A Federal Plan to End Homelessness

This month the Law Center, along with our national and regional partners in the Homeless Advocates Group, is focusing advocacy on the Federal Strategic Plan to End Homelessness, which the HEARTH Act requires the Interagency Council on Homelessness to develop and present this May. A series of stakeholder meetings organized by the Council is already underway.

The Law Center and its partners are advocating for a strong and specific action-oriented plan that is focused on solutions to homelessness. Along with others, I was invited to present at an expert panel to advise one of the Council's working groups on the Plan. You can read my written submission here. If you do, you'll see that I refer to the joint proposals submitted by the Homeless Advocates Group to the ICH in December. They are endorsed by the leading national groups advocating to end homelessness. State and local groups are invited to endorse these recommendations as well. To do so, email Ashley Shuler.

My submission also calls on the Council to adopt a human rights framework and to endorse a right to housing for all homeless people. It asks the Council to focus on solutions that will end homelessness for all homeless people, not just certain sub-populations. It defines those solutions as focused on housing, income, health care, education, and civil rights, and it calls for a White House Conference to build political and public support.

A united advocacy voice is more important now than ever. We have a real opportunity to make a difference in national policy, and a strong national plan to end homelessness will be crucial. Add your voice and advocacy to our united effort!

Please circulate the advocacy proposals and invite other organizations to sign on. To stay up-to-date, watch our website and wiki and upcoming issues of In Just Times.

The United Nations has released the final report of the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing's U.S. mission, making both broad and specific findings and recommendations about housing rights violations in the United States.

The Special Rapporteur, Raquel Rolnik, visited six cities in the U.S. from October 23-November 8, 2009 in her mission, co-coordinated by NLCHP and the National Economic & Social Rights Initiative.

After an extremely participatory visit, many of the concerns homeless and low-income communities across the country expressed to her are included in the report.

The Rapporteur's report recommends, among other things:

* Increasing resources for public and affordable housing;
* The Protecting Tenants At Foreclosure Act should be extended beyond its 2012 sunset;
*Vacant properties should be made available to housing organizations for the provision of affordable housing;
*Constructive alternatives to the criminalization of homelessness should be developed, and where adequate shelter is not available, homeless persons should be allowed to shelter themselves in public areas;
*The HUD definition of homelessness should be expanded to include those living doubled up with others due to economic hardship.
* Congress should pass H.Res. 582 and devote increased resources to the Family Unification Voucher Program.

The Rapporteur will present her report to the UN Human Rights Council on March 5th in Geneva, Switzerland.

Next steps for advocates should include 1) publicizing the report, 2) demanding an action plan from legislators and HUD for implementing the report's recommendations, and 3) using the report recommendations and findings in local advocacy. For more information, contact NLCHP Human Rights Program Director Eric Tars.

The Law Center is seeking nominations for its annual Personal Achievement Award, to be presented at the 2010 McKinney-Vento Awards ceremony. Each year, the Personal Achievement Award honors a formerly homeless individual for success in overcoming adversity as well as his or her continued commitment to the issue of homelessness. The Law Center will select a winner from among the nominations and cover any travel expenses so that the honoree may attend the McKinney-Vento Awards event.

Please consider nominating someone you know for the Personal Achievement Award by emailing Jessica Libbey by May 1, 2010. Please include a brief, one-page description of your nominee, addressing the ways he or she meets the criteria listed here. We look forward to receiving your submissions.

Millions of dollars' worth of federal land and buildings are currently unused. Under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act and the 1994 Base Closure Act, federal agencies are required to make surplus federal properties available to state and local agencies and organizations serving homeless persons.

The Walter Reed Army Medical Center was listed as a surplus property in the Federal Register on August 7, 2009. The Government of the District of Columbia is listed as the Local Redevelopment Authority (LRA), and is responsible for creating a redevelopment plan for the property.

The Walter Reed Army Medical Center is 62.5 acres and is available for application by interested representatives of the homeless community. Those who are interested in using the property must submit a Notice of Interest (NOI) by February 24, 2010.

More information about the Local Redevelopment Authority and the Walter Reed property are available on the Walter Reed LRA website at www.walterreedlra.dc.gov. For instructions on how to complete an NOI, go to the Walter Reed LRA website and click on "WRAMC NOI Instructions."

For more information about Base Closures, please visit our wiki to access the Law Center's Base Closure Toolkit. If you would like further assistance with the NOI process or have any questions, please feel free to contact our office at (202) 638-2535.

In preparation for its first-ever review under the new Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the UN Human Rights Council, the U.S. government held the first in a series of consultations with civil society in New Orleans on January 26.

The consultation, held at Xavier University and coordinated by Equity & Inclusion, attracted over 200 residents from New Orleans and across the Gulf Coast, a number made even more impressive by the fact that the government only gave a week-and-a-half notice to advocates. Many groups who participated in the visits of the international Advisory Group on Forced Evictions and UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing came to hold the government accountable to the findings and recommendations made by those and other UN human rights bodies.

