A Campaign for Justice

Twenty years ago the U.S. Congress called homelessness a national crisis. In response, a bi-partisan majority passed the landmark Stewart B. McKinney Homelessness Assistance Act, providing critical emergency aid to homeless people nationwide. But, Congress also recognized that this Act was only a first step and promised additional, long-term aid to solve the underlying problems.

Congress did not made good on that promise and homelessness continues to grow.

That is why we are launching a Campaign for Justice.

Over the next year, NLCHP will push for a renewed national response to the national crisis of homelessness.

To help support our campaign, we will launch a new NLCHP website in the coming weeks. The improved NLCHP.org will allow us to better communicate with advocates nationwide and make our resources more accessible. Up-to-date news about homelessness will be available on our homepage.

And, later this year, NLCHP will issue a report card assessing the federal response to homelessness over the past 20 years and detailing ways Congress can uphold and expand its commitment to end homelessness.

We need you to get involved. With nationwide support for our Campaign for Justice, NLCHP can call on Congress to make good on its 20-year-old promise to end homelessness.

Over the past two decades, weve made important progress. More homeless children can go to school. Women, children and men fleeing domestic violence have new legal rights to protect them from homelessness. Unused federal properties now provide shelter, housing and services for homeless people and families across the country.

The new Congress offers new opportunities. But those who are poor and homeless are the most marginalized and vulnerable members of our society. Without strong advocacy, their voices and needs will be overlooked.

Please keep checking the NLCHP website for more information on how you can get involved in our Campaign for Justice.

Maria Foscarinis
Executive Director

On March 6, Marylands State Senate passed a bill to add homeless persons as a protected class to its hate crimes statute. NLCHPs Civil Rights Attorney, Tulin Ozdeger, testified before senators in support of the bill.

With hate crimes against homeless people on the rise, it is encouraging to see states seriously consider adding homeless people as a protected class to their state hate crimes laws, said Ozdeger. Passing this kind of legislation sends a message that hateful brutality will not be tolerated.

NLCHP is working with the National Coalition for the Homeless, the Homeless Persons Representation Project in Baltimore, and other local advocacy groups to help pass this important legislation. The Maryland House is now considering the bill. If the bill passes the House and is signed by Governor Martin OMalley, Maryland will be the first state to include homeless persons as a protected class in its hate crimes statute.

In recent years, a number of attacks against homeless people have been highlighted by the media. In response to these horrifying attacks, many states are considering bills to include homeless persons as a protected class in their hate crimes statutes. Legislatures in California, Florida, Massachusetts, Nevada, and Texas are also considering such bills this year.

After reading Januarys IJT article on the right to housing law being drafted in France, Jennifer Flynn of the New York City AIDS Housing Network (NYCAHN) submitted this article about the first step towards a right to housing law here in the U.S. Thanks, Jennifer!

NYC Local Law 52, passed unanimously by the New York City Council and signed into law in 2005, guarantees a right to housing for homeless New Yorkers living with AIDS. The bill requires that the city makes a referral to medically appropriate housing within the first 40 days that a homeless person living with AIDS is placed in emergency housing. If the individual doesn't like the placement, they are allowed reject it, giving the city 90 more days to provide another referral.

In any case, the law requires the city to move people out of emergency housing much faster than the average 3-year stay. It also gives homeless people protection from being placed in inadequate housing.

The law also designated $2.5 million for additional housing and a database so that people without phones, or any way of receiving messages, can actually contact a welfare worker and check the status of their housing application.

While not as comprehensive as the law being drafted in France, the law does create a right to housing for homeless people living with AIDS in New York City. The law can and should be used as a model for more progressive legislation across the U.S.! For more information, go to the NYCAHN website.

Following up on its successful human right to housing trainings, NLCHP is proud to co-sponsor another training in Minneapolis, MN, on April 10. This training is designed for lawyers, housing advocates, low-income people, and others interested in learning more about how human rights law can be used to successfully advocate on behalf of homeless and low-income individuals. More information is available on the NLCHP website.

NLCHP thanks the Mertz Gilmore Foundation and the U.S. Human Rights Fund for their support of the Human Rights Program.

NLCHP recently released a new fact sheet entitled FERPA and Homeless Students: Understanding and Applying the Law. The document is designed for educators who want to know more about the Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act, a federal law governing the transfer of, and parental access to, education records. The publication provides an overview of the law and explains how its provisions impact homeless children and youth. It is available on the NLCHP website.

In addition, Hear Us, an Illinois-based non-profit, has released a new DVD entitled, My Own Four Walls. The DVD features the personal stories of homeless children and youth as told in their own words. It particularly highlights the forgotten stories of children and youth in non-urban areas. Homeless people in these areas often struggle to find adequate and stable housing because social services are less available than in large cities.

The project was spearheaded by Diane Nilan, a homeless advocate who sold her home, car, and most of her possession to buy an RV, travel the country, and produce videos about young people experiencing homelessness.

Read about the hate crimes legislation being considered by the state of Maryland in the Baltimore Sun.

Read about the issues facing homeless children and youth in the St. Petersburg Times.