March Monthly Newsletter

A happy spring to all! As the frost fades and we head into warmer weather, NCH has many updates in store. We thank everyone for their continued support in our work, and all those who have attended our events and contributed to our work. We are excited to recap our month, and preview the next. See below!

NCH is working with groups from around the United States to stop the raids on encampments which has spread to 65 cities.  We are working on various fronts from legislation, lawsuits, and community organizing on a national level to stop the sweeps.  Our goal is to amplify the work at the local level to present a unified front to oppose raids on people forced to sleep outside because of a lack of safe alternatives in many of these cities.  NCH is planning a national day of action for June 18 with demonstrations and actions also taking place around the country to demand Homes Not Sweeps. 

If you would like to participate would like more information contact Brian Davis at [email protected]

Bring America Home NOW

Interfaith Launch

On March 17th, 2022, NCH hosted it's Interfaith Launch for the Bring America Home NOW campaign. With Faith leaders across the country and advocates from cities large and small, the interfaith launch, hosted by our very own Pastor Michelle Bush, garnered dozens of attendees that kicked off the Bring America Home NOW campaign. Click below to learn more about the launch, and watch the replay!

UPCOMING: Women, Children, and Families' Launch

On April 22nd, 2022, NCH and Stetson University will be partnering to host the Women, Children, and Families' Launch. This will serve as the kickoff event for Stetson's very own Poverty and Homelessness virtual Conference. Click below for more information. 

Lawmakers' inability to figure out what's fair and equal income distribution impacts the citizens of America, especially the poor. From federal poverty guidelines, taxes, minimum wage, and tax credits, the lives of the poor continue to be altered. The decision by Congress to let the Child Tax Credit expire in December 2021 is problematic. The fact that it was only enacted for six months is even more problematic. What's even worse is that an agreement could not be made to have it as a permanent fixture to bring poverty to an absolute minimum experience. The Child Tax Credit monthly payment structure between July 2021 and December 2021 reached 62 million children overall The Devastating Effects of Losing the Child Tax Credit | The New Yorker . Millions of children that were lifted out of poverty have quickly returned. Those that have refused to further act to keep children out of poverty don't realize this inaction will graduate to people maybe being only capable of earning the federal minimum wage, (another wage suppression policy), disrupting the path to self-sufficiency..

In July 2021, the first child tax credit check was distributed. As a result, 3.7 million children were immediately lifted out of poverty. Changing the payout system from yearly distribution during tax season to monthly distribution removed the barrier of having an immediate impact to help poor people. Now that the monthly payout has expired, folks in poverty must revert back to the outdated way of receiving the credit, yearly, through the tax system. Most in poverty do not file federal income taxes, or may not be able to navigate their way through the internet to receive what's owed to them. 

Now it is expected of advocates to train those who are not at liberty to fight for themselves, to navigate through a system designed to keep poor people poor. The argument is often made for poor people to go get a job, and they don't have to rely on the government. Hard to do when the government establishes a pay scale that resembles wages that have not kept up with inflation. A minimum wage that has not been raised in almost 13 years, and Congress expects a person to pay for a 1 bedroom apartment at fair market rent in the United States. Many of the larger cities have established their own minimum wage scale far above the federal level, and with that, a person may still experience falling into poverty.

The Solution

In Washington, DC, there have been steps taken to offset the poverty cliff. The Child Wealth Building Act established by the DC Council authored by Ward 5 councilmember Kenyan McDuffie, creates a trust fund to a new born child in a lower income family that deposits $500 monthly up to $1,000 until age 18 if the parents continue to meet the threshold of lower income status three times below the poverty line. The funds are accessible for building wealth such as education, entrepreneurship, retirement investments or property ownership.Also, Washington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser announced a program to help new and expectant mothers Mayor Bowser Announces $1.5 Million Direct Cash Assistance Program to Support New and Expectant Moms | mayormb (dc.gov) 

Now, if other cities or jurisdictions decide to follow suit, be ready for the argument against giving people direct cash assistance. You'll hear statements like: people will become lazy and will not want to work, or they will use the money for drugs, and alcohol. While there's a possibility that there is truth to that, the bright side is that most look to work, are responsible, but just need a hand to become contributing tax paying citizens in society. A chance to be able to take care of their families. Just as the government depends on taxes to keep America going, the voting or potential voting citizens, may need the help of the government to keep their family going. 

Kelvin Lassiter, Income Policy Analyst

[email protected]

American Rescue Plan Toolkit

The United States Depart of the the Treasury released materials to help track and promote the significant changes that the America Rescue Plan has had on the US's economic and social landscapes. Click below for the fact sheet: 

Additionally, they've provided an outreach toolkit for advocates, which you can access clicking the button below:  

Per the US treasury, the materials referenced above are particularly focused on the $1 trillion in programs administered by Treasury programs (including State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds; Emergency Rental Assistance program; Homeowner Assistance Fund; State Small Business Credit Initiative; Capital Projects Fund; Child Tax Credit; and the Earned Income Tax Credit). The White House has also shared some broader materials for the anniversary, which may be useful to your outreach as well.

The ARP has been a critical part of the Biden Administration's attempt to address income and political inequality; please utilize these materials in your advocacy to help the treasury accurately capture the effectiveness of the ARP, as well as feedback for further policy advocacy.

Town Hall Meetings

Want to join the movement and get involved? Do you have lived experience of homelessness? Join our Monthly Town Hall meetings! We'd love to hear from you. Our Town Hall meetings greatly influence our advocacy and policy work as we strive to elevate the voices of those with lived experience.  Join our town hall meetings at 3pm EST every third Thursday!

Our next Town Hall will be held on April 21st, 2022.

Visit our social media pages or our website for more information. 

