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Dear Supporters and Endorsers of the Housing Not Handcuffs Campaign,
Thank you so much for your continued support. We appreciate your partnership while we advocate on behalf of people experiencing homelessness. While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to disproportionately and discriminatorily affect our unhoused neighbors, we are grateful for the sustained advocacy of our allies and partners who refuse to lose sight of the goal of providing housing and dignity to people experiencing homelessness in lieu of handcuffs. These partners include national advocacy organizations that are leading efforts to expand funding for affordable housing and homelessness services in Washington, D.C., a dedicated network of litigators whose hard-fought battles in the courts continue to build awareness and shape precedent to advance the rights of people experiencing homelessness, and local activists whose actions on the ground ensure the safety and humanity of our unhoused neighbors while also holding communities and governments accountable for criminalizing tactics.
While our partners - you all - are invaluable in the fight to decriminalize homelessness, the most important stories and voices are those belonging to people with lived experience of homelessness who continue to be targeted and discriminated against based solely on their status as unhoused. Laws and policies that criminalize homelessness codify dangerous and prejudicial beliefs about who is included in our collective conceptions of community, and they fuel state and private violence against unhoused people.
As we forge on in the fight to end the criminalization of homelessness, we will continue to elevate the victories and efforts of our partners, while also doing everything in our power to center people with lived experiences of homelessness and criminalization. And as we honor and remember those who have lost their lives to violence perpetuated by misguided and harmful policy, we will also work to ensure that our shared notion of community includes all of us.
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IN THIS ISSUE
Legislative Updates
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| Litigation Updates |
| Federal Policy Updates |
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| Announcements |
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Legislative Updates
Housing investments proposed in Build Back Better Act and FY22 spending package at risk of reduction
The “Build Back Better” Act now faces reallocation of its proposed investments after Senator Manchin refused to support the spending plan last December. Earlier this month, President Biden confirmed that trimming down the package is needed to pass at least some of the original appropriations. As Congress advances with discussion, advocates must demand protection and enactment of the bill’s historically massive investments in accessible, affordable public housing. Contact your Congressional representative here to defend and maximize housing investments in the repackaged Build Back Better Act.
Advocates should also urge their senators and representatives not to extend the continuing resolution (CR) that emerged after months of Congressional stall. A prolonged funding freeze would significantly impair housing and community development programs. The House proposal of the FY22 spending bill includes monumental investments in affordable housing, including the expansion of Housing Choice Vouchers and increased HUD program budgets. Contact your Congressional representative here before the current CR expires on February 18th, 2022.
For further discussion on how the latest Congressional spending negotiations impact access to affordable housing, watch the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s (NLIHC) HoUSed campaign call here.
Cities resume Point-in-Time count after COVID hiatus, Washington state pushes for improved methodology in State Senate
Cities from Snohomish, Washington to Wood County, West Virginia are continuing their annual point-in-time (PIT) counts in the first quarter of 2022. While critiques of the PIT count exist, this federally-mandated census of individuals experiencing homelessness is a critical dataset in providing funding for support services and organizations. Despite HUD’s guidance on conducting COVID-safe PIT counts, many localities had to postpone data collection in 2021 due to the increased risk of exposure and subsequent volunteer shortages. This year’s return of the PIT count will provide a much-needed update on the growth of homeless populations nationwide since the pandemic.
To further improve homeless count accuracy in Washington state, State Senator Lynda Wilson committed to sponsoring Senate Bill 5607. The Bill expands the state homeless censuses to include individuals in jails and hospitals who were homeless before entering such facilities. On January 19, the Bill advanced to the Rules Committee for second reading.
Heating and Cooling Relief Act of 2022 proposes significant investments in the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program
On January 20, the Law Center signed on as an organizational co-sponsor to the Heating and Cooling Relief Act, legislation introduced by Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) and Representative Jamaal Bowman (D-NY-16) that aims to combat disproportionately high energy burdens experienced by low-income households, as well as Black, Hispanic, and Native American households. The bill would authorize $40 billion in annual funding to the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). These investments include expanded LIHEAP eligibility such that no household spends more than 3% its annual income on energy cost, and ensures states can use LIHEAP to respond to climate adaptation.
