Last February, I wrote about a woman named “V.” She’s a homeless person who sat outside our K Street office for the better part of a year. I visited with her daily, and bought her lunch from time to time. She talked about the pain she was in, her addiction to alcohol, and the vicious love of her dead father. In between, she’d point out young women on the street and insist they were looking at me.

My visits weren’t noble. I can shamefully recall a few days when I took a different path to work because I didn’t have money for her. In shielding myself from her disappointment, I denied her the human contact she so dearly coveted.

I wrote before about a man she met at church. He was kind and gentle, giving her a place to stay while she got back on her feet. Her voice swelled with pride as she described looking for a job and scented shampoo. She was sober; there was such clarity to her thoughts.

But as the weeks passed, that clarity faded. The spark of life vanished from her eyes. There were bruises on her. She wouldn’t say where they came from, but I already knew. I pressed her for information about the man she was staying with.

“He’s not so bad,” she insisted. “He lets me watch TV; I can use the shower; he bought me hair dye. It’s not that bad.”

As time went on and evidence mounted, a colleague and I pushed her to apply for emergency shelter.

“I don’t trust it. Don’t trust none of that,” V said. “I’ve never been to a shelter that didn’t have bed bugs. Got my place in line stolen by some lady once – said she’d bust me in the head if I didn’t leave. I ain’t going to no place like that.”

“What about the domestic violence hotline? Will you at least call them? Hell, we can go to the police. Or at least a hospital. I’ll take you myself.”

“None of that. No. No one like that.”

I put my head in my hands. I scrubbed my face with the heel of my palm. “You can’t let him keep doing this. There’s ways we can fix this,” I told her. “I can help.”

This continued for almost two months. Every now and then, when she’d finally had enough, she’d disappear for a couple days and sleep on the street. It wasn’t long, though, before he found her favorite spot to panhandle.

It was a crisp morning. The clouds cleaved the sunlight, so that it shone on us in slivers. V stood trembling while I shared a new list of shelters.

Her gaze drifted off me to the street. I tracked her eyes to a tall, heavy man, with long hair that hung over his eyes in damp strands. A cigarette dangled from his lips; his face was dotted with grime.

V looked anxious as he limped up to her. Neither of them acknowledged me.

He blew out a long puff of smoke. “You made some money?” he asked coldly. “You’re gonna start paying for your food. I been spending too much damn money on you eating.”

She nodded mutely, turning her cup toward him to reveal a few bills and some nickels. He sneered and shook his head. She averted her eyes.

Watching this provoked in me all the anger and hatred that’s a part of our potential. But there was nothing to be gained, and much to be lost, through my intervention. I forced a neutral expression.

“I expect you’ll be at home later,” he gnarled, spitting out his cigarette to grind it into the ground. He looked at me nonchalantly, holding my eyes for a long moment before he finally turned and left.

I never saw the man from church again.

In the ensuing weeks, V kept asking me to hug her. Her red-rimmed eyes were often filled with tears. All I could think was how meaningless my comfort was.

On a warm Friday in June, I wrapped up work early and headed out for the weekend. V sat slumped against a concrete barrier, staring off into the distance. She ran her tongue over her abscessed tooth, flinching.

“How’s it going, sweetheart?”

She shrugged. After a long moment, she said: “I can’t go back there tonight. I can’t go back there no more.” Somewhere between her brain and her mouth, emotion was stripped away. She sounded placid. “I’ve gotta go somewhere else tonight. Sometimes a group of other people sleeps outside this one store. I think I’d be safe there.”

I nodded encouragingly. “I’d rather you went to a shelter, but that’s better than going home.”

Her hand swept across her face, applying more dirt than it removed.

“My back hurts, Andy. I can’t carry stuff. I’ve got my sleeping bag and all my stuff in a special place, but I can’t carry it. I’d have to move it a couple blocks. It’s really heavy. I think I need you to carry it.” She was suddenly animated, eyes imploring. “Could you carry it? I really need you to carry it. Please don’t let me down.”

I walked with her toward the alley where she said she often slept. Most of the walk was silent, but three separate times she pleaded with me: “You’re not gonna show anyone where my place is, are you? My place where I keep stuff? Please don’t show no one.”

I swore on my life that I never would.

She led me into the corridor between two office buildings. An amalgam of hideous odors wafted through the air. As we passed a dumpster, she said, “I used to sleep right there. But this guy would come by sometimes – said it was his place and if I didn’t leave, he’d kick my head in.”

