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Mercer Alliance to End Homelessness

National Organizations Sponsor Congressional Call-In Week

The National Alliance to End Homelessness, Mercer Alliance have teamed up with its national partners in the Campaign for Housing and Community Development Funding (CHCDF) and are asking their to call their Members of Congress to ask for as much funding as possible for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), including an INCREASE to HUD's McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants.

The House and Senate have both released their fiscal year (FY) 2012 funding bills in recent weeks, which include proposed funding levels for HUD's low-income housing and homelessness programs. Their proposals included almost no additional funding for low-income housing and homelessness programs and flat funding for HUD's McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants.

The House and Senate Appropriations Committees are now expected to work in conference over the coming weeks to reconcile differences in the two bills and come to an agreement on compromise funding levels for HUD and other programs before final legislation is passed. This could be the last chance for advocates to reach out to their Members and impact the final funding levels for FY 2012.

The call-in week aims to convince Members of Congress to provide as much funding for HUD as possible. We urge you to call all your Members of Congress next week and ask them to provide as much funding for HUD as possible so that McKinney-Vento programs receive a much-needed increase.

What You Can Do:

Congressional office phone numbers can be found by calling the congressional switchboard at 202-224-3121.
  1. Call the Washington, DC offices of your Members of Congress. Ask to speak to the person who handles housing issues.
  2. Explain the importance of increasing HUD funding for McKinney-Vento programs using these talking points as a guide.
  3. Request that the housing staff person ask his/her boss to contact Appropriations Committee leaders to request moving enough additional money into the FY 2012 HUD funding bill to pay for an increase in homelessness funding.
  4. Ask others to be a part of this national effort! Reach out to colleagues, friends, family, and networks and ask them to take a moment to call their Members on this important issue. Customize this sample action alert and use it to mobilize others.
  5. Let us know which offices you contacted by emailing Kate Seif at cseif@naeh.org.


Senate Committee Flat Funds McKinney, Recommends New VASH, Homeless Demonstration Funding

Last week, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved its fiscal year (FY) 2012 funding bill for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The legislation included:
  • $1.901 billion for HUD's McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants (the same amount as in FY 2011);
  • $75 million for new HUD-VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) vouchers; and
  • $5 million for a homeless demonstration program (see article below for more information).
  • More information on the draft legislation is available here.
While we greatly appreciate the funding for new HUD-VASH vouchers and the homeless demonstration, we know that flat funding for HUD's McKinney-Vento program is insufficient to meet the needs of the increasing number of people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless in the United States.

Earlier this month, the House HUD Appropriations Subcommittee also recommended providing funding for new HUD-VASH vouchers but did not provide an increase in funding for HUD's McKinney-Vento program.

What You Can Do:
  1. Congressional office phone numbers can be found by calling the congressional switchboard at 202-224-3121.
  2. Call the Washington, DC offices of your Members of Congress. Ask to speak to the person who handles housing issues.
  3. Mention how glad you were to see that both the House and Senate recommended funding for new HUD-VASH vouchers, but explain that the funding level for the McKinney-Vento program is insufficient to meet the needs in your community.
  4. Request that the housing staff person ask his/her boss to contact Appropriations Committee leaders to request moving enough additional money into the FY 2012 HUD funding bill to pay for an increase in homelessness funding.
  5. Let us know which offices you contacted by emailing Kate Seif at cseif@naeh.org.

Your input is needed on HHS Funding bill

The Senate Appropriations Committee also approved its FY 2012 funding bill for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) last week. The legislation included approximately:
  • $89 million for SAMHSA Homeless Services, including about $14.6 million in new funding for an initiative targeting mental health and substance abuse services to homeless and at-risk people (see below for more information); and
  • $116 million for Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA) programs (the same as in FY 2011).
The House HHS Appropriations Subcommittee has yet to release its version of the legislation. We must contact our representatives in the House to urge them to fund the demonstration included in the Senate bill and to provide an increase in funding for RHYA. We know that the Senate's funding level for RHYA programs is insufficient to meet the needs of the increasing number of youth who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.

The Senate Appropriations Committee has recommended funding a demonstration project to improve coordination among housing and services resources. The Committee's draft legislation would provide $5 million within HUD for payments to public housing authorities (PHAs) that partner with state and local agencies providing TANF, Medicaid, or other services through HHS, as well as Department of Education homeless liaisons, to provide housing and key support services to homeless and at-risk households. In addition, $14.6 million would be available within the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to be coordinated with HUD. These resources would aim to provide services in permanent supportive housing to chronically homeless people.

What You Can Do:
  1. Call your representative's Washington, DC office. Congressional office phone numbers can be found by calling the congressional switchboard at 202-224-3121.
  2. Explain the importance in your community of RHYA programs and programs that couple housing and services for chronically homeless people.
  3. Request that the representative contacts House Appropriations Committee leaders to request $14.6 million for the homeless demonstration and $135 million for RHYA programs in the FY 2012 HHS funding bill.
  4. Let us know which office(s) you contacted by emailing Kate Seif at cseif@naeh.org.
For more information click here

For More Information

Please Contact: Tarry Truitt, Communications and Project Manager, ttruitt@merceralliance.org or 609-844-1008.

 

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