Congress considers “Reforming Disaster Recovery Act” to ensure federal disaster recovery efforts reach low-income households
On January 19, National Low Income Housing Coalition President Diane Yentel gave testimony before the subcommittee on the House Financial Services Committee urging Congress to pass the Reforming Disaster Recovery Act. NLIHC has been leading advocacy efforts for equitable disaster housing recovery since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The Act was introduced by Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI), Susan Collins (R-ME), Todd Young (R-IN), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), and Bill Cassidy (R-LA), as well as Representative Al Green (D-TX). If passed, it would permanently authorize HUD’s Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery Program and implement safeguards to ensure that disaster recovery funds reach those with the greatest need, and provide long-term resources to rebuild affordable housing.
Contact your senators and representatives and encourage them to pass the Reforming Disaster Recovery Act to protect low-income households and preserve affordable housing in regions affected by natural disasters.
Dover, Delaware City Council rejects “anti-dawdling” ordinance
ACLU Delaware scored a new victory last month over a proposed “anti-dawdling” ordinance. The Law Center provided expertise on “anti-loitering” case law that was included in the ACLU’s letter to Dover city council. Following this pushback, the council unanimously voted to abandon the ordinance. Loitering and panhandling remain a crime in Dover’s municipal code, but the council now plans to create a committee to discuss current loitering language and alternative solutions.
Kansas City becomes 13th city with right to counsel for tenants facing eviction, Connecticut and New Orleans prepare to implement right to counsel
In December, Kansas City became the 13th city and 16th jurisdiction with a right to counsel for tenants facing eviction. The ordinance guarantees full-scope representation and covers all tenants facing eviction, regardless of income.
Additionally, Connecticut’s statewide right to counsel law, passed last June, is set to go into effect this month. The law will guarantee a right to counsel to all tenants facing eviction who earn 80% or below of the area median income. New Orleans City Council also passed its 2022 budget in December, allocating $2 million to a new right to counsel program that will guarantee legal representation for all tenants facing eviction.
Litigation Updates
Warren v. City of Chico reaches settlement agreement
Last April, eight unhoused individuals, represented by the Legal Services of Northern California, filed a lawsuit against the city of Chico for enforcing ordinances that prohibit encampments on public property. This month, the Chico City Council voted to authorize a settlement agreement which is now awaiting signature from the Eastern District of California judge.
In the agreement, the city committed to building a new Housing Site with 177 pallet shelters. The projected Chico Emergency Non-Congregate Housing Site will include sanitation services, potable drinking water, garbage disposals, laundry, meals and kitchens, and other amenities. The new Housing Site will not be permitted to require participation in any programs or services as a condition of entry, and must be open 24/7 for occupants. Additionally, the settlement prohibits the city of Chico from enforcing any of its anti-camping ordinances until the Housing Site is open and available.
Ninth Circuit denies rehearing in Garcia v. Los Angeles
Back in September, a Ninth Circuit panel affirmed a preliminary injunction prohibiting the city of Los Angeles from discarding possessions belonging to unhoused individuals. On December 13, the Ninth Circuit denied the city’s petition for a rehearing, leaving in place the previous injunction.
Unhoused plaintiff brings suit against Lafayette police department to challenge anti-panhandling ordinances
Earlier this month, George Henegan, an unhoused man living in Lafayette, Louisiana, filed a lawsuit in the Western District of Louisiana against the Lafayette Police Department and other city officials for allegedly violating his First Amendment rights by enforcing an anti-panhandling ordinance. Represented by attorneys from the Roderick and Solange MacArthur Justice Center in New Orleans, Henegan initiated the lawsuit after being arrested twice in November 2020, and ultimately being sentenced to 30 days in jail.
Specifically, the lawsuit challenges three Lafayette ordinances, one prohibiting soliciting through spoken, written, or printed word; one prohibiting “criminal mischief;” and a third prohibiting obstruction of a highway of commerce.