I felt a lump in my throat at her comfortable recollection. Human beings are pragmatic. Given enough time, they can learn to live with anything.

She led me into a narrow passage between a semi-trailer and a dirty brick wall. The light of day was smothered. We were alone in the drifting dark.

When I felt the far wall, I used my phone as a flashlight, shining it on a makeshift living space beneath the semi-trailer. Lying in a pile were a tattered sleeping bag, a winter coat, and a plastic grocery bag filled with odds and ends.

“It’s a warm coat. I got it from this young lady a couple years ago. She said she’d take me to the movies, but we didn’t never go,” she recalled distantly.

“I’m sure she wanted to. Something must have come up.”

V nodded, smoothing out the coat’s wrinkles. She held it away from her body and smiled sadly. She looked down and swallowed.

“I don’t know why you help me,” she said quietly. “Why are you always helping me?”

My phone went dark. I couldn’t see her face. I was strangely conscious of all the bad I’ve done in life.

“Because I can’t think of why I wouldn’t.”

I carried her belongings to the store where she said the group of homeless persons gathered. But it was still early in the evening, and when she began arranging her sleeping bag, the store owner came out. His tired eyes darkened.

“Eight o’clock!” he growled. “You can’t be here before eight o’clock! I’ll call the cops if you don’t move.”

She had some choice words, but I gathered up her things and gently prodded her along. We found a new spot outside another store that was already closed. Another homeless person had set up camp for the night.

V laid out her sleeping bag and sat down gingerly. She looked away, not saying anything.

“Is this gonna be okay for you?” I asked.

She didn’t seem to be listening. She said again: “You’re not gonna show no one my special place, are you?”

“No, hon. I promise. I’ll never show anybody.”

She slowly nodded. I stood there awkwardly, until finally she turned on her side and lay her head down. I waited until she was still. She closed her eyes and slept.

It was two weeks later when I saw her again. She was sitting on the sidewalk with a book open in her lap, smiling to herself.

I found myself smiling too. “Hi, hon.”

“Hey, Andy,” she said cheerfully, holding the book up so I could see the cover. “Look at this! Do you like Motley Crue? He signed it for me!”

It was called This is Gonna Hurt, a memoir of music and photography by Nikki Sixx. On the inside cover, he’d written:

To V,

Keep going. Never give up. And don’t stop with your poetry. It’s so alive.

Nikki

She talked about the piece she’d shared with him, and how proud she was that he’d enjoyed it. She started flipping through his book, picking out lyrics for me to read.

V shut her eyes and placed her hands, one atop the other, over her heart as I read a passage:

Feels like your life is over
Feels like all hope is gone
This is a second coming
This is a call to arms
Your finest hour won’t be wasted
Hey hey hell is what you make
Rise against your fate
Nothing’s gonna keep you down
Even if it’s killing you
Because you know the truth

I smiled gently, handing it back to her. “That’s lovely.”

“He just knows about life. You know what I mean?”

I nodded, falling into a comfortable silence as she read another passage to herself. It was such a joy to see the blithe expression on her face that I couldn’t bring myself to ask about the man from church or where she’d been sleeping.

When she didn’t reengage, I asked softly: “Will I see you around?”

V looked up. Her smile dimmed. The whites of her eyes had a preternatural glow.

“I’ll be around,” she said, more tranquil than I’d ever seen her. “Somehow. I used to fall asleep thinking I wouldn’t wake up. Now I know better. Now I know, honey – it goes on and on and on.”

I smiled slightly, nodding in false understanding.

That day, I updated the Law Center’s list of policy accomplishments. Some things can sound a bit dry. “Helped create the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-housing Program, which has prevented or resolved homelessness for over one million people.” But for that one day, I had complete clarity about what’s at stake. On a single night in America, 245,000 people sleep in the street, on grates, or under semi-trailers like V did. They aren’t statistics, and funding to give them homes isn’t bureaucratic waste.

I never saw V again.

I feel restless about that. I wish I’d asked about the man from church, or maybe pushed her toward a shelter again. I wish I knew where she was and what could be done for her. And I think every day about the times I went out of my way not to see her.

I think I understand now.

It goes on and on and on.

