Court Strikes Down Citations and Fees as Cruel and Excessive Punishment U.S. District Court of Oregon Finds Civil and Criminal Punishments for Homelessness Unconstitutional FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty Karianna Barr, Director of Development & Communications 202-638-2535 kbarr@homelesslaw.org Oregon Law Center Ed Johnson, Director of Litigation 503-998-2133 ejohnson@oregonlawcenter.org (July 29, 2020, Medford, Oregon) – On July 22, people experiencing homelessness in Grants Pass, Oregon—and across the Ninth Circuit—won further support for their right to survive. The U.S. District Court in the District of Oregon issued [...]

HUD Rules Promote Discrimination, Undermine Equality FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Karianna Barr Director of Development & Communications 202-638-2535 kbarr@homelesslaw.org Gutting Racial Housing Discrimination Accountability at the State Level (July 28, 2020, Washington, D.C.) – Late last week, the Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) announced two rule changes to undo previous anti-discrimination rules for housing and homeless shelters. The new rules contravene HUD’s mission to create suitable living environments for all Americans and would allow discrimination—backed by HUD funding—to proceed. After months of the Trump Administration undermining the 2015 Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) regulation, HUD circumvented the usual notice and comment rulemaking process; on July 24, [...]

Fighting for Policies to Make Real Change George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and Ahmaud Arbery. We at the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty say these names to remember these lives that were recently so brutally cut short—adding to the killings of so many others before them. As we said last week, as an organization committed to using the power of the law to end homelessness in America, the Law Center has a special responsibility to also call out and fight the structural racism that led to their recent brutal killings. This means not only [...]

Statement on Recent Killings of Unarmed Black Americans The National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty condemns the recent brutal killings George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and Ahmaud Arbery—and of so many others before them. Our thoughts are with their families, their friends, and their communities. We know this violence has caused tremendous pain to Black Americans and other people of color across the country, including in our own organization and networks. We condemn not only these racist actions, but also the system of institutionalized white supremacy from which they stem. As an organization committed to [...]