National Coalition for the Homeless

Last updated
National Coalition for the Homeless
Nch logo small.jpg
AbbreviationNCH
FoundedApril 23, 1984;35 years ago (1984-04-23) [1]
FounderRobert Hayes
52-1517415 [2]
Legal status 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization [2]
Headquarters2201 P Street NW,
Washington, D.C. 20037, U.S.
Coordinates 38°54′38″N77°02′57″W / 38.910543°N 77.049176°W / 38.910543; -77.049176 Coordinates: 38°54′38″N77°02′57″W / 38.910543°N 77.049176°W / 38.910543; -77.049176
Bob Erienbusch [3]
Megan Hustings [3]
Revenue (2016)
$210,202 [4]
Expenses (2016)$232,107 [4]
Employees (2015)
3 [4]
Volunteers (2015)
75 [4]
Website www.nationalhomeless.org

The National Coalition for the Homeless is a national network of people who are currently experiencing or who have experienced homelessness, activists and advocates, community-based and faith-based service providers, and others committed to the common goal of ending American homelessness.

Contents

The National Coalition for the Homeless' projects include: National Homeless Persons Memorial Day (since 1990 on December 21 each year, the longest night of the year) in an effort to honor all the men, women and children who have died while homeless, Hate Crimes and Violence on Main Street USA reports, Criminalization of Homelessness reports, Co-sponsors National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, the week before Thanksgiving. There are also local projects which seek to make the issue of homelessness more visible to the public, such as the One Night Count, conducted by the Coalition of the Homeless in the Seattle area.

Mission

The National Coalition for the Homeless is committed to creating the systemic and attitudinal changes necessary to prevent, and eventually end, American homelessness. Simultaneously, the National Coalition for the Homeless works to meet the immediate needs of people who are currently experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of doing so. One of the guiding principles of the National Coalition for the Homeless is to include people experiencing homelessness in all aspects of its work. The National Coalition for the Homeless works to empower communities and those experiencing homelessness to advocate for positive change, while acting as a national voice for these local advocates. The focus of the National Coalition for the Homeless is on advocacy work in four policy areas: affordable housing, comprehensive health care, livable incomes, and the preservation of civil rights. In order to achieve these goals, the National Coalition for the Homeless utilizes six major strategies: policy advocacy, litigation, public education, community organization, research, and technical assistance.

History

The roots of the National Coalition for the Homeless began in 1981 when the founder, Robert M. Hayes, filed a lawsuit on behalf of a man experiencing homelessness in New York City. The lawsuit was settled out of court, and people experiencing homelessness won the right to shelter in New York City. The Coalition for the Homeless in New York City formed as one of the early community-based coalitions. With the development of other local and statewide homeless coalitions, the National Coalition for the Homeless was formed in 1982. It was incorporated on April 23, 1984. [1] The Internal Revenue Service recognized the organization as tax-exempt under the Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code in 1988. [2] [5] Hayes served as its first director. [6]

Since the establishment of the National Coalition for the Homeless, many other cities in the United States of America have created organizations which are members of the network, such as Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle and Houston. There are also statewide coalitions, like those in Massachusetts and Colorado, and organizations focusing on a particular region. The local factions of Coalition for the Homeless often rely on volunteers to help with the programs assisting those who are homeless and at risk of being homeless.

The McKinney–Vento Homeless Assistance Act was signed into law in 1987. The National Housing Trust Fund was authorized when the Housing and Economic Recovery Act was signed into law in 2008. You Don't Need a Home to Vote Program registered over 25,000 homeless and low-income voters since inception.

In 2003, the National Coalition for the Homeless laid off its entire policy staff and declared bankruptcy. Policy staff had been members of the Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild, TNG-CWA Local 32035, having organized and signed its first contract with the National Coalition for the Homeless in 2001.

Bring America Home Campaign

This national, broad-based initiative is dedicated to the goal of ending homelessness. The Campaign utilizes the principles and action of public education and grassroots organizing to increase support for progressive policies and legislation. It is founded on the values that all people need affordable housing, livable incomes, health care, education, and protection of their civil rights.

Policy advocacy

The National Coalition for the Homeless has remained the substantive voice in the federal legislative process for people who are experiencing homelessness. The National Coalition for the Homeless policy advocacy works diligently to ensure that mainstream resources and opportunities are available to families and individuals who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Specific goals include: housing that is affordable to the lowest income Americans, comprehensive, accessible health care and other support services, livable incomes and civil rights protections.

Technical Assistance

The National Coalition for the Homeless' technical assistance activities include consultation on a variety of issues in response to specific requests, and training at state and regional conferences on how to organize and advocate around issues of affordable housing, living incomes, access to health care and the protection of the civil rights of homeless persons.

Faces of Homeless Speakers' Bureau and Homeless Empowerment Project

This program is made up of people who are or have been homeless and works to educate the public about homelessness and what can be done to end it. In addition, the Homeless Empowerment Project works to empower those homeless participants to advocate on their own behalf through the Faces of Homelessness Speakers’ Bureau, workshops, training, and community involvement. The Faces of Homelessness Speakers' Bureau averages over 300 presentations each year. In 2008, the Faces of Homelessness Speakers’ Bureau spoke to 340 groups, over 17,000 audience members from 40, traveling to 19 states, and has expanded to 12 new locations across the state of Florida. The goal of the Speakers' Bureau is to put a human face to homelessness, to break the stereotypes and misconceptions people have about homelessness and educate people on how they can get involved in their community to help end homelessness.

