC for the Forum.

This training is available through generous support from the Mertz Gilmore Foundation, the US Human Rights Fund, and Holland & Knight LLP.

Click here to register for this cutting-edge training..

On August 29, South African Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula was found to be in contempt of a court order and committed to jail after failing to rebuild a homeless encampment burned down by police officers under his supervision. The South African Constitution recognizes a right to housing and lawyers are showing what a difference that right can make.

In this particular case, lawyers brought a case on behalf of the homeless people living on vacant land in Moreletapark after police officers burned down their homes and attacked the residents. Pretoria High Court judge Bill Prinsloo gave police 12 hours to rebuild their shacks. Eight days later, after the police took no action, the judge ordered Security Minister Nqakula committed to jail and imposed a fine of R10 000. The judge suspended the order for two weeks, giving the Minister time to make amends.

The U.S. could benefit from this example and the commitment to housing rights that underlies it. For example, earlier this year, the St. Petersburg police destroyed a tent village, by slashing their tents and throwing them in dumpsters

Click here to view the video.

To date, there has been no action taken against the police officers.

To learn more about how a right to housing would function in the U.S., you can attend the National Forum on the Human Right to Housing on November 5, where U.S organizations will be discussing how they have applied human rights strategies to affordable housing and homelessness issues.

Thanks to the Mertz Gilmore Foundation and the U.S. Human Rights Fund for their support of the Human Rights program at NLCHP.

The Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) offers a quick and simple way to support NLCHP's critical work. The CFC is a program sponsored by the U.S. government that allows federal employees to easily and securely make donations to national and local charities. Employees can choose charities off a list of thousands by using the U.S. Office of Personnel Management website. There are options to make a one time donation or to have a certain amount deducted from each paycheck throughout the year. Within the CFC there are several federations set up around various themes. NLCHP is a part of the Human and Civil Rights Organizations of America (HCROA), a federation geared specifically towards organizations that advocate for rights both in the United States and abroad.

NLCHP would appreciate your support during this campaign. Your generous donations ensure that the needs of our most vulnerable citizens are met. If you are a federal employee and would like to donate, NLCHP's code is CFC #11947.

NLCHP would like to thank last year's CFC donors for their generous support.

Welcome to Kathy Zeisel who is NLCHP's new Domestic Violence Staff Attorney. Kathy provides technical assistance and training to domestic violence attorneys and advocates and to housing attorneys and advocates around the issue of domestic violence and housing. Kathy is also developing impact litigation around discrimination against domestic violence victims in the housing context.

Prior to joining NLCHP, Kathy was the Queens Supervising Attorney for the Courtroom Advocate's Project at the Center for Battered Women's Legal Services, Sanctuary for Families, Inc. in New York, where she did direct representation for victims of domestic violence in family and matrimonial matters.

She received her J.D. degree from New York University School of Law. As a student, Kathy helped found Law Students for Human Rights and was an International Law and Human Rights scholar at the Center for Justice in International Law in Costa Rica. Kathy also represented several battered women in immigration cases and uncontested divorces. Kathy received her undergraduate degree from Georgetown University, and was subsequently a Georgetown Public Interest Fellow at Cambridge Family and Children's Service in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

LEAP is a national legal community philanthropic effort to help homeless and poor American achieve self-sufficiency. LEAP members provide financial support and pro bono legal services to help NLCHP prevent and end homelessness.

NLCHP would like to welcome to our newest LEAP member, Latham & Watkins LLP. Latham has a stong tradition of pro bono involvement and community support and we welcome the firm's participation in our critically important LEAP initiative.

Click here for more information about the firm.

NLCHP would also like to thank our current LEAP member firms:

Baker & Hostetler LLP; Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP; Goodwin Procter LLP; Hogan & Hartson LLP; Jenner & Block LLP; Jones Day; Morrison & Foerster Foundation; O'Melveny & Myers LLP; Sidley Austin LLP; Sullivan & Cromwell LLP; and WilmerHale

Visit our website at www.nlchp.org! Contact us at (202) 638-2535 or email us at network@nlchp.org