January 27, 2021, Washington, D.C. – The National Alliance to End Homelessness today applauded the Biden administration’s new guidance to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to examine the impacts of discriminatory housing policies at the agency, and to advance fair housing. Among the many negative impacts of discriminatory housing policies are reducing housing available to minority communities, people with disabilities, and extremely low-income people; and an overall increase in homelessness.
In recent years, numerous fair housing policies have been weakened or revoked. They include: revisions making it harder to utilize the Fair Housing Act’s Disparate Impact Standard; abandonment of the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing provisions within the Act; and the decision to withdraw protections that HUD’s Equal Access Rule had previously provided to transgender people seeking access to emergency shelter. The administration’s directive to examine the impacts of changes to the Disparate Impact Standard and Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing provisions are a welcome first step.
“Discrimination is corrosive and crippling to this nation and the people who live in it. Those working in housing and homelessness witness its consequences each day,” said Nan Roman, President & CEO of the National Alliance to End Homelessness. “The Alliance applauds the Biden administration for aggressively moving to achieve housing equity in America, and looks forward to working with it on a shared vision to end homelessness in the United States.”
About the National Alliance to End Homelessness
The National Alliance to End Homelessness is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization committed to preventing and ending homelessness in the United States. As a leading voice on the issue of homelessness, the Alliance analyzes policy and develops pragmatic, cost-effective solutions; works collaboratively with the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to build state and local capacity; and provides data and research to policymakers and elected officials in order to inform policy debates and educate the public and opinion leaders nationwide.
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