NLCHP Commends HUD Secretary Appointment

Press Type: Press Release   Associated Program: Housing

Released: 12/2008

The National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty (NLCHP) commends President-Elect Obama's nomination of NYC Housing Commissioner Shaun Donovan for Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary.

"NLCHP looks forward to working with Mr. Donovan to address the growing housing crisis in the United States," said Maria Foscarinis, Executive Director of NLCHP.

"This is a particularly critical time, with data from across the country showing dramatic increases in homelessness directly linked to the foreclosure crisis and larger economic downturn," she added. "HUD will be a crucial agency in addressing what must be a multi-agency response, led by the White House, to stem the rising tide of homelessness." 

Donovan has a long history and extensive expertise in working on housing issues generally, and on issues affecting low-income people specifically. He also has a history of commitment to homelessness: Foscarinis noted that while a student, Donovan worked as an unpaid intern for the Washington, D.C. office of the National Coalition for the Homeless, which she directed before founding NLCHP in 1989. 

A new NLCHP fact sheet documenting the link between increased homelessness and the foreclosure crisis and economic downturn is available at http://www.nlchp.org/content/pubs/Foreclosure_effects_on_homelessness.pdf.

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