Children's Right to Housing

Right now, over 1.3 million children around the country are homeless. Many more are an eviction notice, medical emergency or parental pink slip away. How can this be happening in 21st century America?

Over the past three decades, government cuts have badly frayed the social safety net, and the cuts in housing have been especially deep. Gentrification of affordable housing without replacement of it elsewhere has added to the growing gap between those in need of affordable housing and its availability. Now, the National Low Income Housing Coalition estimates that there is a national shortage of over 3 million units of housing affordable to extremely low-income families.

Decent housing is a basic human need, and under international human rights law it is also a human right. Our own government set a goal of decent housing for all Americans in the federal 1949 Housing Act. But that was a goal, not a right.

It's time for a right to housing for all - including all homeless Americans. We're starting our campaign for a right to housing by pushing for passage of H. Res. 582. It's a Resolution now pending in the U.S. House of Representatives, calling for A Right to Housing for All Children with their Families. The lead sponsor is Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), and we need to add as many sponsors as possible.

To do this, we need your help. You can find a summary of the bill and talking points to support it here. Call your representative today and ask him or her to co- sponsor H. Res. 582. Meet with your representative during the upcoming recess, March 29 to April 11, when representatives are typically in their home districts. You are their constituent - and your voice makes a difference!

In 2010, the Law Center is continuing its work towards legislative goals to help end homelessness. A summary of our legislative priorities for this year can be found here.

We are excited to announce the Law Center's new blog at http://homelessnesslaw.wordpress.com. We will use it to keep you up-to-date on legal issues affecting homeless and poor Americans, as well as offer commentary as we continue to fight to end homelessness in our country. We encourage you to subscribe or check back often - and pass it on!

In preparation for its first-ever review under the new Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the United Nations Human Rights Council, the U.S. government is currently holding a series of consultations with city residents and human services organizations throughout the country. On February 26, the Law Center co-sponsored one such consultation at Columbia Law School in New York, where advocates convened to discuss a range of human rights issues.

Following last October's six-city tour of homeless and low-income communities by UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing Raquel Rolnik, the human right to housing was featured prominently in the discussion. Representatives from the State, Housing & Urban Development, and Justice Departments among others, attended.

On March 5, Ms. Rolnik reported on her visit to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland. In response to the decayed state of American housing policy, Ms. Rolnik offered a number of the Law Center's suggestions, including increasing resources for public and affordable housing, extending the Protecting Tenants At Foreclosure Act making vacant properties available to housing organizations for the provision of affordable housing, and developing alternatives to the criminalization of homelessness.

The Universal Periodic Review process holds U.N. member countries accountable to human rights standards by requiring that all members submit reports to the Human Rights Council every four years. In November 2010, the United States will undergo its first review. The Law Center will be involved throughout the process, holding the U.S. government accountable to its human rights obligations.

The U.S. Census Bureau is creating a new, supplemental measure for poverty statistics. The new Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) will take into account a wider range of expenses and income than the current measure in order to improve our understanding of economic conditions and trends.

The current measure was formulated in the 1960s, and has been readjusted for inflation every year, but never recalculated to reflect changing population dynamics and expenses. The SPM will provide an alternative view based on a household of one parent with two children (now more common than it was when the two parent, two children household basis for the current measure was established). It will also account for varying costs of living in different metropolitan areas and for factors like childcare, medical costs, and basics like the cost of food, shelter, clothing, and utilities.

The current measure will continue as the standard for benefits eligibility, but many advocates hope the SPM will provide a more comprehensive understanding of poverty trends in the U.S. The new measure is likely to be released in fall 2011, at the same time that the official income and poverty measures for 2010 are released, and annually thereafter.

For additional information about the Supplemental Poverty Measure, click here.

Law Center partner Beyond Shelter will host a two-day training on HPRP (Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Rehousing) program design and implementation May 26-27, 2010 in Los Angeles. This technical assistance institute will provide in-depth workshops to help develop or strengthen homelessness prevention or Housing First programs. For more information, click here.

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.

G.W. Rolle has been living on and off the streets since he was 14 years old. He is now 54 years old and lives in St. Petersburg, Florida, where he previously lived on the streets and was featured in Easy Street, a documentary about chronically homeless people. Numerous media outlets, both national and international, have interviewed him regarding issues of homelessness and poverty.

No longer living on the streets, Mr. Rolle continues to fight against homelessness as an outspoken homeless advocate for those still trapped in its cycle. He serves on the homeless leadership network in Pinellas County, FL and is an Americorps*VISTA volunteer with the National Coalition for the Homeless' Faces of Homelessness Speakers' Bureau in Pinellas County. In 2008, he began a ministry for homeless adults. He coordinates transportation for area Cold Night Shelters and volunteers on weekends at the Salvation Army.

He has been assisting the Law Center with a project aimed at combating the criminalization of homelessness in St. Petersburg, working part-time as an Outreach Assistant for the project, and he joined the Board of Directors at the Law Center in January. We are thrilled Mr. Rolle has joined us in the national movement to end homelessness.

Bruce E. Rosenblum is a Managing Director of the Carlyle Group, and is a member of the firm's Operating Committee. He has also served as Chairman of the Private Equity Council since its formation in early 2007. Mr. Rosenblum is a member of the Law Center's LEAP (Lawyers' Executive Advisory Partners) program.

Prior to joining Carlyle in May 2000, Mr. Rosenblum was a Partner and Executive Committee member at Latham & Watkins, also a LEAP firm, where he practiced for 18 years specializing in mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance. Before joining Latham, Mr. Rosenblum served as a law clerk to Chief Justice Warren E. Burger on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Mr. Rosenblum is a graduate of Yale University and received his J.D. from Columbia Law School. He was admitted to the New York State Bar Association in 1981 and to the Washington, D.C. Bar Association in 1982. He has long been a friend and advocate of the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, and he was elected to the Board of Directors in January. We look forward to applying his expertise to our efforts to combat homelessness.

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

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