Homelessness Law Blog

Disability benefits. Domestic violence.  Tent cities.  Homelessness cuts across many different issues, and these are just a few of them, taken from the topics addressed in this month’s In Just Times.

As I wrote about in my recent Huffington Post article, homelessness affects a wide swath of the U.S. population—and the breadth and depth of its reach is increasing, as foreclosures and unemployment continue to take their toll on low-income and, increasingly, middle-income families and individuals. You wouldn’t necessarily know this from looking at some of the data released by HUD, which most recently reported a 2.2 percent decrease in the numbers.  That’s because HUD defines homelessness very narrowly, excluding many people without homes. (more…)

Today, the Law Center released Improving Access, a new report on how bureaucratic barriers are preventing thousands of homeless Americans from accessing Social Security disability benefits that could help them get off the street.

Social Security benefits, including Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), are critical to keeping people with disabilities in stable housing through income support and health services.  Unfortunately, the application process is cumbersome and freezes out many eligible homeless people.  While up to 40 percent are potentially eligible due to physical or mental disability, only 14 percent actually receive benefits. (more…)

No matter how much you guard against it, there’s a part of you that gets used to human suffering.

I smiled tiredly, slipping a dollar in his cup and letting my mind wander.  I was already turning away when he grasped my hand.

He squeezed slightly and guided me back.  Whereas before his total person was a tilted cup, I was confronted now with a complex being.  A wispy gray beard ghosted sharp angles; his palms were covered in coarse white lines from a life spent earning something; and he held in his eyes imagination and loss.

He shook my hand firmly.  “My name is Jimmy.”

Late last night, despite advocacy by the Law Center and others, the Denver City Council passed legislation criminalizing homelessness by a vote of 9-4.  This law, which makes it illegal for homeless people to sleep outside, is only the latest symptom of a 20 year-old pandemic that many still ignore.

In 1991, the Law Center published Go Directly to Jail, highlighting a growing trend among cities to sweep homeless people out of public view by making illegal their life-sustaining acts.  For the past two decades, we’ve been tracking and challenging these laws—preventing passage, suspending enforcement, or even striking them down in court.  Yet still the trend persists.

There’s a lot of reasons these policies don’t make sense.  Fiscal hawks don’t have a leg to stand on; it costs up to five times more to jail a person than it does to provide housing.  And by giving homeless people criminal records, we’re making it harder for them to secure employment—damaging our economy and perpetuating the need for social services.

Criminalization laws also violate prohibitions on “cruel, inhuman[e], and degrading treatment” under human rights treaties.  The U.S. has an obligation both to itself and the world community to honor those terms.

But above all else—setting aside all the number-crunching and policy proposals—we have responsibilities as human beings.

Jimmy stared into my eyes.  He tugged me closer, pumping my hand in his.

“He that is inclined to mercy shall be blessed,” he recited earnestly.  “For of his bread he hath given to the poor.  He that maketh presents shall purchase victory and honor: but he carrieth away the souls of the receivers.”

I nodded timidly.  I think I meant it to show gratitude.  He didn’t smile, or frown.  I guess he just was.

His eyes searched mine, and with a final shake I was released.

There’s nothing illegal about being human.  That these laws receive even the briefest consideration is an indictment of us all.

Homelessness is not an unsolvable problem.  We know how to end it—we only need the resources.  In the meantime, we must ensure no homeless person is punished for their misfortune.

We’re better-positioned than ever before to address this crisis.  The federal government stepped up to the plate last month, with the Department of Justice and Interagency Council on Homelessness releasing a report condemning criminalization and pushing constructive alternatives.  But now it’s time to turn those words into action.

Denver is just one of countless cities sweeping homeless people out of sight, but it’s no less wrong for its having company.  Real human beings will be hurt by this.

It’s time to end this despicable practice and satisfy our convictions as moral people.

- Andy Beres, Development & Communications Coordinator

As the early spring’s plantings start to blossom in my yard, I’ve also been appreciating that the seeds for the human right to housing, some planted years ago, have also started to bloom.

In early April, the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness and Department of Justice issued a groundbreaking report condemning the growing trend toward criminalizing homelessness, warning that such policies “undermine real solutions” and may violate the constitutional and human rights of homeless people, including U.S. treaty obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention Against Torture.

This is the first time a domestic policy report has referenced our international treaty obligations, let alone saying our domestic policies might actually violate them!

