Homelessness Action Legal Team
What is HALT?
The Homelessness Action Legal Team (HALT) is a national legal community serving and protecting the unhoused community and those at risk of becoming unhoused. HALT members serve as core support for the National Homelessness Law Center to achieve our mission to fearlessly advance federal, state, and local policies to prevent and end homelessness while fiercely defending the rights of all unhoused persons.
Through membership in HALT, the Law Center offers law firms and corporate legal departments many opportunities to leverage pro bono legal services. HALT members participate in the fight to end homelessness through litigating educational rights for children, challenging anti-camping laws, researching the impact of criminalization, and more.
Why join HALT?
By choosing to partner with the Law Center through HALT, our Pro Bono Partners are able to align their organizational values with our vision to cultivate a society where every person can live with dignity and enjoy basic human rights, including the right to affordable, quality, and safe housing. HALT members receive special recognition throughout the year and invitations to exclusive HALT events. HALT members not only work on high-profile pro bono projects that address systemic injustices and help prevent and end homelessness, but they also have the opportunity to proactively weigh in on our homelessness advocacy strategy.
AMPLIFY
HALT Members maximize their impact and shift from one-off pro bono projects towards long-term commitments and relationships, changing the legal landscape surrounding homelessness.
STRENGTHEN
HALT gives our members a way to support and develop emerging leaders in their organization through the Liaison Steering Committee, offering opportunities to network with other pro bono associates.
LEAD
HALT members are leading the fight to end homelessness through litigating educational rights for children, challenging anticamping laws, researching the impact of criminalization, and more.
STRATEGIZE
The National Homelessness Law Center seek the brightest minds working to solve some of the biggest challenges facing society to join our HALT Think Tank. Make a difference today!
Join the HALT Steering Committee
The Law Center is excited to announce the launch of the HALT Steering Committee beginning this fall! The steering committee is an opportunity for emerging leaders from each HALT firm to convene and discuss their firm’s projects, share resources, and deepen their knowledge of homelessness issues. If there is an associate at your firm who you think would be a good fit for this program, please contact our Pro Bono Coordinator, Jed Barton, at jbarton@homelesslaw.org.
Join HALT Today!
Ready to join HALT and make a difference in the fight to end homelessness? Email our Pro Bono Coordinator, Jed Barton, at jbarton@homelesslaw.org.
35 Years of Impact DISCOUNT
In honor of the Law Center’s 35th anniversary, we are offering a discounted introductory rate to HALT of $3,500!
We welcome any interested law firm, corporate partner, and community advocate to join us.
Pledge your membership before October 31, 2024 to receive the discounted rate!
HALT & Pro Bono Victories
HALT Events
HALT Think Tank Series
To deepen HALT’s impact, the National Homelessness Law Center has launched the HALT Think Tank; a series of discussions each year about the Law Center’s legal and legislative strategy where we will provide opportunities to learn how you can support this critical civil and human rights work!
HALT Think Tank: Legal Training – The Rights of Unhoused Youth in Shelter – Wednesday October 2, 2024
In the absence of actual solutions to homelessness, such as a right to housing, access to shelter can mean the difference between life and death (and between freedom and incarceration) for those trying to survive without a safe and stable home. However, little attention is paid to the basic rights of those in shelter.
The Law Center’s Youth Shelter and Housing Attorney, John Salois, has been developing tools and resources to train and engage attorneys in upholding the rights and protections outlined in federal law for youth and young adult participants in shelter and supportive housing programs. This HALT meeting served as an introduction to the legal issues related to youth in shelter and our current projects and pro bono needs. Watch the recording of the event at the link below.
HALT Think Tank: Recapping Johnson v. Grants Pass and What Comes Next – Tuesday June 11, 2024
The 2024 HALT Lunch featured the attorneys at the Oregon Law Center and the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection who worked directly on the historic Supreme Court case, Grants Pass v. Johnson, to learn about the future of the legal movement to end homelessness in the wake of the decision.
HALT Think Tank: Ending Youth Homelessness – Tuesday February 27, 2024
On a single night in 2023, 34,703 unaccompanied youth were counted as homeless. 90.6 percent were between the ages of 18-24, the remainder were under 18. Nearly 41 percent of homeless youth are unsheltered. Every year, over millions of students attend public schools while they are experiencing homelessness. The numbers are increasing every year! Join us to learn how the Law Center has been working to address Youth Homelessness across the country and how you can get involved!
2023 HALT Think Tank Wrap Up – Tuesday September 26, 2023
In the last event of the 2023 series, join the Law Center’s Decriminalization Director, Will Knight, and discuss the short-sighted and harmful consequences of the criminalization of homelessness and strategies for how our pro bono partners can counter this cross-state trend. Attendees will also hear from key HALT Member Partners who have worked to successfully counter this threat in 2023 and strategize the future of our pro bono and advocacy work around criminalization. Register today to join this virtual event at the link below!
2023 HALT Lunch – Tuesday May 23, 2023
The annual HALT Lunch serves as an opportunity to educate and inform the Law Center’s Pro Bono Community and HALT Members about some of the most pressing issues impacting people experiencing homelessness and present potential solutions to deal with the crisis. At the 2023 HALT Lunch, Keynote Speaker Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, Kristen Clarke, highlighted some of the Division’s ongoing work around criminalization of homelessness.
HALT Think Tank Kick Off – February 27, 2023
At the first Think Tank meeting, representatives from HALT Member firms discussed the work they have done to push our legal and legislative goals forward!
For more details and to join HALT, contact our Pro Bono Coordinator, Jed Barton, jbarton@homelesslaw.org.
Thank you to our current HALT members!
Racial Equity Mission
We recognize structural racism as a root cause of homelessness. Over half of the homeless population in the United States are persons of color—nearly 40% of those persons are Black or African American. We understand our Nation’s long struggle with racism in all forms, as well as the direct, and collateral consequences resulting from structural racism. Racism’s reach has touched every institution and all areas of activity in our society. Homelessness is not exempt; therefore, we believe that ending homelessness cannot happen without addressing racial inequity.