Earlier this month, riot police held back poor Floridians distressed that the housing vouchers they had waited on line for hours to receive had run out before their turn came. The scene, captured on video, is shocking: The obvious desperation felt by poor, predominantly African-American women met with the anger and fear of their affluent, mainly white, neighbors in Palm Beach, where the incident occurred.

Also this month, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination charged the US with failing to eliminate or adequately address persistent racial discrimination in housing, as reported in this issue of IJT. Indeed, African-Americans are disproportionately represented in the homeless population, as charged by another UN committee in 2006, and they are also disproportionately represented in the sub-prime mortgage crisis.

Safe, decent, affordable housing is critical to human survival -- not to mention happiness, productivity and general well-being. Yet currently, only one in four Americans who are poor enough to qualify for federal housing assistance receive it. One in two homeless Americans is unsheltered -- according to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, which uses a narrow definition of homelessness. These failures of the social safety net fall disproportionately on those who have historically been shut out and denied equal opportunity.

This year we have a unique opportunity to raise these issues with our elected officials, including candidates for President. For information on their positions relevant to homelessness and housing to date, compiled by NLCHP, click here.

Please help us get the word out!

Maria Foscarinis
Executive Director

In October 2007, Lawyers for Equal Justice, the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation and the law firm of Alston, Hunt, Floyd & Ing, with technical assistance from NLCHP, filed a class action lawsuit, Kaleuati v. Tonda, seeking to ensure access to education for all homeless children in Hawaii. Hawaii's homeless children have been regularly denied access to education, often turned away at the school-house door for lack of records, such as proof of residence or birth certificates; a clear violation of the McKinney-Vento Act.

Last month, the federal court certified the case to proceed as a class action and ordered the State to immediately amend its enrollment forms and records process to ensure identification of homeless children and access to the protections of the McKinney-Vento Act. We are hopeful that fixing these procedures will prevent future enrollment denials and help keep children in one school, even if their family must move around in search of shelter. The order requires the schools to be pro-active in identifying homeless children and ensuring they are able to enroll and attend school.

A major barrier remaining, however, is the lack of appropriate transportation to homeless children living outside the geographic boundaries of their home school. The Court will be conducting further hearings on transportation in the coming weeks.

This month's homeless children's news is guest-written by William Durham, an attorney with Lawyers for Equal Justice who is working on the Kaleuati case. Thanks, William!

NLCHP would like to thank the Freddie Mac Foundation for its support of our Children & Youth Program.

On February 29, with the assistance of law firm Goodwin Procter LLP, NLCHP, the National Coalition for the Homeless, the National Health Care for the Homeless Council and the National Policy and Advocacy Council on Homelessness filed an amicus brief in a case challenging Orlando's food sharing restrictions.

In early 2006, the Orlando City Council passed an ordinance that prohibits sharing food with more than 25 people in city parks without a permit and limits permitted groups to doing so only two times a year. In October of 2006 the ACLU, representing members of Food Not Bombs and the First Vagabonds Church, filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the constitutionality of the ordinance.

NLCHP's brief focuses on the perspective of homeless persons and the infringement on their rights imposed by this law. It highlights hunger challenges facing homeless persons, the lack of adequate food resources available to them, and the importance of groups' ability to reach out to homeless persons in public spaces through food sharing activities. NLCHP also argues that the law violates homeless persons' constitutional rights, including their rights of expressive and intimate association, as protected by the First and Fourteenth Amendments; their free exercise of religion rights under the Florida Religious Freedom Restoration Act; and their Fourteenth Amendment due process rights protecting against unconstitutionally overbroad criminal laws.

To read a copy of the brief, click here.

NLCHP would like to thank the Herb Block Foundation for its support of our programs.

In 2005, Congress unanimously reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), adding important new housing provisions to the law, including new protections for victims living in Public and Section 8 housing. However, the new protections have largely not been enforced, and HUD has neglected its duty to implement the law.

VAWA is critical to protecting victims and their families and preventing homelessness -- at least 25% of homeless women report that domestic violence was the direct cause of their homelessness, and victims often stay in abusive relationships because they have no safe place to go with their families.

HUD is responsible for approving the Housing Authorities' plans and often has direct contact with Project-Based Section 8 providers. Without HUD's involvement, it seems unlikely that the law will be applied universally and consistently. Advocates around the country continue to see these evictions occur, despite VAWA.

In February and March, NLCHP met with legislators on committees with oversight over HUD to discuss these problems. Staffers were distressed to learn about the lack of implementation, and are working with NLCHP and our partner organizations on this issue. At House oversight hearings, Rep. Roybal-Allard (D-CA) submitted questions in writing to HUD Secretary Jackson and asked two Assistant Deputy Secretaries for more information about VAWA implementation by HUD. Sens. Dodd and Shelby also submitted written questions to Secretary Jackson following the Senate hearing. NLCHP, along with several other organizations, also submitted a written statement to the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Budget Committee.

