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NATIONAL LAW CENTER

ON HOMELESSNESS & POVERTY

ADDING LEGAL TEETH TO PLANS TO END

HOMELESSNESS∗

NATIONAL LAW CENTER ON HOMELESSNESS & POVERTY

January 2006

Introduction

Homelessness continues to grow across the country. An estimated 2.5 to 3.5 million men,

women, and children experience homelessness over the course of a year; 1 on any given night,

more than 800,000 Americans are homeless.2 According to a 2005 report, requests for

emergency shelter in the 25 cities studied rose by an average of 6 percent over 2005.3 On

average, 14 percent of requests for emergency shelter went unmet during the same period.4

Eighty-seven percent of the cities surveyed said that the length of time people were homeless

increased in the last year.5 These figures do not include those made homeless by Hurricanes

Katrina and Rita, the impact of which has still not been accurately quantified.

The federal government must take significant responsibility in any serious effort to end

homelessness. The Hurricanes brought home the importance of federal resources and response in

addressing the human impact of this natural disaster. However, homelessness that results from

other causes--health crises, lost jobs, low wages, mental illness, the simple unavailability of

affordable housing--is no less catastrophic, and the federal government is essential in addressing

this manmade disaster as well. Because of this, the National Law Center on Homelessness &

Poverty (NLCHP) is advocating for a federal plan to end homelessness.

In 2002, the Bush administration set a goal of ending "chronic" homelessness in ten years, and

reactivated the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness. But to date, the federal effort has

been lagging, and cuts in housing and other social programs have instead exacerbated the causes

of homelessness. The Council, created by statute to lead the federal effort to address

homelessness, has instead focused much of its attention on persuading cities and states to adopt

ten-year plans to end homelessness. Many such plans have been and are being developed in

communities across the country.

While these initiatives cannot substitute for federal responsibility, they are important: state and

local governments can play major roles in ending and preventing homelessness--perhaps more

∗ The authors include NLCHP's law and policy staff (Laurel Weir, Tulin Ozdeger, Naomi Stern, and Joy Moses)

Legal Director Rebecca Troth, and Executive Director Maria Foscarinis.

1 Martha Burt et al., Helping America's Homeless: Emergency Shelter or Affordable Housing? 49-50 (2001).

2 Id.

3 U.S. Conference of Mayors, A Status Report on Hunger and Homelessness in America's Cities: A 24-City Survey

7 (Dec. 2005).

4 Id.

5 Id..

2

so in the face of federal inaction. They can also be important allies in pressing for more vigorous

federal action. But while some of the plans developed to date include ambitious, comprehensive,

and specific objectives, others are more limited and vague. Legal advocates can and should play

an important role in shaping and strengthening them.

NLCHP has developed recommendations for state and city plans that focus on legal advocacy

and reform to end and prevent homelessness. They include recommendations both for

implementing and enforcing current laws and programs and for developing new policies. They

are not exhaustive. Rather, they are targeted, specific reforms that can be incorporated into the

plans, making them more concrete and specific tools for change; many are also directly relevant

to those made homeless by the Hurricanes.

The recommendations emphasize increasing access to and availability of housing, which is

essential to preventing homelessness and to re-housing those currently homeless. They include

specific recommendations to prevent homelessness for persons exiting correctional institutions as

well as persons fleeing domestic violence. Income assistance is also necessary, and the

recommendations include a focus on income assistance and other public benefits programs.

Access to income assistance, food assistance, education, health care, and other "mainstream"

programs is also vital, and recommendations in those areas are included. Finally, protecting the

basic civil rights of homeless people and preventing persons living in public places from being

punished for their status is essential, and the recommendations include positive local responses to

homelessness as an alternative to criminalization.

I. Increase Access to Housing

A. The Human Right to Housing

International law recognizes housing as a human right. For example, under the Universal