National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty: the latest news

Looking Back: A Milestone Year for Homeless Advocacy

The year 2012 was an important milestone for the Law Center, as we marked the 25^th anniversary of the McKinney-Vento Act—the first federal legislation to address homelessness—for which our founder and executive director was a primary advocate.  But while great progress has been made since McKinney-Vento’s passage, there is still much to be done.  That’s why we used the occasion to renew our commitment to finish what we started and end homelessness in America.

The year began with exciting achievements in our civil rights and human rights programs.  In February, after observing Sacramento denying sanitation and safe drinking water to homeless residents during a visit organized by the Law Center, the UN Special Rapporteur on Water and Sanitation wrote an unprecedented letter to Mayor Kevin Johnson, calling the City’s actions a blatant violation of human rights.  This sent a powerful message that the U.S. is accountable to its international treaty obligations and generated strong media coverage, which reinforced the human rights implications, helping to change the political playing field and empowering marginalized homeless advocate.

To read the whole article click here. 

 

National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty webinar

The National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty's recently hosted a webinar previewing its upcoming report, "Welcome Home: The Rise of Tent Cities in the United States."

We wanted to let you know that full audio and video of the presentation is now available at http://www.nlchp.org/news.cfm?id=196

New Report Card Gives Failing Grades on U.S. Housing Rights

National Law Center
on Homelessness and Poverty

As students across the country receive their final grades for the semester, the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty has released a report card grading the United States on its response to homelessness and its compliance with the human right to housing. "Simply Unacceptable" : Homelessness and the Human Right to Housing in the U.S. issues failing grades in more than one category.


According to international standards, the human right to housing consists of seven elements: security of tenure; availability of services, materials, and infrastructure; affordability; accessibility; habitability; location; and cultural adequacy. This report gives the U.S. letter grades on each of them and offers common sense solutions the U.S. can adopt to better meet the housing needs of homeless and poor people.


The report calls for the continuation and increased funding for a successful homelessness prevention program, funding for federally subsidized housing, making laws protecting tenants of foreclosed properties from eviction permanent, and the creation of a federal living wage.


Read the full report here. (You may have to cut 'n paste this link.) http://www.nlchp.org/content/pubs/SimplyUnacceptableReport.pdf