North Wilkesboro homeless shelter wins zoning lawsuit against town
In December, the district court judge for the Western District of North Carolina granted summary judgment to Catherine H. Barber Memorial Homeless Shelter in its lawsuit against the town of North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. The shelter, originally opened in 1987, brought the lawsuit after the city denied its application for a conditional-use permit to move into a new two-story building in order to expand. Despite having no ordinances related to homeless shelters, North Wilkesboro enacted a provision to its land-use plan just prior to the Catherine H. Barber Memorial Homeless Shelter applying for its conditional-use permit.
In early December, both parties filed motions seeking summary judgments. On December 20, U.S. District Court Judge Kenneth D. Bell granted the Plaintiff’s motion, finding that the land-use provision that the town used to deny the shelter’s conditional-use permit was “unreasonable, arbitrary and capricious” and violated state law as well as the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
On January 18, North Wilkesboro officials held a meeting of the town’s Board of Commissioners, at which they decided not to appeal the December ruling.
Federal Policy Updates
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USICH releases updated Omicron guidance for homeless service providers
The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) published new guidance for homeless service providers on responding to the Omicron variant of COVID-19. Citing increased vulnerability to COVID-19 for people experiencing homelessness, the USICH continues to recommend non-congregate sheltering options, and suggests that the 10-day quarantine period be continued for individuals experiencing homelessness. The guidance includes best practices for managing congregate housing spaces in situations in which non-congregate and individual housing options are unavailable.
FEMA allocates $530 million in Emergency Food and Shelter Program funds
The Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP) will continue to reimburse local organizations dedicated to serving individuals experiencing hunger or homelessness. Designed to support people facing non-disaster related emergencies, the program received appropriations via the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 and American Rescue Plan Act. A list of qualifying jurisdictions for the award can be accessed here.
HUD issues over $271 million in disaster recovery and community development funds
On January 11, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced the Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) and Community Development Block Grant-Mitigation (CDBG-MIT), which allocated more than $85 million and $186 million respectively. The recently proposed “Reforming Disaster Recovery Act” ensures permanent authorization of HUD funds, and includes critical reforms to help expand the reach of both CDBR-DR and CDBG-MIT.
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Recording of NLADA panel regarding tenant right to counsel and legal aid providers now available
The National Legal Aid and Defender Association (NLADA) hosted its annual conference in November, including a panel discussion on the right to counsel for tenants facing eviction. The panel featured
Andrew Scherer (New York Law School), Hazel Remesch (Legal Aid Society of Cleveland), and Deepa Varma (Tenants Together (San Francisco)), and the recording is available here.
Opportunity Starts at Home Campaign send letter urging Congress to fully fund Housing Choice Voucher program
On January 19, the “Opportunity Starts at Home” campaign, an affordable housing-focused coalition launched by the National Low Income Housing Coalition and other organizations, sent a letter to Congress urging a major expansion to rental assistance in the FY22 Spending Bill. Specifically, the letter requests that the House expand the Housing Choice Vouchers program tor each an additional 125,000 households in order to address the growing gap between households eligible for federal housing assistance and households that are actually able to receive federal housing assistance.
Boston University Initiative on Cities releases new report on mayoral and local responses to homelessness
In December, Boston University’s Initiative on Cities released its annual Menino Report, focused on how mayors are tackling homelessness in their cities. The Initiative surveyed 126 mayors in cities with over 75,000 residents between June and August of 2021. Among its key findings, the report notes that 60% of surveyed mayors say that limited funding is a significant barrier to addressing homelessness in their cities, 28% have no staff exclusively dedicated to serving people experiencing homelessness, 10% do not have access to city-level data on homelessness, and only 40% explicitly outline a policy goal of reducing homelessness.
Stay Up to Date!
HNH Campaign / Organizational Resources
This one pager provides an overview of the HNH Campaign and outlines concrete ways for people to get involved. It also includes a fact sheet on the criminalization of homelessness. This tool is useful to share with people who are already familiar with homelessness issues and are looking for more information about the HNH Campaign. Additional resources can be found here.
Resources, news, and initiatives by the Law Center regarding Coronavirus can be found at our Coronavirus hub.
Campaign Branding
We encourage campaign endorsers to link relevant events to the national Housing Not Handcuffs campaign. Please see the guidelines for branding your materials here.
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This newsletter was designed, drafted, and distributed by the
National Homelessness Law Center
on behalf of the Housing Not Handcuffs Campaign
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