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New York Governor Andrew Cuomo discussed the homeless crisis occurring in NYC today and voiced his support for the NY/NY agreement. In response, the Coalition for the Homeless issued this statement from President & CEO Mary Brosnahan:

Mayor Muriel Bowser, City Administrator Rashad Young, Director of DC Department of Human Services Laura Zeilinger, Executive Director of the Interagency Council on Homelessness Kristy Greenwalt and other Administration officials participated in a meeting with members of the District’s Interagency Council on Homelessness (ICH). During the meeting, Mayor Bowser announced a set of legislative and administrative measures to improve the District’s homelessness crisis response system for families and called on residents to sign a pledge to end homelessness.

Mayor Muriel Bowser, City Administrator Rashad Young, Director of DC Department of Human Services Laura Zeilinger, Executive Director of the Interagency Council on Homelessness Kristy Greenwalt and other Administration officials participated in a meeting with members of the District’s Interagency Council on Homelessness (ICH). During the meeting, Mayor Bowser announced a set of legislative and administrative measures to improve the District’s homelessness crisis response system for families and called on residents to sign a pledge to end homelessness

The 2015 NCHV Veterans Access to Housing Summit, "The Drive to December", will be held Oct. 5-6 at the Grand Hyatt Washington in Washington, D.C. This year's Summit will gather Federal agencies involved in ending veteran homelessness, technical assistance partners for the major homeless veteran service programs, and experts from around the country to help you set a high-speed plan for the final 100 days of the Five-Year Plan to End Veteran Homelessness

The Department of Justice filed a statement of interest today arguing that making it a crime for people who are homeless to sleep in public places, when there is insufficient shelter space in a city, unconstitutionally punishes them for being homeless. The statement of interest was filed in federal district court in Idaho in Bell v. City of Boise et al., a case brought by homeless plaintiffs who were convicted under Boise ordinances that criminalize sleeping or camping in public

EAH Housing and Community Solutions are working together to change the lives of formerly homeless residents at Bella Terra apartments. "It's a big difference from then to now. It's like going from nothing to making your life better and that's all I've been doing. Living here is a whole big change, I feel free," said William Miller, 58, who spent more than a decade living homeless.

In June 2014, the Obama Administration issued the Mayor’s Challenge to End Veteran Homelessness by the end of 2015. City of Durham Mayor William V. “Bill” Bell was among hundreds of mayors who signed the Challenge, with the ambitious goal requiring system-level coordination of housing and service resources from all sectors of a community.

Last week, Governor Baker signed the FY2016 State Budget(link is external). He also issued vetoes(link is external) affecting important affordable housing, community development, and homelessness prevention programs.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) today announced a second round funding to help provide permanent homes to an estimated 122 veterans experiencing homelessness in eight states

There is a high prevalence of criminal justice system-involvement among Veterans experiencing homelessness, with some estimates indicating that as many as one-half of all Veterans experiencing homelessness are involved in the justice system. Strategies to end Veteran homelessness must therefore also encompass efforts to address and reduce justice system involvement.

On Tuesday, July 14, 2015, by a vote of 412 to 1, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 251, the Homes for Heroes Act of 2015, which aims to prevent low-income veterans and their families from becoming homeless. This legislation specifically establishes a Special Assistant for Veterans Affairs and requires an annual report on veterans’ homelessness be submitted to Congress.

The Obama Administration is committed to ending chronic homelessness nationally in 2017. Achieving this goal nationally is only possible if we achieve it locally. To do so, communities across the country must have enough available permanent supportive housing units to serve people currently experiencing chronic homelessness and to prevent people with disabling conditions from becoming chronically homeless in the future.

There is a high prevalence of criminal justice system-involvement among Veterans experiencing homelessness, with some estimates indicating that as many as one-half of all Veterans experiencing homelessness are involved in the justice system. Strategies to end Veteran homelessness must therefore also encompass efforts to address and reduce justice system involvement.

Homelessness in America is a profound demonstration of our country’s failure to ensure safe, decent and affordable housing for all. Whether the people experiencing homelessness are adults or children, whether they are doubled up or living on the streets, public policy should address their needs. Only in recent years has public policy to end homelessness begun to show consistent results through a carefully targeted use of a housing first model.

On the five year anniversary of the launch of the first comprehensive Federal strategic plan to prevent and end homelessness, USICH is pleased to release Opening Doors, as amended in 2015. This amended version sustains core elements of the original Plan, reflects what we have learned since 2010 when Opening Doors was first launched, and includes new strategies to drive increased progress. Our intention remains to ensure that the Plan serves as a living blueprint, containing the latest knowledge and best practices to prevent and end homelessness

U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez announced today the award of more than $35 million in grants to provide an estimated 16,000 veterans with job-driven training for in-demand jobs to help them successfully transition from homelessness to sustainable housing and good civilian jobs.

On Tuesday, June 16, 2015, Maria Foscarinis, Executive Director of the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, will testify before a subcommittee of U.S. House of Representatives about a federal program that requires agencies to make their unused real property available at no cost to help people experiencing homelessness.

The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH), along with its 19 member agencies, announced today the release of an amendment to Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness. Originally released on this day in 2010, Opening Doors is the nation’s first comprehensive Federal strategic plan to prevent and end homelessness.

In accordance with the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act, HUD published a Notice in the June 12, 2015, Federal Register identifying Federal buildings and other real property HUD has reviewed for suitability for use to assist the homeless. The properties were reviewed using information provided to HUD by Federal landholding agencies or by GSA regarding their inventories of excess or surplus property. The list includes buildings and properties in Arkansas, Nevada, New Jersey, and Tennessee

The younger and longer a child experiences homelessness, the greater the cumulative toll of negative health outcomes, which can have lifelong effects on the child, the family and the community. This is the key finding from a research brief out today from Children’s HealthWatch and the Center for Housing Policy at the National Housing Conference, “Compounding Stress: The Timing and Duration Effects of Homelessness on Children’s Health.”