- Andy Beres, Development & Communications Coordinator

Too often in our society, homeless persons are devalued, ignored, and treated with much less respect than they deserve. They become accustomed to people walking by with only a disgusted glance in their direction. This lack of acknowledgment is dehumanizing.

Earlier this week, advocates in Rhode Island gathered to acknowledge and memorialize the lives of over 35 individuals who died homeless in the state in 2011. We commend Beneficent Church in Providence for the service they held and the time they dedicated to honor those our society failed. At the memorial, names were read aloud and thirty-five candles were lit for each person, as well as an extra for those who may have been neglected. It can be very difficult to track homeless deaths and oftentimes they are left without any memorial to mark the lives they led. The service in Rhode Island is an important reminder that, like all human beings, each and every homeless person is valuable and unique.

This memorial comes while cities across the country are enacting criminalization laws that sweep homeless persons out of public view, making it difficult for them to consistently access services from community groups.

These laws, which range from prohibiting loitering, begging, or camping/sleeping in public, have proven to be very costly. Numerous studies show that supportive housing and emergency shelter cost a lot less money than putting homeless persons in jail. But beyond the practical financial considerations, it is important that we provide homeless persons the respect they deserve as individuals and do what we can to improve their situations.

The service in Rhode Island is important, but we must work to prevent unnecessary deaths from ever happening in the first place. More must be done to acknowledge homeless persons in our society and provide them with the services they require.

- Megan Huber, Development & Communications Intern

The report, over 400 pages long, contains numerous references to human rights issues of interest to housing advocates, including: fair housing, foreclosures, public housing, racial, gender, and disability-based discrimination, domestic violence, and homelessness.   To aid advocates in responding to the report, the Law Center has produced a summary of housing references.

While the report acknowledges housing rights haven’t been fully implemented, it fails to discuss the depth and scale of that issue.  For example, while lauding the Administration’s stimulus funding for housing and homelessness prevention programs, the report does not mention the number of foreclosures, the fact that foreclosures and evictions continue to increase, or the inadequate assistance given to those seeking to avoid foreclosure and homelessness.

The official hearing before the Human Rights Committee on the report will not be scheduled until later this year, but it seems unlikely the hearing will occur prior to the Committee’s March 2013 session.  In the meantime, advocates can organize suggested questions for the Committee to put to the U.S.  They can also lay the groundwork for using the hearing and report to shine a light on current housing violations here at home.

In an effort to advance a rights-based approach to housing, the Law Center has taken the lead on coordinating a response from housing and human rights organizations, in collaboration with the US Human Rights Network, which is coordinating responses across issue areas.  If you would like to be included in the housing and homelessness sub-committee, please contact Eric Tars, director of human Rights and children’s rights programs.

- Tiffany Malcolm, Human Rights and Global Economy Fellow

Bernanke wants the federal government to create a program that allows currently vacant foreclosed properties, whether owned by the government or private financial institutions, to be rented.  Most of these properties can’t sell and are sitting empty.  The Law Center strongly favors a program like this; matching homeless people with vacant homes is just common sense.

Recently, the Law Center proposed something similar to HUD and the U.S. Treasury, with one key distinction: our request is that the properties be specifically used to provide stable permanent housing to homeless and poor families.  At a time when new federal dollars for affordable housing are scarce, this is a low-cost solution to a widespread problem.  The glut of foreclosed homes is a tremendous opportunity to stabilize the lives of families in need.  We hope Congress and the Administration will take advantage of it.

- Jeremy Rosen, Policy Director

The report shows that, with a modest $1.5 billion in funding, the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-housing Program (HPRP) prevented or resolved homelessness for more than one million Americans.

What does this mean?  It certainly isn’t an indication that we can take our eye off the ball.

According to conservative estimates by the Obama Administration, there were 636,000 people homeless on a single night in 2011.  Almost 40 percent of them were living on the street.  The need for federal aid is at historic highs.

Thanks to advocacy by the Law Center, a new Emergency Solutions Grant program will give local governments the flexibility to use federal aid not only to provide shelter, but for short-term rental subsidies to prevent homelessness or help people who recently became homeless return to housing.  This is an important shift in the way the federal government addresses our national crisis, but the program is severely under-funded right now.  It needs an additional $500 million per year just to keep homelessness from rising beyond current levels.

With the 2012 elections around the corner, we’re going to keep the pressure on our political candidates to talk seriously about ending homelessness and commit to supporting and expanding proven programs that give struggling Americans the thing they most need: a place to call home.