We planted this seed in 2009 when our advocacy secured passage of the HEARTH Act, a requirement of which was to produce a report on criminalization.  We nurtured this by hosting numerous representatives of the Interagency Council and the Justice Department at our National Forums on the Human Right to Housing, as well as meeting with them through the Universal Periodic Review and in consultations with UN experts to discuss housing and homelessness in a human rights context.  We’re seeing a formal analysis of human rights treaties blossom as part of the government’s domestic policy discussion.

Last week, three UN human rights experts on extreme poverty, housing, and water and sanitation welcomed this domestic recognition of human rights.  “This report,” a press statement said, “could generate a tangible difference in the lives of hundreds of thousands homeless Americans.  By identifying viable and effective alternative practices and policies, it will not only assist the US Government in complying with its international human rights obligations, but also in addressing the root causes of homelessness.”

Evidence of where future blossoms may sprout comes from my trip to Eugene, Oregon, toward the end of April.  While there, at the invitation of the Eugene Human Rights Commission, I met with many local service providers, homeless persons, and advocates, as well as the mayor, city manager, three city councilors, and numerous other city staff, to discuss implementing the human right to housing at the local level.

As Eugene worked earlier this year to disperse the OCCUPY Eugene encampment, activists demanded a process to address the needs of homeless persons in the camp who had no home to go to.  They subsequently developed the Opportunity Eugene Task Force, a 58-member dialogue which produced a series of recommendations, including a recognition of the human right to housing in Eugene.  The mayor and city council are currently considering the recommendations.

So far as I’m aware, my meeting is the first time high-level city officials have sat down for two full hours to discuss the human rights implications of homelessness.  While the city has many challenges in working to implement the full recommendations of the Task Force, some are more immediately achievable, such as examining the city’s laws to ensure their enforcement does not criminalize homelessness and produce the counter-productive effects cited in the Interagency Council’s report.  Others, like creating a safe ground for homeless persons to camp without harassment and with necessary water and sanitation services, may serve as an interim step to full enjoyment of the right to housing.

There’s still much more work to be done before we can fully enjoy the fruits of our labor, with every American enjoying their basic human right to housing.  But seeing these initial blossoms inspires me to keep on cultivating, with the knowledge that those fruits are on their way.

- Eric Tars, Human Rights Program Director

On Thursday, April 12, the Law Center kicked off its “All-In to End Homelessness” campaign, in partnership with American University’s School of Communication.

The campaign includes a solidarity drive, asking people to pledge to go “all-in” to end homelessness.  We collected more than 500 signatures at Thursday’s event (and 200 signatures online) from people pledging to treat homeless people with dignity and respect and support a common goal: finishing the job we started with the McKinney-Vento Homelessness Assistance Act.

The “All-In” campaign commemorates the Act’s 25^th Anniversary – recognizing its many achievements and the work yet to be done.  The first major federal legislation to address homelessness, and for which Law Center Executive Director Maria Foscarinis was a lead advocate, McKinney-Vento has helped millions of homeless and poor Americans access housing, emergency services, and education since 1987.

But McKinney-Vento was only meant to be a first step toward ending homelessness, this national crisis persists.  In fact, it’s now growing dramatically.  We expect more than 3.5 million people will be living in public places, shelter or transitional housing in 2012 – 1.6 million of them children.  Family homelessness has increased by 20 percent since 2007.  Almost seven million people are living doubled up due to economic necessity.  And while the need for emergency services is rising, cities across the country are slashing budgets.

With so many Americans homeless or on the brink, we can’t wait any longer to act.  It’s time to fulfill the promise of McKinney-Vento.

The Law Center will take the “All-In” Pledge signatures to a 25^th Anniversary Hill Summit on July 22, where we’ll be convening fellow advocates, Members of Congress, the media, and the public to celebrate the many accomplishments of McKinney-Vento, while laying out a vision for finally ending homelessness.

To take the Pledge online, click here.

When I first came to Washington DC to organize a campaign for a federal response to homelessness, I never dreamt that, decades later, I’d still be fighting to end homelessness.

In 1986, when I started going to Capitol Hill to persuade Congress to take action, the response was often: “we’d like to help – good for you for taking this on – but we have an election coming up and homeless people don’t vote. Sorry.” And these were our “friends.”