While government representatives took notes and answered questions on other panels, the Housing and Environmental Protection panels were marred by cancellations on behalf of Housing and Urban Development and Environmental Protection Agency staff, which left many residents feeling frustrated that their concerns were not being adequately heard. Government officials indicated this was part of the learning process and they would ensure back-ups were prepared for future consultations.

The next UPR consultation will be in Albuquerque, NM on February 23-24, and will focus on Native American issues, including housing. Following that will be New York City, on February 25-26, where the Law Center and other partners will have a panel on housing rights. This will be followed by Dearborn, MI, on March 3, El Paso on March 8-9, Birmingham, AL, on March 11-12, and San Francisco on March 22-23. For more information on how to get involved, contact Human Rights Program Director Eric Tars.

President Obama's FY2011 budget proposal, unveiled on February 1, includes $65 million for the McKinney-Vento Act's Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) program. This is the same funding level as the past two fiscal years, which only reaches 9% of all schools. Because the EHCY program received additional funding through the recent American Reform and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) stimulus legislation last year, the $65 million proposal represents a significant cut to the current funding available for homeless education.

The proposed funding level of $65 million is particularly inadequate given the recent increase in family and youth homelessness. A funding level of $140 million would match the total resources available this year from the EHCY and ARRA funding. Although even this amount would still fall short of total demand, it would at least enable schools to keep in place the programs they have through the continuing recession.

The most promising instructional strategy or academic program will be of little benefit to children and youth who cannot get to school, or who are constantly changing schools due to the instability of their homeless situation. In these times of unprecedented homelessness and limited resources, failure to target federal education dollars to the poorest children and youth is fiscally irresponsible, and sets these students on a path for academic and economic failure.

The Law Center encourages its readers to write and/or visit your Congresspersons to educate them about the need for adequate funding for homeless student services. Contact information for U.S. Senators may be found at http://www.senate.gov and for U.S. Representatives may be found at http://www.house.gov.

On January 20, 2010 in People's Union for Civil Liberties v. Union of India & Ors., the Supreme Court of India worked with the Delhi Government to ensure that emergency shelter was provided for its homeless citizens. A report submitted to the Court warned of the dangers of hunger and exposure to extreme temperatures. The number of available shelters in Delhi has been reduced to 33: 17 permanent and 16 temporary shelters. With record cold temperatures in the region, the Supreme Court felt that the government of Delhi had not taken the necessary steps to provide shelter and took emergency measures to protect homeless citizens. An emergency program was put into place to provide shelter on a priority basis, and the Delhi government was given hours to provide blankets, water and mobile toilets to homeless shelters. The Supreme Court also provided longer-term direction to the government of Delhi.

This decision by the Indian Supreme Court indicates a recognition of the responsibility of governments to provide basic shelter and amenities for their inhabitants. The actions of the Indian Supreme Court can serve as an example for other countries of the power of legal communities to ensure the protection of the most vulnerable and at-risk citizens.

Peter H. Bresnan is a litigation partner at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and member of the Firm's Government and Internal Investigations practice. Simpson Thatcher is a member of the Law Center's LEAP (Lawyers' Executive Advisory Partners) program, and has made several important pro bono contributions to the Law Center's Domestic Violence Program. Of particular significance was the firm's review of more than 1700 plans submitted to the federal government by public housing authorities across the country to assess the compliance with their obligations to domestic violence survivors under the Violence Against Women Act. The data uncovered through the firm's research indicated substantial and pervasive violations of the law. These findings were incorporated into the Law Center's April 2009 report, "Insult to Injury," describing the challenges survivors of domestic violence, dating violence and stalking continue to face in obtaining and maintaining safe and affordable housing despite federal legal protections.

Mr. Bresnan's practice includes a broad range of business regulatory and corporate governance matters, including representing corporations, financial institutions and individuals in SEC and other regulatory enforcement proceedings. Mr. Bresnan joined Simpson Thacher & Bartlett following a 12-year tenure at the Securities and Exchange Commission. He earned his J.D. from Fordham University School of Law in 1982 and his B.A. from Kenyon College in 1977.

The Law Center is thrilled to welcome Mr. Bresnan to our Board of Directors and eager to use his vast experience in the battle to end homelessness.

Kenneth S. Aneckstein is a partner at DLA Piper, the Law Center's newest LEAP member. DLA Piper was a dedicated pro bono partner of the Law Center even before becoming a LEAP Member. Its lawyers already have made significant contributions to our Human Rights, Children's, and Domestic Violence programs. More recently, the firm worked with the Law Center to assist a non-profit in Cambridge, Minnesota in its application to acquire unused military property for conversion to housing for homeless families.

Mr. Aneckstein concentrates his practice in estate planning and administration of large estates. He has extensive knowledge in the areas of tax, business, estate issues, and the drafting and construction of wills and trusts, as well as experience with IRS practice and procedure, including compliance and controversy work. Mr. Aneckstein earned his J.D. from the University of Maryland Law School in 1996, and joined the adjunct faculty at the University of Maryland School of Law in fall 2002.

The Law Center is pleased to welcome Mr. Aneckstein to our Board of Directors. We are excited that he has joined the Finance Committee, and we know he will be an asset in our work to prevent and end homelessness.

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

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