- Andy Beres, Development & Communications Coordinator

Thank you for your support and involvement over the past year—and best wishes for 2012.  At the Law Center, we’re diving into important 2012 priorities and, after a year of transition, we’re welcoming new members to our team.  Their fresh perspectives will be critical as we expand our pro bono collaborations to provide our legal expertise and support to more communities.

The year promises to be a critical one on several fronts.  We’ll be marking the 25^th anniversary of the McKinney-Vento Act, drawing attention to its positive impact and pushing Congress to make good on its promise to end homelessness in America.  We’re also gearing up for the fall presidential election—challenging laws that keep homeless and poor people from voting, and working to ensure homelessness and poverty are treated seriously by the candidates.

The McKinney-Vento Act will officially mark its anniversary on July 22, 2012.  It’s important to look back at how this landmark Act was passed at a time when the political odds were stacked against it—and to draw some lessons from that early campaign that may serve us well now.  The anniversary is an opportunity to reflect on the good the Act has done, while not forgetting that it was only meant to be a “first step” in the fight to end homelessness.  Additional measures, most notably significant funding for affordable housing, were meant to follow.  The 25^th anniversary of the McKinney-Vento Act can and should be a time to demand that those measures are implemented and the human right to housing is realized for all homeless Americans.

The fall election is a critical time for engagement, both for homeless and poor people and those who care about issues of social and economic justice.  But state voter identification laws are increasingly making it difficult—and in some cases impossible—for homeless and poor people to exercise their constitutional right to vote.  That’s why we filed suit last month against the state of Wisconsin challenging its voter ID law.   In addition to protecting the right to vote, we want to make sure that issues of homelessness and poverty are raised during the election season and addressed by the candidates.

Partnerships are crucial to our work, and among our many partners, pro bono law firms and legal departments play a special role.  Last year, we launched Project LEARN, our new partnership with DLA Piper, and to date, we’ve trained 55 lawyers and paralegals in 17 cities on the education rights of homeless children.  In turn, they helped us provide advice and support to dozens of families and local service providers—significantly expanding our capacity.  This year, we plan to build and grow that program.

In 2011, we also launched our new Associates Advisory Council, providing a vehicle for law firm associates to engage directly in supporting our organization.  Further, we expanded our flagship LEAP program, with Dechert LLP as new chair and John Grisham continuing as honorary chair, adding two new in-house legal departments as members.  We plan further growth in 2012.

Finally, after significant transition last year, we have a strong new team in place.  Last summer, Louise Weissman joined us as operations director, overseeing finances and administration.  In the fall, Cecilia Dos Santos took over as pro bono coordinator and Robert Bennett became our new administrative assistant.  David Hale has joined us as development and communications director and Tristia Bauman is our new housing staff attorney.  Lastly, Andy Beres, our grant writer and communications assistant, stepped up as interim development and communications director in late 2011, serving in that role with great dedication and professionalism; his new title is development and communications coordinator.  We are pleased that Rob Ryan, CPA and a leader at the American Red Cross, has joined our board of directors and is serving on our finance committee.

Thank you so much for your continued support.  We at the Law Center are looking forward to working with all of you in the coming year to achieve our common goal: ending homelessness in America.

- Maria Foscarinis, Executive Director

And yet, I’m outraged that even a single veteran is homeless tonight, and I’d like our country to keep on the task of doing something about that.  We know a lot about homeless veterans – honestly we’ve probably spent more time studying the issue than we need to.  But let’s throw out the numbers, statistics, and data, and just get right down to some common sense – every veteran who is homeless today, whether they served in wartime or during a period of peace, has served the country.  And each one now needs the country to help them.  So let’s roll up our sleeves and get going.

It might surprise you to learn that we already are.  There are 75,000 homeless veterans today, down from more than 100,000 a few short years ago.  Unlike with other homeless populations, and even with recent wars resulting in more homeless veterans, veterans homelessness is going in the right direction.  We’re giving apartments to 10,000 veterans a year (sometimes including a veteran with a spouse and / or children), and housing thousands more with short term help until they get back on their feet – veterans are very resilient.  And happily, though we aren’t all the way there yet, fewer and fewer new veterans are becoming homeless as prevention efforts ramp up.

