National Alliance to End Homelessness 2011 Capitol Hill Day

On July 13th – 15th, nearly 80 policy practioners, service providers, and homeless advocates from Virginia attended this year’s National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH) conference in Washington, D.C.  While the uncertainty of our economy and the fate of federal spending on Capitol Hill were acknowledged by all, the resolution to continue to use resources strategically to end homelessness prevailed.  The workshops available covered a wide variety of topics, research, and best practice models ranging from advocacy strategies, rapid re-housing, and homeless youth to supported employment, substance abuse, permanent supported housing, domestic violence, and veterans.

Nan Roman, President and CEO of the National Alliance to End Homelessness, challenged homeless advocates to focus in three ways:

• to shift more resources into rapid re-housing and shift organizational capacity into rapid re-housing;

• to access mainstream programs and prioritize resources for the highest needs;

• to advocate and engage in the debate over national priorities.

Ms. Roman’s remarks were made within the context of the national debate over the debt ceiling and the likelihood of a significant decrease in federal resources for homelessness. She also emphasized that the goal is NOT to drastically reduce emergency shelter capacity but to give emergency shelter providers the tools to help families and individuals into housing faster.

VCEH Program Manager Robin Gahan served as the NAEH Capitol Hill Day state captain and coordinated meetings with members of Congress.  Over twenty-five constituents attended this year’s event – the largest turnout ever –  to urge our legislators to “robustly support” funding for homeless programs through McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants, funding for the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program and HUD-VASH Program, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Homeless Services, and Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA) programs.  A special thank you to those who organized meetings with their district’s representative including Kathy Sibert, A-SPAN; April Martin, Fairfax Housing Locators; and Kerrie Wilson and Greg White, Reston Interfaith.

You won’t want to miss out next year!

HUD Director Encourages Public Housing Authorities to Grant Access to People with Criminal Records

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Director Shaun Donovan recently sent a letter to the directors of public housing authorities across the nation to encourage them to allow access for persons with criminal records to obtain housing. In his letter, Donovan clarified HUD’s position on eligibility and emphasized that when individuals are returning to the community from prison or jail that housing stability is necessary for success – a sentiment that has been echoed in Virginia by Governor McDonnell.

Housing Authority directors have much discretion in determining who is eligible for public housing. In fact, there are only two universal federal restrictions: 1. If an individual was convicted of methamphetamine production on public housing grounds or 2. If an individual is registered as a lifetime sex offender.  All other eligibility criteria are determined by local jurisdictions.

In your jurisdiction, it is important to advocate for increasing access to public housing for ex-offenders to prevent the likelihood of homelessness. A great deal of information is available about the link between housing and a reduction in both crime and recidivism.

For more information, see the National Reentry Resource Center: http://nationalreentryresourcecenter.org/