Last month marked an exciting step forward in the national advocacy movement to end and prevent homelessness. In a White House ceremony on May 20, President Obama signed into law two bills important to our cause: the reauthorization of the McKinney-Vento housing programs and the Protection of Renters in Foreclosure Act. Both were major NLCHP priorities, and we were pleased to be invited to the White House for the occasion.

The reauthorization of the McKinney-Vento housing programs came after 15 years in which the programs were funded but not officially "authorized" by Congress, leaving the nation's largest federal programs to address homelessness without Congressional oversight or attention. The reauthorization was thus also an opportunity to update, strengthen, and improve the Act's programs, and we feel that the new legislation does this.

Among the key provisions are strengthened requirements on the Interagency Council on Homelessness, including a requirement to create a federal plan to end homelessness and to stop cities from criminalizing homelessness in favor of more constructive approaches. Click here for more information. The need for federal leadership is urgent: Just last month NLCHP joined partners Southern Legal Counsel and Florida Institutional Legal Services to file a suit in federal court in Florida, challenging St. Petersburg's efforts to criminalize homelessness.

The Renters in Foreclosure Act addresses one of the key current causes of growing homelessness nationally: the eviction of renters from foreclosed properties. This issue was highlighted in a joint report by NLCHP and the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), Without Just Cause, and the new law tracks our recommendations. NLCHP, NLIHC and our other partners will be disseminating information and materials on this important new law on our Wiki site.

We want to hear from you as we move forward! Please let us know your thoughts and comments.

NLCHP, along with partners Southern Legal Counsel (SLC) and Florida Institutional Legal Services (FILS) filed a lawsuit in federal court on behalf of a class of homeless plaintiffs challenging the constitutionality of a number of ordinances and practices that target homeless individuals living in St. Petersburg.

Since early 2007, St. Petersburg has passed six ordinances that target homeless individuals, including four different ones that make it unlawful to sleep, lie down or recline outside at various locations throughout the city and prohibiting the use of temporary shelters. The other ordinances outlaw panhandling throughout most of downtown and prohibit the storage of personal belongings on public property.

The 2009 Pinellas County Coalition for the Homeless' Annual Count and Survey documented a 20% increase in the total number of sheltered and unsheltered homeless individuals living in Pinellas County. Without adequate shelter space or affordable housing, many homeless St. Petersburg residents are forced to live outside.

The named plaintiffs in the suit have been cited or arrested for a wide range of activities they must do to survive. In addition, police have banned plaintiffs from certain public parks, have unlawfully searched them, and have penalized some for keeping property in public spaces.

The groups assert that the ordinances and practices used to target the plaintiffs violate a wide range of constitutional protections, from the Eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment, to the right to travel, to free speech rights. The groups also claim that certain of the challenged measures are void for vagueness, violate the Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, and violate equal protection rights. The plaintiffs are seeking an injunction to stop enforcement of the ordinances and practices at issue and a declaration of the unconstitutionality of these practices.

A recent report by the UN Special Rapporteur on Racism shone an international spotlight on the criminalization of homelessness in Los Angeles' Skid Row, where police are ticketing homeless and poor African Americans for minor violations such as jaywalking and littering at more than 50 times the rate of the rest of the city. Post-Katrina housing needs and the ongoing problem of racial segregation in housing were also cited.

The report is based on the Rapporteur's May-June 2008 visit to the U.S., coordinated in part by NLCHP. The Rapporteur visited many cities, including Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, New York, Omaha, and Washington, DC, and met with housing and homeless advocates in each.

NLCHP had highlighted the disparate impact of police enforcement in its Feburary 2008 testimony to the Rapporteur in Geneva. Then, while in Los Angeles, he met with NLCHP's local partners, Beyond Shelter and the LA Coalition on Hunger & Homelessness, and went on a tour of Skid Row with the Los Angeles Community Action Network (LA CAN). LA CAN has subsequently filed a request for an investigation by the federal Department of Justice into racial discrimination against homeless persons and other abuses of the law.

