The Alliance recently released a new advocacy tool for educating policymakers on the role that permanent supportive housing (PSH) plays in health care solutions. As Congress, states, and communities work to reign in health care costs and implement the Affordable Care Act, it is critical that they understand the role of PSH in reducing health care costs for people experiencing chronic homelessness.

This one-page brief makes the case that expensive hospital costs are reduced when the most vulnerable homeless people are housed and given access to the services they need, including medical treatment, behavioral health recovery, and long-term community supports.

Please educate your local, state, and federal policymakers on this issue! Make sure state Medicaid leaders understand that effective PSH is in their fiscal interest. You can use this brief as a "leave-behind" for policymakers and interested stakeholders or as a starting point for your community to develop its own message about the relationship between health care and solutions to homelessness.

For more information about how Medicaid can play a role in ending chronic homelessness, contact us.

We need YOUR help! We want to know how many homeless youth (age 24 and under) are in your community. If your community has conducted an unaccompanied homeless youth count, including a street count component, and used deliberate strategies to capture this population within the past five years, we want to hear from you! Please send us any reports and/or fact sheets describing your data and methodology in administering the count.

This data is vital in bolstering our federal, state, and local advocacy efforts! Improved data on the nature and extent of youth homelessness increases the likelihood of securing more robust funding for homeless youth initiatives and helps communities to better tailor program strategies to best assist this population. With your help, we can make sure that this vulnerable group is represented and given the tools and resources they need to live better and healthier lives.

Please send data, reports, and fact sheets to Andre Wade at the Alliance at awade@naeh.org.

Last month, the Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises Subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee passed H.R. 2441, which would eliminate the National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF). The legislation was introduced by Representative Ed Royce (R-CA).

In order to educate Members of Congress, their staff members, and the public about the NHTF and its importance, the National Housing Trust Fund Campaign has launched a new website, www.truthabouthousingtrustfund.org. The website includes educational resources about the NHTF and ways to get involved in advocating for its protection and funding.

Members of Congress are currently in recess and will not return to Washington, DC until after Labor Day. Advocates across the country are taking advantage of the opportunity of having their Members of Congress back home in the district to set up meetings and site visits. Other advocates are mobilizing their communities to send letters or make phone calls to congressional offices to educate them on the importance of federal homeless assistance programs.

When Congress returns to Washington, DC next month, attention will shift toward fiscal year (FY) 2012 appropriations. We need YOUR help to make sure Members of Congress understand the importance of providing $2.4 billion for McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants, funding new HUD - VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) vouchers, and allocating $135 million for Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA) programs in FY 2012.

Thanks to all of you who have already contributed to these efforts! But if you haven't yet reached out to your Member of Congress, it's not too late to get involved! Simply invite your Member of Congress to tour a local homeless assistance program or try to schedule a meeting with him/her. For assistance choosing congressional targets, developing talking points, or planning advocacy efforts, contact Kate Seif at cseif@naeh.org.