While government is stepping up to help homeless veterans, we could do more.  Apartments for 10,000 vets a year?  $75 million.  A drop in the bucket even in this time of concern over deficits.  Why not double that?  Or triple it.  It would probably mean one less missile for the Department of Defense.  But something tells me they’ve got extra.  And after all, they created much of the problem, by discharging a lot of soldiers without making sure they had a safe place to go and a stable path to long term success.  So I’ll enjoy my day off today, but Monday I’ll be right back to work making sure that on future Veteran’s Days I won’t have to walk past a veteran sleeping outdoors on my way to celebrate his service.

- Jeremy Rosen, Policy Director

The meeting, organized by the Law Center, was in response to a U.N. report documenting how criminalization practices in the U.S. and other countries violate internationally recognized human rights standards.  As the Program for Human Rights and the Global Economy fall fellow at the Law Center, I was thrilled to take part in such an important meeting.

The criminalization report, presented to the U.N. in October, was written by the top U.N. expert on extreme poverty and human rights, Magdalena Sepulveda. In her report, Ms. Sepulveda identified four major human rights violations:

• Control of behavior of people in public spaces. For example, the criminalization of panhandling, eating, and sleeping.
• Discriminatory urban planning and zoning regulations. For example, there is an increasing trend of moving homeless and poor people to the outskirts of cities.
• Excessive and arbitrary restrictions on qualifying for public benefits. The U.S. has implemented a severe public benefits screening process, with the stated goal of avoiding fraud.
• The use of detention in punishing homeless and poor people. The criminal justice system has a disproportionate effect on certain communities.

The purpose of the meeting was to address these concerns and brainstorm measures to combat the criminalization of homelessness, including recommendations from the rapporteur’s report.

As a newcomer to the field of human rights, the meeting gave me hope that international officials, federal government representatives, and NGOs can work collaboratively to combat human rights violations domestically. The diversity of voices in the room forced each participant to consider new perspectives on criminalization, and highlighted the distinct role each stakeholder can play in solving the problem. Discussed strategies included: increasing or decreasing HUD and DOJ funding to states and cities based on their treatment of homeless and low-income individuals; transferring foreclosed homes to community organizations, who could use them to house homeless and low-income individuals; reducing barriers to obtaining housing upon an individual’s release from prison; and the U.S. introducing a UN resolution declaring that the criminalization of homeless and poor people is contrary to human rights.

Simply discussing criminalization through a human rights prism was important; this meeting was an unprecedented interaction between U.S. officials, non-governmental representatives, and international experts and brought much-needed attention to domestic human rights issues.  The U.S. acknowledged that violations are occurring domestically and brainstormed ways to improve the situation.

The Law Center looks forward to continuing collaboration with the U.N., the federal government, and other NGOs in implementing strategies to eliminate criminalization policies and fight homelessness in the U.S. As my time at the Law Center draws to a close, I am encouraged that the U.S. is open to addressing its own human rights violations, and that the Law Center and other non-governmental organizations are insisting that the U.S. fulfill its obligations.  My experience at the Law Center has equipped me with invaluable strategies on advocating for domestic human rights that will surely be instrumental in my future social justice legal work.

- Julia Lum, Program for Human Rights and the Global Economy Fellow

The protests raise interesting questions about the politics of homelessness and what role homeless people are playing in the Occupy movement.  As the Law Center’s human rights legal fellow, and an active participant in Occupy D.C., I’ve thought a great deal about this.  Though it doesn’t make headlines, the Occupy movement directly affects the day-to-day lives of homeless individuals.  Prior to the protestors’ occupation of McPherson Square in D.C., a less visible group occupied the park: chronically homeless people.

In contrast to the protesters, homeless people try to remain as invisible as possible to avoid arrest while carrying out their lives in public spaces.  This is because cities across the country are enacting laws criminalizing homelessness.  They’re making it illegal to carry out life-sustaining acts in public view.  The trends in major cities are startling:

• 33 percent prohibit camping in public spaces.
• 30 percent prohibit sitting and lying in public spaces.
• 47 percent prohibit loitering in public spaces.

In 2007, the City of Los Angeles budgeted $6 million toward policing the Skid Row tent city area and only $5.7 million for homeless services.  Twenty-four people were arrested 201 times, with approximately $3.6 million spent on criminal proceedings.  For the same cost, the City could have provided housing to 225 people.