The Rapporteur will make a formal report of his findings to the UN Human Rights Council later in June, and NLCHP intern Luis Rodriguez will report back on this session from Geneva. NLCHP will continue working with its partners in Los Angeles to use the international comments to help keep pressure on the Department of Justice and others to conduct a full investigation and cease this discriminatory practice.

The National Center on Homeless Education (NCHE) released its compilation of data from the 2007-2008 school year showing 794,617 homeless students identified by school districts, a 17% increase over the previous year.

NCHE is the federally contracted agency responsible for monitoring and assisting schools with implementation of the McKinney-Vento Act's education provisions. These include the immediate enrollment of homeless students in new districts, or the facilitation of transportation so homeless students can continue to attend their school of origin throughout the duration of their homelessness.

Homelessness is defined by the McKinney-Vento Act to include not just those on the streets or in shelters, but also those living doubled up due to economic circumstances or other reasons. In fact, the percentage of doubled-up students increased to 65% of identified homeless students in '07-'08, up from 61% the previous year, and 56% two years prior.

NLCHP conducts active outreach to school districts and homeless assistance agencies to ensure students are being appropriately identified and given proper services. For example, this past month, NLCHP spoke with close to 100 English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Teachers in eastern Maryland to train them on the rights of homeless students, including migrant students who are homeless. Students with Limited English Proficiency made up almost 10% of identified homeless students this past year.

Additional data in the report shows the number one barrier to the education of homeless children and youth is transportation to and from their school of origin, as it has been for the past four years.

"Cindy" thought her troubles were over when she left an abusive relationship. Then her abuser began to regularly break into her apartment and threatened her, breaking the windows on one occasion. After this incident, her landlord formally evicted her from her apartment. The landlord then told her numerous times that she would need to pay for the cost of replacing the windows or face legal action.

Incidents like this are all too common. NLCHP recently released a new study showing that domestic violence survivors are often victimized in more way than one: on top of suffering abuse, they can also lose their housing due to actions of their abusers.

About 20% of homeless women report domestic violence or abuse as a reason for their homelessness, and 28% of U.S. cities surveyed in 2008 reported that domestic violence was a primary cause of homelessness. Domestic violence survivors, particularly those with limited resources, often have to choose between living with their abusers and becoming homeless.

Over three years after Congress reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and included provisions protecting victims of domestic violence, dating violence and stalking from being denied access to, or being evicted from, public or Section 8 housing, NLCHP's study shows that housing providers are still inconsistently enforcing and implementing these protections, leaving victims of domestic violence to also fall victim to homelessness.

NLCHP's study included extensive review of over 3,300 HUD-approved 2007 and 2008 Public Housing Authority plans to determine whether they were in compliance with provisions of VAWA. The study showed that 40.5% of all Public Housing Authority plans did not even meet basic requirements. According to the study, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has offered insufficient guidance to local Public Housing Authorities, and domestic violence service providers are still encountering numerous denial and eviction cases. NLCHP is urging the new HUD Secretary, Shaun Donovan, to make redressing them a priority.

In addition, NLCHP and key partners launched a nationwide survey of service providers to assess their experiences with denials and evictions based on domestic violence, dating violence and stalking. Survey results show that over 300 victims were threatened with eviction or were evicted for reasons directly related to domestic violence, dating violence

NLCHP makes several recommendations in this report, such as a comprehensive survey by the federal government on implementation of the VAWA regulations, as well as better oversight by HUD of local compliance with these regulations. It is also critical that service providers collect data by screening clients with housing problems that are related to

The full report, Insult to Injury: Violations of the Violence Against Women Act, is available here.

Each year at the McKinney-Vento Awards event, NLCHP honors a person who has experienced homelessness, overcome adversity and is committed to helping others. This year, NLCHP will honor G.W. Rolle, of St. Petersburg, FL. Mr. Rolle began living on and off the streets at the age of 14. He went to prison at the age of 17, and after his release, he received a scholarship to attend Syracuse University. Still, his criminal record was a barrier to using his education to find employment and stable housing.

