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Affordable Housing Shortage Puts Low Income Households in Major Cities at Risk of Homelessness

August 18, 2015

There are many paths to homelessness—job loss, a medical emergency, or an increase in rent, to name a few—and there are many paths to exit homelessness. Though every person’s story is unique, there are commonalities amongst them.

Recently, we looked at why minimum wage isn’t enough to afford housing and why there are increasingly few affordable rental units available to low-income households. When you take these two trends together, it’s easy to infer disastrous results: many low-income renters are at risk of falling into homelessness.

Where Does Funding for Homeless Programs Stand in the Federal Budget?

August 17, 2015

Now that we’re approaching the end of the Federal Fiscal Year (it ends on September 30), you may be wondering where spending levels for homeless programs stand. Under normal circumstances, the full Senate and House of Representatives would have passed spending bills by now and they would be working to reconcile them. Circumstance have changed.

Do we have cause for hope or alarm? Well, yes and yes. This phase of the appropriations process has in recent years become so contentious and fraught that it has resulted in government shutdowns and a budgetary compromise (sequestration) that everyone agrees was a bad idea to begin with. So it should come as no surprise that the appropriations process for FY 2016 is, for the time being, stalled.

Actor Richard Gere Discusses Homelessness, New Film

August 13, 2015

You may know Richard Gere as the actor who appeared in "Pretty Woman," maybe even as the close personal friend of the Dalai Lama, but did you know he’s also a longtime advocate for human rights?

He’s taking that spirit of advocacy to the big screen in his new film “Time Out of Mind.” The film, which will be released in September, documents the struggles of a homeless man (played by Gere) living on the streets of New York City. Last month Gere stopped by our 2015 National Conference on Ending Homelessness to discuss his experience making it.

Here’s a Way You Can Help End Homelessness this Month

August 11, 2015

This July, more than 275 advocates swarmed Capitol Hill during the Alliance’s Capitol Hill Day event to tell Congress about the excellent work federally funded homeless assistance programs are doing in their communities and how Congress can better support them.

Congress is now on recess, so the place for advocates to find members is no longer the Hill; it’s their home states and districts. If you participated in Capitol Hill Day, it’s time to extend the conversation with your member of Congress and show them your program. If you missed out, it’s time to build a relationship.

CMS to Medicaid Directors: You Can Use Medicaid to Help Homeless People

August 10, 2015

In June, the Supreme Court upheld Obamacare. That was good news for the almost 6 million people who would have lost their health care insurance if the ruling had gone the other way.

The ruling also meant that Obamacare is likely to remain intact. And with Obamacare in place, more and more states are likely to expand their Medicaid programs to cover people with low incomes, not just families or people with disabilities. This means that the majority of extremely low income and homeless persons can keep their access to health care in places that have expanded Medicaid. To date 30 states have expanded their Medicaid coverage. And other states may join the list.

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