NLCHP's statement to the House Financial Services Committee is available here.

NLCHP's statement to the Senate Banking Committee is available here.

NLCHP would like to thank the Waitt Family Foundation for its support of the Domestic Violence program.

On March 7 in Geneva, Switzerland, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination issued its Concluding Observations charging the U.S. to do more to remedy the effects of racial discrimination in housing and other areas.

The Observations come after the formal review of the U.S.'s report to the Committee under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. This is a required procedure for all signatories to the treaty, which the U.S. ratified in 1994.

NLCHP coordinated more than 60 housing and homelessness organizations participating in the review, and was able to achieve a number of concrete comments from the Committee on housing issues. These include praising a California law that requires cities to plan for affordable housing needs, a direct condemnation of segregated and inadequate housing in communities of color, a call for a right to a lawyer in civil cases involving housing rights, and a critique of the inadequate response to the housing needs of those displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

NLCHP will continue to work with partner groups to implement these recommendations in legislation and litigation across the country.

To read more about the Committee's observations, click here.

NLCHP would like to thank the Butler Family Foundation and the U.S. Human Rights Fund for its support of the Human Rights Program.

As Congress prepares for Fiscal Year 2009 (FY09) appropriations, Reps. Gwen Moore (D-WI) and Geoff Davis (R-KY) are leading an effort in the House of Representatives to seek $2 billion for the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance programs administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The HUD McKinney programs provide funding for emergency shelter, transitional housing, permanent housing, and case management services for homeless persons.

The HUD McKinney programs will need a substantial increase in order to reach more families and individuals who are not currently receiving services. According to HUD data, approximately 44% of the homeless population is unsheltered on any given night. For Fiscal Year 2008, Congress provided approximately $1.586 billion. Any effort to decrease homelessness and serve the 44% of the population who are not in housing or shelter on any given night will require a much more significant investment.

Rep. Moore and Rep. Davis sent a letter to Congressional appropriators to ask for $2 billion for the HUD McKinney programs for FY09, a 26% increase above FY08 levels. President Bush has requested a 3.5% increase for FY09.

NLCHP and other national advocates are working with Reps. Moore and Davis to seek increased McKinney funding. A total of 85 Members of Congress have signed on to the letter to the Appropriations Committee.

A list of the current signers is available here. Please take a moment to check the list. If your Representative has signed, please send them a letter or email to thank them. If they have not, please call or write to them and ask them to ask Appropriators for more funding for McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance programs.

For more information, contact Laurel Weir at NLCHP by phone (202-638-2535) or email.

NLCHP is proud to add Greenberg Traurig, LLP to our growing list of Lawyers' Executive Advisory Partners (LEAP) members.

Greenberg Traurig's pro bono work spans almost every area of public interest law. The firm's lawyers regularly help the people in their communities on matters as wide-reaching as human rights and economic development and as personal as domestic violence, children's issues and immigration.

The firm's pro bono work includes representing low-income residents of the District of Columbia in home ownership, family law, conservatorship and consumer protection matters.

Recently, Greenberg Traurig worked with NLCHP and local advocates to provide research and analyze a survey of DC homeless individuals in order to improve police policies toward unsheltered homeless people.

NLCHP is now accepting nominations for the 2008 Personal Achievement Award! Each year, NLCHP honors an individual who has experienced homelessness to recognize his or her accomplishments and service to those still experiencing homelessness. This person will be recognized for his or her personal achievement as a formerly homeless person at the 2008 McKinney-Vento Awards ceremony.

A full description of award criteria is available here. To nominate someone, please e-mail Katherine Bittner with a brief, one page description of your candidate detailing how they meet the criteria.

The deadline for submissions is May 1, 2008.

For more information about the McKinney-Vento Awards, please visit our website or call 202-638-2535.

NLCHP is hosting its annual artwork contest for homeless and low-income children and youth! Each year, NLCHP selects one winner and two runners-up whose artwork will be featured at the McKinney-Vento Awards ceremony, along with other selected artwork from this and previous years' contests. The winning artwork will also be used on the awards presented to the other honorees at the event, and may be used in other NLCHP materials. Last year's McKinney-Vento event featured an artwork display sponsored by the firm Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP.

Submissions will be accepted from children enrolled in after-school programs or art-related organizations serving homeless and low-income children. Entries in the contest must meet all criteria listed in the guidelines, and must also include an entry & release form signed by a parent or legal guardian. Guidelines and forms are available here.

If you know of an after-school group or children and youth organization in the DC metro area that might like to participate in the contest, please e-mail Katherine Bittner with their contact information.

For more information about the McKinney-Vento Awards, please visit our website or contact Katherine Bittner by email or at 202-638-2535.

The deadline for submissions is June 15, 2008.

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