While struggling to break the cycle of homelessness, he became an outspoken homeless advocate. No longer living on the streets, Mr. Rolle continues to fight against homelessness for those still trapped in its cycle. Mr. Rolle serves on the homeless leadership network in Pinellas County and works with local churches and religious groups to advocate for better governmental policies to address root causes of homelessness and provide dignity to people living on the streets. In 2008, he began a ministry for homeless adults, which he named "Living Water Community Ministries," a 90-day transitional housing program for men and women who desire to break the cycle of homelessness in their lives. Unfortunately, due to lack of funding, he had to close the program but has moved on to other avenues of advocacy.

Mr. Rolle is currently an Americorps VISTA volunteer with the National Coalition for the Homeless' Faces of Homelessness Speaker's Bureau in Pinellas County. Mr. Rolle also coordinates transportation for the Cold Night Shelters on behalf of the Pinellas County Coalition for the Homeless. For the past five years, Mr. Rolle has been cooking breakfast as a volunteer on weekends at the Salvation Army, a homeless service provider in St. Petersburg.

Mr. Rolle was concerned with the lack of dignity afforded to homeless individuals in St. Petersburg and began volunteering with NLCHP and Southern Legal Counsel, a nonprofit civil rights law firm in Florida. He has been assisting in a project in St. Petersburg aimed at addressing the criminalization of homelessness in that city and now works part-time as an Outreach Assistant for the project. He is a leader and an inspiration to homeless individuals and homeless advocates.

NLCHP is seeking submissions from homeless or low-income children and youth in the Washington, DC area for its annual artwork contest! Entries will be displayed at the McKinney-Vento Awards ceremony. One winner and two runners up will receive prizes. The winning artwork will also appear on the four awards that will be presented to the honorees at the event.

The winner will be invited to attend the awards dinner in September, along with his or her parents/guardian.

Submissions will be accepted from children in the DC area who are enrolled in after-school programs or art-related organizations serving homeless and low-income children, or who are currently residing in shelters.

Entries in the contest must meet all criteria listed in the guidelines, and must also include the entry & release form, signed by a parent or legal guardian.

The deadline for submissions has been extended to August 1, 2009!

With a new grant from The Open Society Institute, NLCHP's Program to Prevent Homelessness Resulting from Foreclosures will educate various stakeholders, including renters themselves, about renters' rights in foreclosure, and train and assist them in understanding and claiming such rights; prevent homelessness due to foreclosures and related evictions by disseminating information about model state programs and policy models and supporting efforts to promote their adoption; and ensure that state and local governments, and their non-profit sub-grantees, are able to make effective use of $1.5 billion in new Stimulus funding for homelessness prevention. Thanks to the Open Society Institute!

Thanks to the Freddie Mac Foundation for a grant for our Access to Rights and Opportunities for Vulnerable Families and Children in Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia program. NLCHP will work to ensure that children and youth in low-income communities have access to school and essential services in order to improve academic achievement, and that survivors of domestic violence and their children maintain housing stability.

NLCHP also wishes to thank the W. K. Kellogg Foundation for its support to enhance the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty's capacity by providing general support of its programs. Established in 1930, the W. K. Kellogg Foundation supports children, families and communities as they strengthen and create conditions that propel vulnerable children to achieve success as individuals and as contributors to the larger community and society. Grants are concentrated in the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean, and southern Africa.

Check out the new Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) section on the Homelessness Wiki! It includes fact sheets, articles, and frequently asked questions. This section is still growing, as are many other pages. Local advocates have also set up a discussion page to share resources about combating criminalization in their area - if you want to set up a similar discussion let NLCHP know. We encourage interested organizations to email nlchp@nlchp.org if you have expertise to add to the content!

Street Sense recently published an article about the Homelessness Wiki, (Vol 6, Issue 13). The article calls the Wiki an "ideal way to pool and organize resources."

The Wiki is a collaborative online resource. It includes an advocacy manual consisting of fact sheets, Q&A, statutory materials, litigation documents, model programs, policies and legislation, and in-depth articles. The site also provides a central location for advocates and organizations to post training sessions and events, as well as offers the latest news from partner organizations and ways to get more involved in the effort to end homelessness. Visit the site and find a list of current partners at http://wiki.nlchp.org.

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

Or visit our website at http://www.nlchp.org