Representatives STILL have a chance to sign onto a fiscal year (FY) 2011 House sign-on letter being circulated by Representatives Gwen Moore (D-WI) and Al Green (D-TX). The letter requests $2.2 billion for HUD's McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants, 10,000 new HUD-VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) vouchers, and 10,000 Housing and Services for Homeless Persons Demonstration vouchers. These funding levels would help communities make substantially more progress toward preventing and ending homelessness. 

To show congressional leaders that there is HUGE support in Congress and among constituents for increasing funding for these programs, we need to ensure that this letter has a long list of signatories. The deadline for Representatives to sign onto the letter has been EXTENDED to Wednesday, March 30.   

What You Can Do

1. Find out if your Representative has already joined the Moore/Green letter. If so, thank him/her. If not...
2. Call your Representatives' offices THIS WEEK; ask to speak to the person who handles housing issues. Office phone numbers can be found by dialing the congressional switchboard at 202-224-3121.
3. Ask them to sign onto the Moore/Green Sign-On Letter by March 30. They can contact Andrew Stevens in Rep. Moore's office at Andrew.Stevens@mail.house.gov to join.
4. If they need to consult with their boss first, find out when you can follow up on your request, and then let us know which office(s) you spoke with by contacting Kate Seif at cseif@naeh.org. 

This week, people across the country are scheduling meetings or site visits with their Representatives and Senators to discuss FY 2011 funding for key programs, including those that prevent and end homelessness, while Members of Congress are home for a congressional recess.  

If you haven't already done so, please contact your Senators' and Representatives' LOCAL offices RIGHT AWAY and try to schedule a meeting as soon as possible. If the Member of Congress himself/herself is unavailable, please try to meet with the staff person who handles housing issues.   

What You Can Do: 

1. Use the sample meeting request form and materials available here to contact your Senators' and Representatives' district offices TODAY to request a meeting. If you aren't sure who to address the request to, contact Kate Seif at cseif@naeh.org. 
2. Prepare for the meeting. Explain the importance of providing an INCREASE in funding for McKinney-Vento programs. If you want additional help preparing, just let us know! 
3. Let us know which office(s) you contacted and what kind of response you receive .

The Alliance recently released new toolkits with more information and suggestions for scheduling a congressional meeting or a site visit. 

FY 2011 McKinney-Vento Appropriations: Meeting with Congressional Offices