August 2019 SUBSCRIBE Dear Friends— I’m writing as we’ve just said good-bye to our summer interns, and it’s an especially poignant moment. Our interns—both law and undergraduate did stellar work for us, and you can read about them here. And their energy, commitment and dedication to social justice are a source of inspiration to all of us and to me personally. Last month, we celebrated the Law Center’s 30 years of impact—making a difference in the lives of millions of people. The interns [...]

July 2019 SUBSCRIBE Dear Friends— This year we’re celebrating the Law Center’s 30th anniversary and I’m looking back as well as forward. In 1996, a UN conference in Istanbul, where I traveled along with a small group of other US advocates, made clear what much of the world already knew: housing is not only a basic human need, it is also a basic human right recognized by the law of nations. That was the start of the Law Center’s work to move forward [...]

June 2019 SUBSCRIBE Dear Friends— Earlier this month, at our annual National Forum on the Human Right to Housing, participants from around the country came together to share ideas, strategies, and inspiration to move forward our work for Housing Not Handcuffs. It was an amazing group of people. Participants included homeless and formerly homeless people whose lives have been directly affected by both criminalization and the lack of housing; police officers who stand with us in support of housing not handcuffs; lawyers and [...]

May 2019 SUBSCRIBE Dear Friends— Every year, the Law Center’s work benefits from thousands of hours of donated legal services from our pro bono partners. We just got the numbers for 2018, and I’m excited to share that last year alone, volunteers at law firms and corporate legal departments contributed over 7000 hours! Our pro bono partners worked with Law Center lawyers on a wide range of projects, including: A 50-state Index on Youth Homelessness that supports a campaign to reform state laws [...]

April 2019 SUBSCRIBE Dear Friends— Earlier this month, the Law Center and our partners won another big victory in our fight against the criminalization of homelessness. The federal court of appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected an effort to review our earlier outcome in Martin v. Boise, meaning that our landmark victory stands. This victory has the potential to transform local government responses to visible homelessness in cities across the country—if we mobilize to capitalize on it. The court ruling tells cities in [...]

March 2019 SUBSCRIBE Dear Friends— One of the many myths about homelessness is that it primarily affects men. This is simply not true, and March—when we celebrate Women’s History Month—is a good time to set the record straight. The reality is that women are especially vulnerable to homelessness—regardless of how it’s defined. The majority of homeless families are headed by women, and women account for the vast majority of those who become homeless as a result of domestic violence. And as Matthew Desmond [...]