National Homelessness Law Center

BREAKING: In a historically shameful decision, the Supreme Court has ruled in #JohnsonVGrantsPass that homeless people are not included in the Constitution’s protections against cruel and unusual punishment. This ruling will make homelessness drastically worse and impact the 250,000+ people who sleep outside each night, as well as millions of Americans who are just one missed paycheck away from homelessness. Arresting or fining people for trying to survive is expensive, counterproductive, cruel, and simply does not work. We are enraged but unsurprised that the Supreme Court sided with out-of-touch billionaires and against the poorest among us. #HousingNotHandcuffs To truly solve homelessness, we demand the Biden administration and Congress invest at least $356 billion in transforming approaches to homelessness away from criminalization and towards proven housing-based solutions. Read our full statement: https://lnkd.in/eFy7GFuu

Punishing people for being unhoused is not only cruel and counterproductive, it is incompatible with international human rights law. Read the blog post below from members of the Human Rights Clinic at the University of Miami School of Law to learn how. #HousingSolvesHomelessness #HousingNotHandcuffs #WorldHomelessnessDay https://loom.ly/OqveVo4

We're so excited to have Jed join us as our new Pro Bono Coordinator! ??

?? Register NOW for FREE—space is limited! @AWayHomeAmerica ?? [ www.bit.ly/awhasotm ]

We were so happy to present with Tori and John Salois at the National Homelessness Law Center's Homelessness Legal Action Team meeting to law firms and attorneys supporting the work to end homelessness across the US. We presented about our experiences working on the due process rights of youth in shelter in the South and hope that it resonated for folks!

?? Registration is still Open: State of the Movement 2024 ?? ??? October 23-24, Life in Deep Ellum—2803 Taylor St Dallas, Texas ?? In-Person Convening: @AWayHomeAmerica ?? Register NOW FREE– Space is limited! ?? [www.bit.ly/awhasotm]

Today, NHLC Senior Policy Director Eric Tars testified before the Philadelphia City Council in support of Councilmember Kendra Brooks' resolution condemning the #JohnsonVGrantsPass decision. In his testimony, Eric called for city officials to "do the right thing and focus on housing, not handcuffs; services not sweeps, as the proven solutions to homelessness." Read the full testimony here:

The Law Center is thrilled to announce U.S. Representative Maxwell Frost as our 2024 Bruce F. Vento Award Recipient! Congressmember Frost has been a fierce advocate for unhoused Americans and compassionately shared how his struggle with homelessness and housing insecurity has influenced his work. Frosts’ support was critical in expanding the movement to end homelessness when the Supreme Court took up Johnson v. Grants Pass. He also works tirelessly on behalf of renters’ rights, disaster preparedness, and in so many other areas of human and civil rights. For all these reasons and more, we are excited to celebrate U.S. Representative Frost at this year’s Human Right to Housing Awards.?Don’t forget to register to join us at https://lnkd.in/gWtf4_tF

This week was a historic step forward for our human rights movement, with the convening of a civil society briefing at The White House to discuss the domestic implementation of our human rights treaty obligations. Advocates from 45 civil society organizations -- including mine (the National Homelessness Law Center) -- briefed representatives from nine key federal agencies and the Office of the Vice President of the United States on ongoing human rights abuses and the long overdue need for a National Human Rights Institution to monitor them and enforce the rule of law at all governmental levels. On the issue of criminalization of homelessness & poverty, I joined David Peery--a compassionate advocate with lived experience and the Executive Director of the Miami Coalition to Advance Racial Equity (MCARE)--in our testimony before these representatives. We called for a federal anti-criminalization agenda with racial equity and anti-discrimination mandates at the forefront of advancing the human right to housing. Obviously, our collective work is nowhere near done. This administration will end and another will begin, if anything, signaling the need for more discussions like this. But as always, I remain in awe by the power of our civil society sector. From advocates working tirelessly everyday in defense of Indigenous peoples' rights, to the rights of women, LGBTQI+ people, refugees and immigrants, and people with disabilities, to the rights of privacy, freedom of expression, assembly, and voting, to anti-hate speech and the criminal legal system, survivors of human trafficking, the food and water insecure, etc. etc. etc. -- it is nothing short of a reminder that we all belong to the same movement and are so much stronger when we demand accountability together. And special gratitude to Jamil Dakwar and Lisa Borden for their incredible organizing and humility in this work.

Yesterday, NHLC Attorney Siya H. testified at the White House to advocate for housing, not handcuffs. With our partners at Miami Coalition to Advance Racial Equity (MCARE) Siya firmly condemned the use of carceral responses to homelessness and highlighted how the criminalization of homelessness is racially discriminatory, violent, and only makes the crisis worse. “This administration must redirect funds and resources from carceral responses and prioritize access to affordable, safe, inclusive housing with compassionate voluntary support services.” #HousingNotHandcuffs #HousingSolvesHomelessness #JohnsonVGrantsPass