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  Send a Letter to Your Member of Congress TODAY!

  June 13, 2013

  Largely due to sequestration, the overall spending caps for appropriations subcommittees are much lower than they have been in previous years, especially in the House. In other words, there is less money than usual to spread around among different transportation and housing programs, which leaves funding for homeless assistance programs in a precarious place.

  Therefore, it is important that advocates make sure that members of Congress, particularly representatives in the House, know about the important work these often overlooked programs do in their districts and why they should prioritize them when making difficult decisions about funding.

  So, how can you get involved and help make an impact? In order to take full advantage of the short window of opportunity before the House begins making key decisions regarding funding for HUD programs, the Alliance’s mobilizing team has launched an FY 2014 McKinney Letter-Writing Campaign!

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  Substance Abuse, a Factor and a Consequence of Homelessness

  June 10, 2013

  One in five people who experienced homeless on a given night in 2012 also struggled with chronic substance use problems – 131,000 people altogether.

  Clearly, responding to drug and alcohol addiction is an essential part of ending homelessness. One does not need to look far to find connections between behavioral health and risks of homelessness. Substance abuse disorders are commonly found among chronically homeless people and within homeless families. Anyone who has dealt with chemical dependence, or knows someone who has, understands well the connection with homelessness. Job and income loss, family estrangement, issues with landlords, drug-offense convictions – these often go hand in hand with untreated substance use problems – at the cost of housing stability.

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  NCHV Conference: Facing a Steep Climb

  June 06, 2013

  Things are constantly changing in the fight against veteran homelessness. While we are making steady progress, we continue to encounter new obstacles like outdated programs, and mainstream integration that require new solutions and new ways of thinking about the problem.

  Last month, I was fortunate enough to attend the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans annual conference in Washington DC, where all the important players were in attendance to discuss our progress on a national level and shed some light on the challenges that service providers face on the front lines of the war against veteran homelessness.

  “The climb will get steeper the closer we get to the summit,” Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Shinseki told us during the opening plenary.

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  Communities Reduce Veteran Homelessness by a Third

  June 03, 2013

  It is common knowledge in the homeless assistance field that veterans are overrepresented in the overall homeless population. And while the reasons for this, which have to do both with their military service and with who serves in the military, remain a subject of open debate, perhaps the most perplexing question is how we as a country have tolerated veteran homelessness for so long.

  That is changing. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and VA Secretary Eric Shinseki are pursuing a specific plan to end veteran homelessness, and congress has come up with the resources to fund it. Now HUD-VASH, SSVF, and other programs are providing permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, and other interventions to fight the problem of homelessness among veterans and their families.And for the past few years, the overall number of homeless veterans has declined, even as service members return from wars in the Middle East to an economy without enough jobs.

  And we at the Alliance have been tracking that progress. We’ve found that a number of communities have made significant progress. We’re immensely grateful to the following communities that have achieved reductions in veteran homelessness of at least one-third since 2011.

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  Why States Are Using Welfare to Pay for Housing

  May 30, 2013

  For the past three years, states used one-time stimulus funds to supercharge a promising anti-homelessness initiative. Now that the money is gone, at least nine states are leveraging welfare cash assistance to keep the program alive, and the federal government hopes more states will follow.

  The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, also known as the economic stimulus, set aside $1.5 billion for the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Rehousing Program (HPRP) over three years. But in 2013, states are faced with a question of how to cover the loss of that one-time investment. “We’re all having an ARRA hangover,” said Karla Aguirre, director of workforce development at Utah’s Department of Workforce Services.

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  Alliance President Keynote Remarks, 2013 National Family and Youth Conference

  May 10, 2013

  Back in February,  about 900 advocates, practitioners, and officials convened in Seattle for two days of sharing innovative practices and new research on family and youth homelessness at the Alliance’s 2013 National Conference on Ending Family and Youth Homelessness. These are the keynote remarks delivered by the Alliance's President and CEO Nan Roman at that conference.

