Homelessness Law Blog

Last time I was in New Orleans, about a year ago, I was part of an international human rights fact-finding mission, sent to assess continuing housing rights violations four years after Katrina.  What we saw shocked our conscience: homeless squatters living in buildings with no running water or electricity, holes in the roof and floor, in the heart of one of America’s major cities, while perfectly habitable public housing units were fenced off and torn down with promised replacements years away from completion, and never intended to serve as many poor persons as before.

This time, I came at the invitation of the Department of Housing & Urban Development, to conduct a training for hundreds of fair housing investigators and attorneys on the very human rights standards we were using to assess the violations last year.  It’s a sign of tremendous progress in the recognition of these human rights standards by the domestic branches of government that they chose to include this session as part of their conference, and promises much for the future at the state and local level as these advocates return home to implement what they’ve learned.

But though there has been progress in the hearts and minds of those at HUD, progress is slow to come for those looking for their housing rights on the ground in New Orleans.  My fellow mission-mate, Sam Jackson, of May Day New Orleans, gave me a tour of the public housing sites we visited last year.  Some, such as CJ Peete, have been redeveloped with some families already moved into the mixed income development.  Others, like Lafitte, only had the concrete building foundations poured before the promised redevelopment money dried up.  Now, where hundreds of families used to live stand only empty fields and concrete blocks, with no promise of renewal.  Five years after Katrina, and still people can’t come home.  And those squatters?  Still thousands living in Third World conditions, right here in America.

I hope the progress we’ve made with HUD in accepting these rights means that next year, I’ll be able to write a happier reflection on how New Orleans’ residents are enjoying them.

-Eric Tars, Human Rights Program Director

Over the past few weeks, the close of the 2009 Supreme Court term and the confirmation hearings for nominee Elena Kagan have together prompted much analysis of the ideology and direction of the Roberts court, particularly with respect to the impact of its decisions on “ordinary Americans.” While the role of the Court in interpreting and validating the nation’s laws has always affected the individuals bound by them, a recent body of decisions has highlighted with unusual clarity the competing interests of the mighty and the powerless where such determinations are concerned.

The Kagan hearings furnished legislators with an occasion not only to review the Court’s jurisprudence from the past few terms but also to discern common themes and priorities likely to reemerge in the years to come.  One such leitmotif has been power dynamics in the workplace and other institutional settings.  To underscore the Court’s anti-worker orientation, policymakers have pointed to such rulings as Rent-A-Center v. Jackson, which recently upheld the power of arbitration agreements to preclude judicial review of their validity, effectively obligating employees to waive their right to a trial in the event of future disputes. (more…)

Yesterday, the Senate passed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, sweeping legislation that covers a broad range of financial and housing policy issues. The House had already passed the same bill on June 29. President Obama is expected to sign the legislation into law during the week of July 19. The Act contains several key provisions of importance to homeless and low income Americans.

Of particular note is an extension and clarification of the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act (PTFA), which ensures that renters whose properties go into foreclosure – through no fault of their own – receive adequate notice so they can find new homes. The Law Center helped spur the passage of PTFA last year and has since been advocating for its extension past the original sunset date of 2012. Dodd-Frank extends it to 2014.

To read more about PTFA, see our commentary in the Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity.

The bill also provides new funding for foreclosure prevention measures and efforts to help rebuild housing in blighted communities. Read more about these provisions here.

Today we celebrate these significant victories for housing advocates and the American people!

Photo credit: carlossg

The Law Center applauds three County Commissioners from Charlotte County, Florida, for voting against a proposed anti-lodging ordinance yesterday that would have further marginalized the County’s homeless population.  The anti-lodging ordinance would have prohibited homeless persons from sleeping outside in public spaces anywhere in the county. In a time when these kinds of measures seem to be cropping up all around the country, the rejection of this law is something to celebrate.

The Law Center was part of a coalition of groups, including the Charlotte County Homeless Coalition and the National Coalition for the Homeless, that successfully advocated against the proposed law.

Cities truly need to wake up to the reality of the counterproductive nature of these laws.  Not only do they frequently violate homeless people’s civil rights, but they do nothing to further the goals of cities in getting people off of the street.

No one thinks it is a good idea for human beings to have to live on the streets or in places not meant for human habitation.  But, cycling people in and out of jail and back to the streets does nothing to help them move out of homelessness.  In fact, arresting or citing homeless people under these types of measures only perpetuates their homelessness, as obtaining housing and employment can be more difficult once a person has a criminal record.

In this time of budget crises around the country, communities need to consider the costs of their actions and use their resources more intelligently. According to a nine-city survey of shelter, housing, and jail costs, jail costs are 2 to 3 times higher than providing housing.

While the trend toward criminalizing homelessness has been ongoing for the past couple of decades, decisions like the one yesterday in Charlotte County provide a ray of hope. Let’s hope that more cities will follow their lead in rejecting these very counterproductive measures.