Homeless Challenge Project

This new program challenges candidates for public office, incumbents, and public officials to give up their everyday privileges and spend a short period of time on the streets or in a shelter to experience homelessness in their community. These Homeless Challenge participants come away with a greater understanding of what it means to be homeless in the United States and what they can do to promote policies that will end homelessness. This program also serves college age youth and other community members who want to experience first hand the trials of being homeless a popular experience for college students on alternative breaks.

Website and publications

The National Coalition for the Homeless website includes detailed policy analyses, fact sheets, publications, directories, action alerts, and a calendar of events. Monthly newsletters are distributed to thousands of subscribers nationwide. The National Coalition for the Homeless also publishes numerous reports addressing a wide range of topics related to homelessness

National Homeless Civil Rights Organizing Project

The civil rights of people experiencing homelessness are continually violated, whether it be by hate crimes/violence committed against them, or by unjust laws making it illegal to be homeless. The National Coalition for the Homeless is concerned about this illegal disenfranchisement of people experiencing homelessness, and the National Homeless Civil Rights Organizing Project exists to protect the civil rights of people in homeless situations. Every year since 1999, the National Coalition for the Homeless has published a report on hate crimes committed on the homeless called Hate, Violence, and Death on Main Street USA: A Report on Hate Crimes And Violence Against People Experiencing Homelessness.

Every two years, the National Coalition for the Homeless publishes a report on the criminalization of homelessness called A Dream Denied: The Criminalization of Homelessness in U.S. Cities.

In July 2009, in collaboration with the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, the National Coalition for the Homeless released a report titled Homes Not Handcuffs: The Criminalization of Homelessness in U.S. Cities.

You Don’t Need a Home to Vote campaign

This campaign seeks to protect and promote the right of homeless people to vote. Since 1992, the National Coalition for the Homeless and its partners have registered thousands of homeless people nationwide. The National Coalition for the Homeless continues to update their Voting Rights Manual, encouraging local service organizations to register voters as a part of intake services, hold get out the vote campaigns and candidate forums, promote voter information sessions, and participate in National Low Income Voter Registration drives each election year.

Publications

Every year, the National Coalition for the Homeless publishes fact sheets on topics including federal policies, who is homeless, rural homelessness, and how to help.

The National Coalition for the Homeless publishes an annual report on hate crimes against the homeless.

Every two years, the National Coalition for the Homeless publishes a report about the criminalization of homelessness.

The National Coalition for the Homeless continues to be on the forefront of emerging issues relating to homelessness, releasing research reports on the foreclosure crisis, feeding restrictions, couch-hopping, and deaths of people who are homeless.

In addition to these publications, the National Coalition for the Homeless provides technical assistance through annually published manuals on voting rights and organizing a homeless persons memorial day.

Actions against anti-homeless bigotry

The National Coalition for the Homeless has campaigned vocally against what it calls video exploitation of homeless people. The group stated that the Bumfights videos disseminate violence and hate against the homeless and dehumanize them. [7] Calling the video series, they campaigned for retailers to stop carrying the DVDs. [8] The group has since campaigned against similar amateur "bumfight"-like videos on video sharing websites such as YouTube [9] and against Shefights.net, a woman-focused bumfight video website. [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

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Bumfights: A Cause for Concern is a film produced by Indecline Films. The video features primarily high school fights caught on tape and homeless men in the San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas metropolitan areas attempting amateur stunts in a style inspired by the popular MTV series Jackass. Bumfights: A Cause for Concern (2002), was produced by Ryen McPherson, with friends Zachary Bubeck, Daniel J. Tanner, and Michael Slyman, as Indecline Films. Contrary to its title, the video does not depict homeless men actually fighting, but instead a compilation of street fights caught on tape and homeless men performing in skits and stunts.

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References

  1. 1 2 "National Coalition for the Homeless Inc.". Entity Information. Division of Corporations. New York State Department of State. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 "National Coalition for the Homeless Inc." Exempt Organizations Select Check. Internal Revenue Service. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  3. 1 2 "Who We Are". National Coalition for the Homeless. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Form 990: Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax". National Coalition for the Homeless. Guidestar. June 30, 2016.
  5. ↑ "National Coalition for the Homeless, Inc.". Guidestar . Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  6. ↑ Kraft, Scott (December 11, 1983). "Economic Recovery Found to Be Invisible to Homeless". Associated Press. The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. C12.
  7. ↑ National Coalition for the Homeless
  8. ↑ Hate, Violence and Death on Main Street USA, June 2005 - VIDEO EXPLOITATION OF HOMELESS PEOPLE
  9. ↑ Hate, Violence and Death on Main Street USA, 2008 - VIDEO EXPLOITATION OF HOMELESS PEOPLE
  10. ↑ Shefights.net : A sequel to Bum Fights

Further reading

National and Local Organizations

This is a partial list of the many local Coalition for the Homeless branches in the United States.

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