Need a new search?

If you didn't find what you were looking for, try a new search!

2014 Releases

2025-03-05T12:25:43-05:00

2014 Press Releases The National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH) is partnering with the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty (Law Center) to provide members of the media, congressional staff, and activists an opportunity to meet Arnold Abbott and shed light on the national issue of criminalization of people who are homeless and those who are helping them. Arnold Abbott, the internationally renowned activist for homeless people, will be the event’s main speaker. Mr. Abbott has received significant media attention in the past two months for openly refusing to abide Fort Lauderdale, FL’s new law that criminalizes the act of sharing food [...]

2014 Releases2025-03-05T12:25:43-05:00

Our Staff

2026-01-21T16:41:52-05:00

Meet Our Team A dedicated team of legal experts determined to end homelessness in America. Antonia Fasanelli became the Executive Director of the National Homelessness Law Center in April 2021. Previously, she was Executive Director of the Homeless Persons Representation Project, Inc. (HPRP), a Maryland-based civil legal aid organization committed to changing the systems that contribute to poverty and homelessness.  During her thirteen-year tenure at HPRP, she incubated innovative civil legal aid projects providing legal assistance to all persons experiencing homelessness, including youth and veterans—as well as systemic initiatives to decriminalize homelessness and advance [...]

Our Staff2026-01-21T16:41:52-05:00

Victory in the 9th Circuit! 

2024-02-29T07:54:07-05:00

A federal court ruled that punishing people without access to shelter for sleeping in public is unconstitutional in the case of Martin v. Boise. The impact of this case is making waves across the nation. Read what Senior Attorney Eric Tars has to say about what this means for advocates and cities.

Victory in the 9th Circuit! 2024-02-29T07:54:07-05:00

LA Homeless Services Authority Adopts Progressive Policy for Unsheltered Homelessness

2019-03-14T14:13:24-04:00

Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) Adopts New Guiding Principles and Practices for Unsheltered Homelessness NLCHP Contact: Cassidy Waskowicz  Acting Director of Development & Communications cwaskowicz@homelesslaw.org 202-638-2535 ext 105 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (March 7, 2019, Los Angeles, CA) – On February 28, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) adopted new policy that calls for decriminalizing life-sustaining survival actions of the more than 40,000 Los Angelenos who are experiencing unsheltered homelessness. The policy, entitled Guiding Principles and Practices for Local Responses to Unsheltered Homelessness, outlines principles that affirm the civil rights of those experiencing homelessness. This guidance cites the Encampment Principles [...]

LA Homeless Services Authority Adopts Progressive Policy for Unsheltered Homelessness2019-03-14T14:13:24-04:00

IJT – October 2019

2021-12-17T06:12:11-05:00

October 2019 SUBSCRIBE Dear Friends— In the District of Columbia, our organizational home, thousands of unaccompanied minors experience homelessness each year. They may have legal rights that give them access to health care, housing, and education, and that protect them from arrest for truancy and other status crimes. But they are unlikely to often know what those are or how to assert them. That’s why we’ve partnered with pro bono legal teams at The Walt Disney Company and Baker McKenzie to create a [...]

IJT – October 20192021-12-17T06:12:11-05:00

IJT – February 2020

2021-09-02T08:46:03-04:00

February 2020 SUBSCRIBE Dear Friends— Race and racism play pivotal—yet little discussed—roles in homelessness. Recent research shows that people of color are disproportionately represented in the homeless population—even more so than in the overall population of people experiencing poverty in the United States. Some 40% of people experiencing homelessness are Black, even though they only comprise 26% of those living in poverty and 13% of the overall population. This is disturbing, but not surprising. Nationally, approximately half of all renters [...]

IJT – February 20202021-09-02T08:46:03-04:00

IJT – December 2020

2020-12-17T10:03:30-05:00

December, 2020  SUBSCRIBE Dear Friends— This has been a tough year—and especially hard for our unhoused neighbors. People experiencing homelessness are particularly at risk of infection and death from COVID-19; they are also disproportionately members of minoritized communities, often targeted by police and private violence. But despite the challenges, with your support, we redoubled our efforts, pivoted our focus, and achieved tangible victories that helped empower communities and save lives. We beat back a draconian plan from the Trump Administration to criminalize people simply for being homeless—building on [...]

IJT – December 20202020-12-17T10:03:30-05:00

Department of Justice Opens Civil Rights Investigation into Phoenix Police Department

2022-09-29T11:16:33-04:00

Department of Justice Opens Civil Rights Investigation into Phoenix Police Department   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Karianna Barr Director of Development & Communications 202-638-2535 kbarr@homelesslaw.org (August 18, 2021, Washington, D.C.) – On Thursday, August 5, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it will investigate incidents of excessive use of force, unlawful seizure and destruction of personal property, and other civil rights abuses against people experiencing homelessness by the Phoenix, AZ police department.   According to local activists, this discrimination has taken place not only in the City of Phoenix, but also more broadly in Maricopa County, [...]

Department of Justice Opens Civil Rights Investigation into Phoenix Police Department2022-09-29T11:16:33-04:00

2022 Releases

2025-03-05T12:29:44-05:00

2022 Press Releases (December 19, 2022, Washington, DC) – The National Homelessness Law Center (Law Center) welcomes the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness’ new All In: Federal Strategic Plan to End Homelessness, issued today as the Department of Housing & Urban Development also released its annual count numbers, which at more than half a million people—recognized as an undercount—remains unacceptable in the wealthiest country in the world. The Law Center wishes to highlight the following components: (November 16, 2022, Washington, DC) – The National Homelessness Law Center (Law Center) will be honoring U.S. Representative Cori Bush, Washington State Representative Nicole Macri, Los Angeles Councilmember Mike Bonin, Washington Legal Clinic [...]

2022 Releases2025-03-05T12:29:44-05:00

CLE Info & Bios

2022-11-14T14:29:02-05:00

Right to Housing Forum 2022 Speaker Bios Eric Tars, National Homelessness Law Center  Eric Tars serves as the National Homelessness Law Center's Legal Director, working on its human rights, civil rights, and children’s rights programs through trainings, litigation, and policy advocacy at the international, national, and local levels. Working across federal agencies, Eric has helped develop a national policy framework against the criminalization of homelessness. He has led the Law Center's work on Martin v. Boise through a successful 9th Circuit appeal, leading dozens of west coast cities to modify their enforcement of homeless criminalizing [...]

CLE Info & Bios2022-11-14T14:29:02-05:00
Go to Top