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  Resources for Meeting Ann Oliva’s Recommendations

  May 08, 2013

  On Monday, Ann Oliva, Director of the Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs at HUD released a letter  with information and recommendations for CoC leaders and stakeholders. The letter outlined four things community stakeholders should consider in striving to reach the goals laid out in Opening Doors. We have a number of resources on our website that address the various recommendations in Ms. Oliva’s letter, and I wanted to highlight them today because I know our website can be a little overwhelming at times.

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  Homelessness and Mental Health: Moving Past Stereotypes

  May 06, 2013

  Many people automatically associate homelessness with mental illness, based on stereotypes of men and women on city streets, disheveled and talking to themselves. In fact, certain groups of people experiencing homelessness do live with severe mental health conditions, though this is not true of all homeless people. With May being Mental Health Awareness Month, this is a good time to take a look at the connection between homelessness and mental illness.

  Of the 633,800 people who were homeless on any given night in 2012, about 99,900 people (or 18 percent) could be described as severely mentally ill. Many are chronically homeless, meaning they have been without homes for a long time or have experienced multiple episodes of homelessness. Their mental conditions make it impossible for them to remain stably housed for long without intensive help. The consensus in the homeless assistance field is that best way to help them is by providing permanent supportive housing.

  That’s not the entire story, however.

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  Damaging Effects of Sequestration Felt by the Most Vulnerable

  May 02, 2013

  While sequestration was only put in place two months ago, already the stories are piling up. Predictably, the news is bad. Take Roger in Fairfax, VA – after 10 years of being homeless, the light at the end of the tunnel was extinguished when the PHA canceled his interview for a Section 8 Voucher due to lack of funds. Or Steven, in Honolulu, HI who fears that this Section 8 Voucher will be taken away and he’ll be forced out on the street. Or a resident in El Paso, TX who is now required to make the choice between striking out on his own or moving to the city’s far less desirable Public Housing. These heartbreaking stories are not unique. In fact, they’re just the tip of the iceberg – there are, and will continue to be, hundreds of stories and thousands of people just like Roger and Steven.

  We are already hearing stories from across the country about threats to individuals’ and families’ Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers. From California to Connecticut, people are hearing that they may lose their current housing if their PHAs can’t find a way to keep them housed. Families in Iowa have had their recently-issued vouchers rescinded. Hundreds were taken back in New Orleans, too.

  In some places, Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) are being forced to raise rents on their residents in order to keep them housed. A housing authority in Indiana notes that even if it requires increased rents, it will likely have to scale back on basic services such as repairs and flood insurance due to sequestration cuts. The Worcester Housing Authority in Massachusetts will be forced to raise rents nearly 4-fold over two years, even after laying off staff people.

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  Veteran Homelessness Funding in the President’s Budget

  April 18, 2013

  As you may have heard, the Administration has requested another historic increase in funding for homelessness assistance programs under the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). In the Administration’s FY2014 budget request the president’s budget proposal calls for 1.4 billion. This is a 3 percent increase over last year’s historic 33 percent funding increase. So what does this mean?

  This budget reflects a strong, ongoing commitment to the goal of ending veteran homelessness by 2015. It continues Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program funding at a scale necessary on both ending veteran homelessness in this timeframe and preventing future veteran homelessness. This budget also calls for an additional 10,000 HUD-Veteran Assistance Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program housing vouchers and a modest increase in VA’s Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem program.

  This is what a fully funded system looks like: a full spectrum of programs and interventions to address the housing needs of homeless and at-risk veterans and their families. It would ensure permanent housing for more chronically homeless veterans, put transitional housing programs in place, and expand the rapid re-housing and prevention system.

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  How Would the President Fund Homeless Assistance in 2014?

