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Quarterly Report: Announcements and Recap
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This Quarterly Report includes a preview of key upcoming activities for advocates, as well as a review of major developments from the last quarter. Specifically, this issue reviews:
- Finalized FY 2012 appropriations;
- Upcoming media opportunity on a new homelessness report;
- Webinar on integrating health care and PSH;
- Implications of the Super-Committee's failure; and
- Release of 2011 PIT data.
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Congress Finishes FY 2012 Appropriations
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This past weekend, Congress finalized all appropriations bills for fiscal year (FY) 2012. Funding levels for programs within the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and several others were finalized on November 17. Funding for HUD's McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants was held flat at $1.901 billion. Congress approved legislation for funding programs within the remaining federal agencies, including the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor, Education, and Veterans Affairs (VA).
The latest legislation includes funding for numerous federal programs impacting homeless and at-risk people, including:
- $115 million for Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA) programs;
- $75 million for Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) homeless services programs;
- $65 million for the Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH) program;
- $137 million for Health Care for the Homeless Centers;
- $65 million for the Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) program; and
- $38 million for the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP), a slight increase over FY 2011.
Please note that the levels listed above include a two-tenths of one percent across-the-board cut that was applied to all programs within the Departments of Labor, HHS, and Education. Funding for most targeted homeless assistance programs was held flat compared to FY 2011, despite deep cuts to many other federal programs. One notable exception to this was the joint HUD-VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program, which received increased resources.
The Administration is expected to release its budget proposal for FY 2013 in early February, and the Alliance will host a webinar to review this proposal. Please plan to watch for Advocacy Update emails for updates throughout next year on FY 2013 appropriations.
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New Report and Media Campaign to Increase Awareness of Homelessness
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In January, the Alliance plans to release a new report on homelessness. The report will include national and state data on homelessness counts, economic indicators on homelessness, and the demographic drivers of homelessness. The Alliance released a similar report, The State of Homelessness in America 2011, earlier this year.
On Monday, January 16 at 1 p.m. ET, the Alliance will host a webinar to launch a national media campaign, in conjunction with the report's release, to raise awareness about homelessness. It is critical to inform the media - and through them, our communities and opinion leaders - about the importance of ending homelessness. With your help, we can use this new report to educate and persuade decisionmakers about the scope of this problem and ways to implement real solutions.
During the webinar, the Alliance will review the highlights of the report and discuss strategies for approaching reporters. Following the webinar, we will disseminate sample talking points, a sample "pitch," and a sample press release. A full copy of the report - including state-level data - will be sent out prior to the release of the report. Please click here to register for the webinar. If you are interested in joining the campaign but are unable to participate in the webinar, please contact Kate Seif at cseif@naeh.org for information on getting involved.
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Save the Date: Integrating Health Care and PSH
On Wednesday, January 11 at 3 p.m. ET, the Alliance will host a webinar entitled "Putting the Pieces Together: Primary Care and Behavioral Health Services in PSH." The webinar will highlight new policies and best practices that integrate health care services with intensive housing solutions like permanent supportive housing (PSH). To provide supports that are appropriate to each individual, PSH strategies have to coordinate services and funding from many sources.
This webinar will present approaches to integrating PSH and health care, featuring model programs in the field and comments from national policy leaders. Presenters will include Graydon Andrus, Downtown Emergency Service Center, Seattle, WA; Sam Tsemberis, Pathways to Housing, Vermont; Jennifer Ho, U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness; and Charlene LeFauve, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). To register, please click here.
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Super-Committee Fails to Produce Agreement
In August, Congress passed the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA), which cut $1 trillion from the federal deficit and created the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, more commonly known as the Super-Committee, to find an additional $1.2 trillion in savings. The Super-Committee failed to produce an agreement, which means that federal resources will be much scarcer in the short- and medium-term, so it will be important to work together to maximize available resources for affordable housing and targeted homelessness programs.
Last month, the Alliance released a policy brief summarizing the impact of the Super-Committee's failure on efforts to prevent and end homelessness. Discretionary spending (as opposed to mandatory spending like Medicaid) is determined each year through the congressional appropriations process and will be particularly hard hit. In January 2013, an across-the-board cut of approximately 9 percent will go into effect for non-exempt, non-defense discretionary programs, including nearly all affordable housing and homelessness programs. Then, for fiscal years 2014 through 2021, Congress will abide by predetermined caps on how much can be spent on discretionary programs.
Work to end homelessness will need to take these changes into account, and advocates will need to make the strongest available case for affordable housing and homelessness resources. Together, we will have to convince Congress to prioritize funding for the most vulnerable Americans. The Alliance looks forward to continuing to partner with you to get the best possible results for people experiencing homelessness.
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HUD Releases 2011 PIT Data
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Last week, HUD released the results of the point-in-time counts conducted in January 2011 to determine the number of people experiencing homelessness in local communities. Between 2010 and 2011, the number of people homeless on a given night declined by 2.1 percent to 636,017 people. This decline includes a 12 percent decrease in the number of veterans experiencing homelessness to 67,495.
HUD attributes many of these declines to federal programs providing housing to people experiencing homelessness, including the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP). With HPRP funds gone in most communities, we MUST make sure that members of Congress understand how important it is to fund solutions to homelessness, including those implemented through McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants and other key federal programs. Please share the new data with your representatives and senators and urge them to support increased resources next year for the critical programs that helped to make these declines possible.
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BUILDING
POLITICAL WILL
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The Alliance works collaboratively with its local, state, and national partners to advance policies and programs that prevent and end homelessness.
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