But we persisted, working with a coalition of organizations and many grassroots groups from across the country. And in July 1987, we had a big victory: the first major federal law addressing homelessness – now known as the McKinney-Vento Act – was passed.

Now, 25 years later, the Act has grown and it’s accomplished much good. But the job remains unfinished. McKinney-Vento was always intended to be just a first step (it was to be followed by additional federal aid, mainly funding for permanent housing) to really end and prevent homelessness.

Now the need is again growing exponentially, just as it was in the early and mid-1980s. That’s why we’ve launched a new campaign to end and prevent homelessness. The “All-In to End Homelessness” campaign reminds us that our goal is a home for all – and that it will take all of us to win it.

We’ll also be reminding political candidates this election season that homelessness remains a crisis in their communities and in America broadly, and calling on them to commit to actions to end and prevent it. We’ll be challenging laws that prevent homeless people from voting.  Stay tuned in the coming months, also, as we work with a coalition of national advocates to develop a framework local groups can use and adapt for their own advocacy.

Please join us by taking the All-in Pledge today!

- Maria Foscarinis, Executive Director

Join Us at American University in Washington, D.C.

In partnership with American University, the Law Center will be sponsoring a rally this Thursday, from 12 – 4 pm, where you can make the Pledge to go “All-In to End Homelessness.”

In partnership with American University’s School of Communication, the Law Center is sponsoring a rally as part of its “All-In to End Homelessness” campaign on Thursday, April 12, from 12 – 4 p.m. on the campus of AU in Washington, D.C.  You’ll have the opportunity to hear from leading advocates and make the Pledge to go “All-In to End Homelessness” (you can also pledge online here).

The All-In campaign recognizes the 25th Anniversary of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act – both its many achievements, and the work yet to be done.  The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act was the first major federal law to address homelessness in the United States.

We hope you’ll join us.  Together, we can finish the job started with McKinney-Vento by going “All-In to End Homelessness.”

Time: Thursday, April 12, 2012

12 p.m. – 4 p.m.

Location: American University Friedheim Quad

4400 Massachusetts Avenue NW,

Washington, District of Columbia 20016

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The Law Center and its local allies have achieved an important milestone on behalf of homeless campers in Sacramento.

For well over a year, campers have been forced to transport bags full of waste on a bicycle to a public restroom miles away from their tent city.  But in an unprecedented letter to Mayor Kevin Johnson, the United Nations has delivered a clear message: by not providing sanitation and safe drinking water, the city is violating the human rights of homeless persons. (more…)

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Audio: NLCHP’s Andy Beres discusses voter suppression on the Rick Smith Show on March 8, 2012.

Last Friday, the Law Center amended its lawsuit challenging Wisconsin’s voter ID law to include charges that it illegally blocks minorities and veterans from accessing the ballot box.

Under the law, homeless, poor, and other constituencies could be forced to pay for documents, such as a birth certificate or social security card, before obtaining the state-approved ID they need to vote in the 2012 elections.  With minorities and veterans so severely over-represented among these groups, Wisconsin’s law violates the Voting Rights Act. (more…)

Across the country, children are being kicked out of school when they become homeless.

It’s not something you hear talked about much.  Maybe that’s because homelessness in general is ignored in our public discourse.  This may even be the first time you’re hearing about it.

Under federal law, children have the right to remain in the same school when they become homeless.  Schools are also required to provide free transportation, meals, and access to extra-curricular activities.  This provides vital stability when the rest of their lives have been turned upside down.

Unfortunately, a lot of schools either don’t know about or simply ignore their obligations to homeless children.  That’s why we’ve launched Project LEARN, a cutting-edge initiative to keep these kids in the classroom.  We’re working with attorneys from across the country to provide legal advocacy to homeless families and train school officials to follow the law.

I can’t stress how important this is.  Studies show that kids who are forced to repeatedly change schools are 50 percent less likely to graduate high school.  Worse, people who don’t graduate are more than twice as likely to slip into poverty in a single year, and live 9.2 years fewer on average.

Think about that: kicking a homeless child out of school may result in them dying almost ten years earlier than other kids.  Are we really going to let that happen?

You can help. By becoming a member of Project LEARN, you’ll be giving a helping hand to the more than one million homeless children in America.

They’re dreaming of tomorrow, but they need your help today.

To find out more about Project LEARN and how you can support this critical work, click here.