  April 11, 2013

  The President’s budget proposal, released Wednesday, provides a detailed look at this Administration’s spending priorities for the next year and beyond. Right now you can find all kinds of commentary on the proposed budget, in terms of both policy and politics, about the big picture and larger items like tax and spending policies aimed at reducing the long-term federal deficit, as well as concessions by the President to Republicans in the form of proposals to reduce spending on middle-class benefit programs.

  Today, however, I want to go over a few specific items, much smaller in scale, that would have an impact on homelessness.

  One important piece of background information that’s important to keep in mind: This budget proposal is based on certain assumptions about how much money overall will be available for HUD programs. While those assumptions are certainly reasonable, not all members of Congress agree on them. The President’s budget is always “just a proposal.” This year there is more uncertainty than usual, but there is a greater need for Congress to enact it.

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  Get Your U.S. Rep to Support Homeless Assistance Funding! Here’s How.

  April 05, 2013

  After what can only be called an epic journey, fiscal year (FY) 2013 is over and Congress has moved full steam ahead into FY 2014. After the release of their Budget Resolutions (non-binding outlines of how the federal budget should look this year and in the near future – both the House and Senate came out with very different visions), the House and Senate are now working on the specifics of funding programs for various programs, including HUD’s McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants.

  As such, Members of Congress are currently circulating Dear Colleague letters. Dear Colleague letters, also known as “sign-on letters,” are usually sponsored by one to three Members of Congress and contain a message for specific people in Congress – in this case, the Chair and Ranking Member of the Appropriations Committee or an Appropriations Subcommittee.  The message usually refers to increasing or maintaining funding levels for specific programs for the upcoming fiscal year. The sponsors circulate the letter among their colleagues in either the House or Senate (in this case, both letters are in the House) to gather signatures.

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  Homeless Assistance Grants Receive Funding INCREASE!

  March 27, 2013

  Last week, the House and Senate finalized a final fiscal year (FY) 2013 funding bill for all federal discretionary spending. As we read through the list of anomalies (the handful of programs that received funding increases, as opposed to the vast majority of programs that received flat funding from FY 2012), we felt mixed emotions. We were relieved and excited to see an increase for HUD’s McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants and beyond thrilled at the 33 percent increase homeless assistance programs within the Department of Veterans Affairs received.  On the other hand, we were shocked and disappointed to see that following sequestration, many programs serving low-income populations would be taking a tremendous hit.

  After a tumultuous (to say the least) year, well, 16 months, focusing on FY 2013 funding, here’s our assessment on the final funding levels and what they mean.

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  Poor People Can’t Afford Housing. How Can We Fix That?

  March 21, 2013

  We over at the National Low Income Housing Coalition spend most of our time focused on solving one specific problem: the acute shortage of housing that is affordable and available to extremely low income (ELI) households. This shortage is a primary driver of homelessness, and closing the gap between the number of affordable housing units and ELI households will make a big difference in the ongoing effort to prevent and end homelessness.

  Our latest numbers show that, for every 100 ELI households, there are just 30 affordable and available units. This number grows every year. In our annual report Out of Reach (released this month), the authors reveal that nationwide, a household must earn $18.79 an hour (working 40 hours  a week, 52 weeks a year) in order  to afford a decent two bedroom rental home. This number, which we call the “housing wage,” is even higher in many parts of the country. (You can get data on your own community at the NLIHC website.)

  While federal programs exist to help make housing more affordable for ELI households, these programs are oversubscribed, and many eligible households go unassisted, even if they otherwise qualify. Low income households desperately in need of housing find themselves on years-long waiting lists, or find that waiting lists for affordable housing in their area are closed entirely. Households on waiting lists for housing assistance have an average wait time of two years.

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  Sequestration: It’s Happening. What Now?

