What an eventful fall.

First, the grim news: Communities across the country are reporting increased homelessness and poverty as foreclosures force people into homelessness and the economic downturn squeezes resources. In D.C., So Others Might Eat (SOME) reports a 10% increase in food requests this year. In Denver, the rescue mission reports that 8% of its families are homeless as a result of foreclosure. In Contra Costa, CA, the County Supervisor reports that the homeless population is changing as foreclosures are forcing people out of their homes.

These are just a few examples. NLCHP has started a page on our new wiki website to track the link between foreclosures and increasing homelessness - please add to it and help us document the impact.

At the same time, there are new opportunities for advocacy with a new Administration and new Congress. Following up on our joint Five Fundamentals Campaign, national advocates are developing joint policy proposals for the incoming Administration. Watch NLCHP's website in the coming days to read them and learn how you can get involved. Getting the attention of our government leaders will be essential in our work to stem and end the crisis - your voice is crucial!

We also had reason to celebrate this past month, with our 10th Annual McKinney-Vento Awards Dinner, which honors leadership to end and prevent homelessness in the U.S. See below for details, and click here for some nice press coverage (and photos) of the event.

Maria Foscarinis
Executive Director

On Thursday, November 6th, NLCHP honored four individuals and organizations that have advanced solutions to end homelessness in America.

At a venue provided by Jones Day, overlooking the US Capitol, 120 were on-hand to honor this year's awardees. Fox 5 news anchor, Laura Evans Manatos, served as Mistress of Ceremonies for the evening. Just days following the national elections, NLCHP Board of Directors Chair, Dr. William Breakey, urged attendees to join "A New Campaign: End Homelessness in America."

The Stewart B. McKinney Award went to Richard E. Schaden, founder of Quiznos, for his efforts to create and fund America's Road Home, a national non-profit organization focused on ending homelessness. Mr. Schaden was called away on business and was unable to attend the event. Tom Ryan, Executive Director of America's Road Home, accepted the award on his behalf.

US Representative Judy Biggert, from the 13th District of Illinois, received the Bruce F. Vento Award. Mrs. Biggert has been a tireless advocate of homeless children and their families. She has been a lead negotiator on legislation to stem foreclosures and help keep people in their homes, and she has been leading the fight to expand HUD's definition of homelessness to include doubled-up youth and families and to provide greater flexibility to rural communities, securing a victory after 15 years of work on this issue.

Hogan & Hartson received the Pro Bono Counsel Award for its years of partnership with and assistance to NLCHP. This year, the firm prepared a comprehensive state-by-state report on voter registration laws. Using this information, NLCHP and other advocate groups led a nation-wide initiative to register homeless and low-income people to vote. Judy Faubert accepted the award on behalf of Hogan & Hartson.

The 2008 Personal Achievement Award went to Ms. Tonya Bullock of Baltimore, MD, who shared her story of losing her home and being part of a class action lawsuit on behalf of homeless children in Baltimore, including her son, in order to keep them in a stable school environment.

These awards pay tribute to two outstanding national leaders in the fight to end homelessness, Stewart B. McKinney and Bruce F. Vento.

If you're in the DC area, you can check out submissions from NLCHP's Annual Homeless and Low-Income Children's Art Contest at the Arlington Arts Center from November 18 - 29. Don't miss this wonderful display!

NLCHP, together with partner, the National Economic & Social Rights Initiative (NESRI), hosted the new UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing, Raquel Rolnik, for an informal visit to New York City and San Francisco in late October.

Ms. Rolnik was in the U.S. for a meeting of the UN General Assembly, during which she issued an official statement on housing rights and the foreclosure and economic crisis.

During her time in New York, Ms. Rolnik met with housing and homeless advocacy organizations and toured various points of housing rights abuses. Stops on the tour included the Emergency Assistance Unit, where homeless families are given temporary housing (or not), landlord & tenant court, public housing, and slum dwellings in Chinatown. At the conclusion of her two days in New York, Ms. Rolnik said, "it is clear to me that New York is violating the right to housing."

Ms. Rolnik continued on to San Francisco, where she held meetings with advocates coordinated by the Western Regional Advocacy Project and the San Francisco Housing Rights Committee. Additionally, she toured a homeless drop-in center, the Mission District to see evidence of gentrification, Single Room Occupancy buildings in Chinatown and public housing.

