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Homes Not HandcuffsList of "Meanest Cities" to be Released
Media AdvisoryNLCHP Contact: Jordan Railsback 202.638.2535 x204 NCH Contact: Michael Stoops 202.462.4822 x234 Save the Date: July 14, 2009, 12pm ET Who: Maria Foscarinis, Executive Director, National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty Tulin Ozdeger, Civil Rights Program Director, National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty Michael Stoops, Executive Director, National Coalition for the Homeless
What: Audio Press Conference Homes Not Handcuffs: List of "Meanest Cities" to be Released When: July 14, 2009, 12pm ET Call-in: 1-641-715-3630 Participant code: 671-128#
WASHINGTON, D.C., July 13, 2009 - The National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty and the National Coalition for the Homeless will release their report on the criminalization of homelessness, which shows a disturbing increase in laws that target homeless persons in cities around the country.
This report includes the list of "meanest cities," which have the worst record related to criminalizing homelessness. The report also includes initiatives in some cities that are more constructive approaches to street homelessness. Results of a survey of laws and practices in 273 cities around the country will be available, as well as a survey of lawsuits from various jurisdictions in which those measures have been challenged.
These practices that criminalize homelessness do nothing to address the underlying causes of homelessness. Instead, they only exacerbate the problem, forcing people to move away from services that could help them, and making it more difficult to obtain employment or housing with a criminal record. As explained in the report, criminalization measures also raise constitutional questions, and many of them violate not only the civil rights of homeless persons, but human rights law as well. This report, titled Homes Not Handcuffs, will be released at 12:00PM ET on Tuesday, July 14, 2009.
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