-Tulin Ozdeger, Civil Rights Program Director

Photo Credit: robinsan

The following is a letter from Board Member G.W. Rolle to St. Petersburg, Florida’s Mayor Bill Foster regarding the city’s recent ban on street solicitations and a letter reaching out to the city’s Homeless Leadership Network. To read the back story, see Mr. Rolle’s previous post.

Dear Mayor Foster,

My name is Gregory Rolle. Most people call me “G.W.”, and you may as well.

The marginalization and the criminalization of the homeless and near homeless is a disgrace and a blight on our city. Housing, Mayor Foster, is a basic human right. Affordable housing is intrinsic in that formula.

Laws that make people criminals by their very definition are laws that criminalize and marginalize that particular definitive group. You see, sir, the number one reason that people are homeless is that they lack housing. Most ne’er do wells, thieves, drug addicts, alcoholics, petty criminals, and prostitutes live inside. The small amount of people who live outside do so because they can either not afford or not negotiate living inside. No one wants to be homeless. When homeless people do get jobs and lift themselves off the street through meager means, such as the sale of the St. Petersburg Times, please tell me how it serves society or St. Petersburg to nix their earning potential and render them again street homeless, by passing laws and ordinances which criminalize certain aspects of that homelessness. (more…)

On Tuesday afternoon, lawyers from firms across Washington, DC gathered at Sidley Austin LLP for “Ending Homelessness through Pro Bono Work,” hosted by the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty.

The event began with a panel discussion featuring partners from law firms who have contributed significant pro bono resources to the Law Center’s work. Suzanne Turner of Dechert LLP spoke of the firm’s work on issues relating to unaccompanied homeless youth, access to education for homeless children and youth, and the human right to housing. Peter Thomas of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP provided a detailed explanation of the firm’s work on housing provisions of the Violence Against Women Act – noting the tremendous policy impact their work with the Law Center has allowed the firm to see. And Patricia Brannan from Hogan Lovells LLP spoke about how the firms involvement with issues related to the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act and homeless persons’ access to voting have offered the firm’s attorneys opportunities for both personal and professional growth.

It was inspiring and humbling to hear of the firms’ commitment to pro bono work and to hear them, as Ms. Brannan put it, understand these projects as “heart of the mission work.” When attorneys participate in pro bono work at the Law Center, they have the opportunity to both contribute to policy change and produce materials that can “actually be used by constituents out in the community.” And, as Ms. Turner pointed out, the need for pro bono work on these issues is “greater than ever.”

During the reception following the panel, DC Bar President Ronald S. Flagg delivered a touching keynote address on the importance of the Law Center’s work and pro bono attorney involvement in the battle to end homelessness. Flagg is a true believer in the power of attorneys to effect large-scale change, and his own pro bono work is a testament to that belief. We are tremendously grateful to Mr. Flagg, and to all of our panelists, for sharing their pro bono experiences.

Last year, through the support of major law firms, the work of the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty was amplified by more than $2 million worth of pro bono support, and by the financial support of its LEAP firms. This donation of time and resources helped create key policy changes and reinforced the existing laws designed to prevent and end homelessness.

To all of our supporting firms, we say a HUGE thank you. Your work is changing lives.

Most days, when it isn’t sweltering hot, my co-workers and I head to the park near the Law Center to enjoy lunch together.  We spread out our blanket and trade snacks and stories without giving a thought to the privilege we have to do so.  Around the country the very act of sitting and staying awhile in the park, or sharing a meal, can lead to expensive fines and, possibly, time in jail.

In our country, one known for both great abundance and great waste, the simple act of sharing food with someone experiencing homelessness has become a crime.  Some cities impose restrictions such as arbitrary numbers of people that can be served a meal in a park or on which days groups can do so.

How can a city expect a group to decide which four days of the year they want to show compassion and use their resources to provide another human being the basic necessity of food?  How can anyone restrict or penalize someone for providing another the nourishment they need to survive?  It is not only being done, but is a growing trend.

Research has shown that some cities fear that providing food to homeless men and women in their city will enable those individuals to remain homeless, or that local businesses will be affected negatively by homeless peoples’ presence.

What cities should fear is that they have stopped looking at people experiencing homelessness as people.  They are daughters, sons, mothers, fathers and friends that do not have somewhere to live.  They live each day with uncertainty about their safety, and where their next meal might come from.  Cities must work collaboratively with service providers to meet food and shelter needs in their communities.

Check out the Law Center’s new report, A Place at the Table, on food sharing restrictions and the innovative alternatives to restrictions that are being implemented around the country to meet hunger needs.

-Sarah Shubitowski, Hunger Fellow

Photo credit: Leroy Skalstad, formerly homeless veteran