Housing is the Next Step to Mitigating Coronavirus FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Crys Letona Communications Associate 202-638-2535 x 109 cletona@homelesslaw.org (March 11, 2020, Washington, D.C.) – Without proper resources, people experiencing homelessness can be exceptionally vulnerable to communicable diseases—including the current outbreak of coronavirus, COVID-19. The National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty anticipates this virus to be not only a public health crisis, but also to direct attention to the safety and the rights of people lacking adequate housing and healthcare. As we consider the threats to our own [...]

Civil Rights Groups File Lawsuit Over Alabama’s Laws Criminalizing Panhandling City of Montgomery Issued over 400 Citations in Last 18 Months Enforcing Laws in Violation of First Amendment  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Karianna Barr/NLCHP/ kbarr@homelesslaw.org/ 202-638-2535 x118 Jen Fuson/SPLC/jen.fuson@splcenter.org / 202-834-6209 Rebecca Seung-Bickley /Alabama ACLU/rseungbickley@aclualabama.org/334-420-1743 Montgomery, Ala.— Alabama’s panhandling laws violate the First Amendment’s protection of freedom of speech, according to a lawsuit filed today seeking to immediately stop the city of Montgomery and Alabama from enforcing two state statutes prohibiting panhandling.  The current laws make it unlawful for anyone to [...]

Supreme Court Lets Martin v. Boise Stand: Homeless Persons Cannot Be Punished for Sleeping in Absence of Alternatives FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Crys Letona Communications Associate cletona@homelesslaw.org (December 16, 2019, Washington, DC) – This morning, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition by the city of Boise to review the case Martin v. Boise (formerly Bell v. Boise). This leaves in place earlier rulings by the 9th Circuit that homeless persons cannot be punished for sleeping outside on public property in the absence of adequate alternatives. People experiencing unsheltered homelessness—at least in [...]

White House Policy on Homelessness Based on Politics, Not Public Safety or Health FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Karianna Barr Director of Development & Communications 202-638-2535 kbarr@homelesslaw.org (November 22, 2019, Washington, DC)—Last Friday, the White House removed the Executive Director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH), Matthew Doherty, raising concerns that it plans to move forward with a political, rather than evidence-based, strategy to addressing homelessness in California and across the country. Doherty’s forced departure comes months after the Council of Economic Advisors released a white paper that ignores [...]

Mega-Tents Do Not Solve Homelessness, Or Excuse Sweeps National Homelessness Experts Condemn Texas Governor’s Action FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Crys Letona 202-638-2535 x109 – cletona@homelesslaw.org (November 7, 2019, Washington, D.C.) – On Monday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott ignored the voices of countless Austin residents when he ordered the displacement of homeless people living under Texas bridges in the Austin area—with no plan for where they would go. In apparent response to these actions, the Austin Chamber of Commerce announced plans to spend millions on a “large tent structure,” which the [...]

White House Policy Paper on Homelessness Misrepresents Evidence, Drives Wrong Conclusions FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Karianna Barr 202-638-2535, Ext. 118 kbarr@homelesslaw.org (September 17, 2019, Washington, DC)—On Monday evening, President Trump’s Council of Economic Advisors released a white paper that ignores and directly contradicts the evidence-based consensus of 19 of his own agencies.  Last year, those agencies published the Federal Strategic Plan to End Homelessness, stating that housing, low barrier shelter, and decriminalization is the best way to end homelessness. “The President and I agree that homelessness is a disgrace to our [...]

Trump Administration’s Plan to Crack Down on Homeless Encampments Raises Alarms FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Crystal Letona Communications Associate 202-638-2535 x109 – cletona@homelesslaw.org (September 12, 2019, Washington, DC) – On Tuesday, The Washington Post reported that President Trump ordered White House officials to “crack down” on homeless encampments in California. While the Law Center agrees that unsheltered homelessness is a crisis in California and across the country, we are concerned about the Administration’s plans to displace people without real attention to alternatives. “Simply razing encampments without ensuring adequate alternatives is [...]