Encampment Raids

By Jordan Turner

Information/ Statistics:

Homeless encampments have become an increasing issue among various communities in the United States. From rural areas to larger cities, people experiencing homelessness have gathered in groups and formed means of shelter sometimes referred to as tent cities. For many people experiencing homelessness, these are locations where they can receive social support and shelter for a period. However, encampments continue to be targeted by city officials in efforts to “clean their cities”. These encampment raids often occur without warnings and destroy rows of property in their efforts to hide the issue of homelessness in their area.

Encampments as a whole contain groups of people of different races, ethnicities, and other walks of life. However, looking at the overall homeless population, African Americans and Latinos are two groups that are proportionately overrepresented compared to their representation of the total US population. Looking at racial demographics in these populations, black people make up around 40 percent of the homeless population while only making up 13 percent of the general population. In comparison, white people make up over 75 percent of the total US population while making up around 35 percent of the homeless population. 

Raids in 2022:

Encampment raids are a common act by cities over the years. In 2022, there have been reported sweeps in major cities including Los Angeles and New York City. In both cities, there is a trend of unproportionate representations of black homeless people compared to other races. Los Angeles in particular has an overall black population of 8 percent; however, 34 percent of African Americans experience homelessness. New York City displays similar statistics where African Americans are 24 percent of the overall population and account for 58 percent of the homeless population.

Los Angeles, in preparation for this year’s Super Bowl, conducted encampment raids across the city. Transit agencies began their raids in late January siting health and safety issues as their main reason. Caltrans, one of the main agencies behind the LA raids stated that these efforts were not in preparation for the recent Super Bowl despite targeting various locations including the 405 freeway, located less than two miles from SoFi Stadium. Information on the amount of damage from the January raids has not been confirmed, but the impact has been felt throughout homeless communities in Los Angeles. For many people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles, encampments have built a sense of community where they can gain support and resources. Recent raids in addition to a ban on encampments in 54 spots in late October 2021 have left the homeless population in Los Angeles pushed to the side without proper solutions to the overall problem.

More recently, New York City has conducted encampment raids around public transportation sites. The Brooklyn-Queens Expressway was one of 150 sites New York mayor Eric Adams targeted in his efforts. Within the last year, over 6,000 encampments were moved by city officials including over 100 sweeps in Adam’s first month as mayor in early January. Encampments under the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway were notified of Adams’ plans two weeks before action. Despite a notification, some people in these encampments did not have a place to go and many did not have the energy to move their camp sites. As of March 28, sanitation workers have begun their first set of raids under the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway led by several governmental departments.

Overview:

The issue of encampment raids has become an increasing issue for people experiencing homelessness over the years. In 2022 alone, large cities have conducted raids leaving homeless populations without options for viable shelter and often times destruction to their property. Cities have also blamed homeless populations for citywide issues including increased crime rates and sanitation problems. Although these issues exist within the city, there are no direct correlations between either issue and encampment locations. Even with raiding efforts by large cities including Los Angeles and New York City, the underlying issue of homelessness in these communities remains. Instead of shifting homeless populations in effort to clean the city, the question that should be proposed is how cities can address issues of homelessness.

References

City of Chicago 2020 homeless point-in-time count & survey report. (2020). Retrieved from https://allchicago.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/2020-PIT-Report_vFinal.pdf 

Guardian News and Media. (2022, January 27). 'trying to disappear the poor': California clears homeless camp near Super Bowl. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jan/26/homeless-los-angeles-super-bowl 

Gwynne Hogan. (2022, March 28). Dozens of city workers sent to clear homeless encampment under BQE. Gothamist. Retrieved from https://gothamist.com/news/dozens-of-city-workers-sent-to-clear-homeless-encampment-under-bqe 

Los Angeles Times. (2020, June 13). Column: Black people make up 8% of L.A. population and 34% of its homeless. that's unacceptable. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-06-13/column-african-americans-make-up-8-of-l-a-population-and-34-of-homeless-count-heres-why 

Office of Policy Development and Research. (2020, February). Exploring homelessness among people living in... - HUD USER. Retrieved from https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/Exploring-Homelessness-Among-People.pdf 

Office of Policy Development and Research. (2021, January). Unsheltered homelessness and homeless encampments in 2019. Retrieved from https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/Unsheltered-Homelessness-and-Homeless-Encampments.pdf 

Racial inequalities in homelessness, by the numbers. National Alliance to End Homelessness. (2020, October 16). Retrieved from https://endhomelessness.org/resource/racial-inequalities-homelessness-numbers/ 

NCH on Dr. Phil Show

In February, NCH Executive Director Donald Whitehead traveled to Hollywood as a guest of the Dr. Phil show. On March 10th and 11th, the episodes aired across the country. Donald was invited as one of many leaders on the national housing crisis to discuss homelessness. The episodes discuss the disparities of homelessness, the root causes, systemic governmental failures, debunking myths and stereotypes, and a call to action.

Miss the episodes? Find out where you can watch by clicking below. 

Voices of Homelessness Podcast

On March 16th, 2022, NCH released it's 10th episode of the Voices of Homelessness podcast. Titled "We Need Help", with guest stars Cassandra Staton and Dana Woolfolk, this episode highlights the urgency of aid. Watch below, or stream it on spotify, apple podcast, or google podcast. Click below to watch/listen now!

NCH has a Linktree!

NCH has incorporated a linktree into our social presence. We are utilizing a linktree to streamline our messaging and ensure that you receive accurate information and links swiftly and promptly. From town hall meeting zoom links, to event launches and donation links, we'll house it all in one place so you can access the information you need from us, when you need it. See the tutorial below for more information.

National Coalition for the Homeless|2201 P St NW, Washington, DC 20037|

|(202) 462-4822|[email protected]|
© 2020 National Coalition for the Homeless 

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