Advocates in both cities expressed enthusiasm for her return on an official mission, which will likely come in early 2009. She plans to re-visit these cities, as well as a number of others across the country. Groups interested in having the Special Rapporteur visit their city to shine an international spotlight on housing rights violations locally can contact NLCHP to get involved in planning and coordination.

On October 14, 2008, the Supreme Court of British Columbia handed down a decision in the case of Victoria v. Adams, finding unconstitutional a Victoria city ordinance which prohibits using "temporary abodes" like tents for shelter in parks and public spaces in the absence of adequate shelter beds.

The decision begins by quoting from the U.S. Pottinger v. Miami case, which found police could not arrest homeless persons for performing life- sustaining activities such as sleeping and eating in public based on the Eighth Amendment prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. The Canadian Court looked to different elements of the Canadian Charter of Rights, finding the ordinance infringed upon the rights to life, liberty, and security of person. This line of reasoning is potentially important for U.S. advocates who are seeking to create a broader interpretation of our own proclamation of the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness in the Declaration of Independence.

Significantly, the court interpreted the provisions of the Charter in light of Canada's human rights treaty obligations and other international law protecting the right to housing. The court specifically quoted from the Habitat Agenda, which states, "we recognize an obligation by Governments to enable people to obtain shelter and to protect and improve dwellings and neighbourhoods."

The City of Victoria is appealing the ruling to the Canadian Supreme Court; a decision there is expected in 2009.

NLCHP, together with partner organization the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children & Youth (NAEHCY), submitted comments last month on a new Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form, which enables unaccompanied homeless youth to apply for federal student aid.

The FAFSA requires parental financial information and a parental signature for most students, creating barriers for unaccompanied youth who do not have access to those documents or their parents' signature. The College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 changed the definition of "independent student" to include unaccompanied youth and expanded eligibility for foster youth. Although colleges are already allowed to make exceptions for unaccompanied youth, beginning with the application for the 2009-2010 school year, the FAFSA will include an explicit reference for youth who are certified by the school's homeless liaison or the college's financial aid counselor to apply as an independent student. This eliminates the parental income documentation and signature requirement, as well as generally increasing the student's eligibility for aid.

NLCHP's comments focused on clarifying language that could have prevented older unaccompanied youth and those who are self-supporting and at risk of homelessness from applying. The final forms will be issued in early 2009, and NLCHP looks forward to working with schools to ensure homeless youth are aware that the door to higher education is open to them.

NLCHP is pleased to welcome Covington & Burling LLP to its Lawyers Executive Advisory Partners (LEAP) program. The American Lawyer ranked Covington No.2 in its 2008 pro bono survey, and the firm's pro bono program encompasses a wide range of areas, including civil rights and civil liberties; landlord/tenant issues; homelessness; and employment.

Covington & Burling has a long history of partnering with NLCHP on pro bono projects, co-counseling a successful case to enforce a federal law making vacant federal property available to nonprofits for use to assist homeless persons and continuing to assist in monitoring federal government compliance with the permanent injunction in that case. Covington also provided legislative drafting and advocacy assistance to help NLCHP secure passage of federal legislation requiring base closure communities to consider the needs of homeless persons when developing reuse plans for closing military bases.

The firm was the recipient of the Pro Bono Counsel Award at the 2007 McKinney-Vento Awards.

As the holiday shopping season approaches, remember that you can support NLCHP when you order gifts!

Order items through iGive.com, GiveBackAmerica.org or Go odShop.com, choose NLCHP as your charity, and a percentage of the sale will go to NLCHP, at no additional cost to you! Hundreds of popular retailers participate through these sites.

At GiveBackAmerica.org, you can even book your holiday travel, with a percentage of proceeds benefitting NLCHP!

It's not too late to join NLCHP at the Help the Homeless Walkathon on the National Mall in Washington, DC this Saturday, November 22nd.

Click here to register to walk with our team, or cl ick here if you cannot attend but would like to make a contribution.

Increasing Access to SSI and Related Benefits

Friday, December 5, 2:00- 3:00 pm ET

Click here to register for this event.

NOTE: This is NOT the National Forum on the Human Right to Housing. You do NOT need to fill out or pay the fee listed on the confirmation page.

NLCHP is a 501(c)(3) organization. Visit our website at www.nlchp.org! Contact us at (202) 638-2535 or email us at nlchp@nlchp.org