  February 26, 2013

  Whether you’re here in Washington, DC or not – there’s one big thing everyone’s talking about this week. And no, it’s not Jennifer Lawrence’s trip at the Oscars. It’s sequestration (cue ominous music). Sequestration, the automatic, across-the-board cuts to both security and non-security discretionary spending (which must be appropriated through the federal funding process each year, and does not include mandatory spending programs such as Medicaid, Medicare, SSI, etc.), is set to take place this Friday, March 1. As of now, it’s unlikely to be averted. While some last-minute proposals are being addressed (see today’s Hill Update for the latest), it’s unlikely that they will gain much traction in the next four days.

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  Obama Proposes Strengthening Working Class (No Mention of Homelessness)

  February 13, 2013

  When you live inside the beltway of our nation’s capital, like nearly all of us here at the Alliance, there are a few big events where the political buzz in the town grows a little louder and your inner politico comes out to play. The elections are one, inaugurals another, and of course, the State of the Union Address. Last night, President Barack Obama delivered the 223rd annual State of the Union (his 5th) to a joint session of Congress. The SOTU is an opportunity for the President to use his “bully pulpit” and lay out the Administration’s agenda for the upcoming year.

  Some of these agenda items were unsurprising: gun control, immigration, climate change, and the budget. As one of the policy team members at the Alliance, I was watching the Address for some obvious specifics – will the President talk about homelessness? Low-income people? Housing? We know from past analysis, that the President was unlikely to mention homelessness directly, but housing did get a brief mention (couched in terms of refinancing mortgages and making it easier for Americans to afford their own homes).

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  Advocacy in 2013: A Look Ahead

  January 03, 2013

  Last year, I wrote a blog post about the 2012 outlook for homelessness policy and legislation. I described 2011 as a tumultuous year during which many challenges arose that would eventually shape our advocacy and policy work in 2012. Looking back, I’d have to say that 2012 indeed proved to be an enormously challenging but successful year for us (see my 2012 wrap-up for details).

  These last few weeks, we’ve been inundated with news of action or, has more often been the case, inaction, dealing with the fiscal cliff and the details of the last-minute deal to avert it. Thanks to the deal Congress struck with the Administration, 2013 should be just as challenging for advocates, if not more so, as last year. That deal, which you can read more about here, kicked the can down the road two months on sequestration, which should give the newly minted 113th Congress time to do something about it, such as eliminating the measure, or reversing it and replacing it with a more balanced plan.

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  How the Fiscal Cliff Deal Will Impact Homelessness

  January 02, 2013

  Last night Congress passed a bipartisan bill that eliminates or postpones many aspects of the “fiscal cliff.” President Obama is expected to sign the bill shortly.

  As readers of this blog are no doubt aware, the fiscal cliff was made up of different federal laws that would have taken effect around now that would have either raised taxes or cut spending in a number of different areas, including programs important to ending homelessness. The Congressional Budget Office found that, if all these measures took effect on schedule, it would have sent the economy back into a recession and substantially increased the unemployment rate.

  For people working on homelessness, here are some of the important things the new bill does.

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  A Look at the New Homelessness Numbers

  December 18, 2012

  On Monday, December 10, The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released national numbers from the January 2012 Point-In-Time (PIT) Counts, which give an estimate of the number of people sleeping in shelters and other housing for homeless people and also in places not meant for human habitation (aka “the streets”) at a single point in time. In this case, that point in time was mid-January, 2012.

  Since a lot of people around the country are entering the final month of preparation for the 2013 PIT count, I want to start by saying that having these numbers every year has turned out to be extremely important. The enumeration is not perfect. But PIT Counts have become more rigorous over the years, and we believe they provide a reliable and worthwhile estimate.

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  Get in on the Action in Your State Capitol

  December 05, 2012

  With elections nearly a month behind us, advocates are honing strategies to approach leaders and legislatures, new and old. With so much focus on federal budget and policy, it’s easy to overlook that all but half a dozen state legislatures will be in session by the time President Obama is inaugurated for a second term. At that time, state legislators will already be addressing budgetary issues and health care reform, two factors that will play huge roles in homelessness assistance next year.

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