Last week the country elected Donald Trump as our next President. This outcome will change the landscape of our work. We know that his platform, laid out in speeches and in the Project 2025 document, will cause harm to people that the Alliance cares about. For people who have been marginalized and who suffer from homelessness disproportionately. For Black and Indigenous people, for LGBTQ people, for people with disabilities. For new arrivals to this country looking for a better life.
By law we are required — as a 501(c)(3) non-profit — to be non-partisan. When I started as CEO of the Alliance in 2022, I asked our leadership what we mean when we use that term.
A lot of nonprofits say it but don’t really say what it means. I expected platitudes, but what I got was a thoughtful response that clarified for me the moral compass of this organization and our leaders. What I heard loud and clear is that although we do not support particular political parties or candidates, we are not neutral when it comes to our mission. Nonpartisan does not mean neutral.
Last Wednesday, the Alliance’s leadership thought about the message we needed to send out to our field. We decided not to issue a statement; it seemed to lack meaning in the moment. What we decided to do was post this blog to the field and our partners to be crystal clear about our intentions over the coming few years.
We stand by our values, and they will not shift.
- We will inspire FAITH that ending homelessness is possible.
- We will lead with LOVE, equity and lived expertise in all that we do.
- We will relentlessly pursue bringing people HOME.
When we said at our July conference that our work is guided by these three principles, we meant it. Even when it is hard. Even when others are actively working to undermine this approach.
When we lean into these values, we cannot be neutral about our mission.
Since 2017 there have been unprecedented attacks on best practices for ending homelessness and on people experiencing homelessness. The Trump Administration’s 2024 platform explicitly doubles down on these attacks. There can be no debate that these policies are real threats to the people we serve, to the organizations we work for, and to the mission that guides us.
The National Alliance to End Homelessness will not waver in its commitments to the field’s needs and to the needs of the people we all serve.
We will continue our work with policymakers to advance policies and best practices that are supported with the resources you need. We will continue research on critical issues that impact your local work and that points us to what works. We will work in community beside you to implement those practices. We will look for ways to make progress and have positive impact. We will continue to bring positive energy to those of you working so hard on the front lines of our sector.
In moments like these, it is very easy to feel powerless. But as we move forward, it will be essential that we as a field leverage our collective power to protect and advance these efforts. Your voices, your advocacy, and your organizing will be critical. They will not be neutral.
If you have not already, we strongly encourage everyone to please sign up for advocacy alerts, so that you can quickly contact lawmakers to build support for the resources we need and the policies and practices that end homelessness.
We look forward to our continued partnership with our networks in the field, our national partners, and with our supporters to amplify the good work across our nation and fight for what matters. Stay tuned.
On behalf of the Alliance’s Senior Leadership Team: Shalom Mulkey, Steve Berg, Chandra Crawford, Sharon McDonald, Mary Frances Kenion, Joy Moses, Tom Murphy, Marcy Thompson, Jeania Davis, and Albert Townsend.