When the protests in McPherson Square began, there was a danger that they could have the same effect as a criminalization measure: driving homeless people out of the park.  I felt a disconnect between the 99 Percent and the homeless people in the park.  Given that the Occupy movement is a response to economic inequity, it seemed dishonest to protest without prioritizing the voices of people who are suffering the most.

In my day to day conversations, however, I haven’t spoken with any homeless people who feel excluded.  In the past few days, I’ve noticed homeless individuals chatting with other protesters while waiting in line for free hot meals.  I’ve seen them collaborate and strategize with protesters, and sleep alongside them in the park.

For the moment, the Occupy D.C. protests have arguably improved the safety of homeless people in the park by protecting them from discriminatory enforcement of anti-camping laws.  Federal regulations forbid camping – including the laying down of bedding for the purpose of sleeping, the storage of personal belongings, and cooking – in McPherson Square.  So far, police have declined to enforce these regulations during the protests.  At least 40 tents have been erected, taking up one-third of the grass; three meals are cooked on-site each day; personal belongs are piled against a tree; and a generator is running to provide energy for the camp.

The choice of the police not to enforce federal regulations against Occupy protestors is just one example of selective law enforcement.  In Maine, Occupy Portland has set up camp in one area of Lownsdale Park, while a group of homeless people are camped in another area.  The homeless camp cropped up only when the protest began. One homeless man said he moved his family to the park because “it’s a lot safer here.  It’s nice to be somewhere where you are not harassed every morning to pick up and move.”

The City of Portland has announced that the Occupy group may remain in the park indefinitely, but warned the homeless camp that they are in violation of municipal codes that prohibit overnight camping.  The City has requested that businesses in the area log code violations by the homeless group, presumably to build a record for future prosecutions.  In response, Occupy Portland declared its solidarity with the homeless camp and, on October 20, marched to raise awareness about the treatment of homeless people and collect food donations.

Other Occupy groups are taking note.  In Seadside, Oregon, Occupiers protested to repeal a law that criminalizes sleeping outside.  Occupy Salt Lake City has staged demonstrations protesting police treatment of homeless people.  This is a good sign.  It’s vital that the 99 Percent commit to challenging structures of oppression that may be easy to overlook.

The power dynamics of political movements are real and must be recognized.  In any movement, it is easy for group leaders – who frequently have the time, education, and resources that allow them to protest – to control the direction of the movement and overlook individuals who may not have the ability to participate as regularly.  These people may choose not to take a public role in the Occupy movement because they do not have the financial resources, or because they cannot risk arrest or deportation.  As participants in the Occupy movement, it is important that we remember the people who have been most affected by the One Percent and listen to a diversity voices.

If we’re to achieve true economic justice, the Occupiers must acknowledge that the 99 Percent includes homeless people, immigrants, people of color, and low-income individuals – and allow these folks to have prominent roles in the movement.  If they do, the movement will continue to grow and may very well bring meaningful change to the U.S.

- Julia Lum, Human Rights Legal Fellow

Then, during last year’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR), HUD stated for the first time the relevance of this human rights process to its domestic housing and homelessness policies.  Last week, the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness issued its first-year assessment and update of Opening Doors: The Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness.  Among other items, the report states:

HUD has been working on a number of other activities over the past year that helps further the housing objectives in Opening Doors[.] In March 2011, the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) conducted the first comprehensive review on human rights done in the United States.  For the first time, the United States acknowledged housing as a human rights issue on an international stage. The Department of State, with the support of representatives from HUD, noted its support of the recommendation by UNHRC, which stated “broad range of safeguards for the homeless people to allow them the full enjoyment of their rights and dignity” and supports reducing and ending homelessness as a human rights concern.

This reaffirmation of the importance of the UPR in HUD’s and the Interagency Council’s work on homelessness is another step toward making the human right to housing the framework to which our government holds itself accountable.  While these words on paper don’t put homeless families in homes today, they are an essential step toward making sure those homes are created tomorrow, and that homelessness is prevented for more families in the future.

From my personal perspective as the Law Center’s human rights program director, this reference is a gratifying acknowledgment of the work we – and many others across the country – have been doing.  For years, pushing the human right to housing felt like banging our heads against the wall, with seemingly little progress.  But without those years, we would not have reached this tipping point, where it appears these references are beginning to build on each other.

Small words, but they represent a fundamental shift in policy. And as momentum continues to build, these words and values will help create that future where no one in America spends a single night without a place to call home.

- Eric Tars, Human Rights Program Director