Calling on Congress to Do More

By Maria Foscarinis | August 27, 2007

Last month, a coalition of advocates celebrated the bittersweet 20th anniversary of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. At the time, it was viewed as the first step in a larger effort to eradicate homelessness, but subsequent efforts never materialized.

Together, 16 advocacy organizations drafted a consensus statement outlining five fundamentals needed to end homelessness and created a list of 10 steps that the federal government can take right now to help end and prevent homelessness. Both represent an important step forward in creating a unified voice for a new and comprehensive national response to the crisis.

In the two decades that have passed since the enactment of this landmark legislation we have witnessed a proliferation of groups working to address homelessness. The Act and its funding spawned an increase in the number of local service providers and advocates with a variety of approaches and methods to address homelessness. At the national level too, advocacy groups have proliferated. But while some level of collaboration and communication is in place, truly united advocacy is elusive.

We need a united front to move national policy forward. Local groups are seeking a common national message and agenda on which to focus their efforts. Members of Congress have advised that they will not act on key issues -- like the reauthorization of the McKinney-Vento Act -- absent a common position from advocates. Recently, our counterparts in Scotland successfully enacted a right to housing (yes, a right to housing, not shelter) for all homeless people. They state that unity was essential to their success.

Last month's press event succeeded in mobilizing Members of Congress to stand with us as we called for new national policies to fulfill the initial promise of the McKinney-Vento Act. It also succeeded in mobilizing the House of Representatives to pass a resolution supporting the need for a national response to address the national crisis of homelessness.

Together, the national advocacy organizations were able to mobilize Congress. Now, we have a foundation on which to build. Our next challenge as advocates is to define the steps we can take to guarantee substantive new policies and deliver concrete results.

To read the consensus statement and the list of 10 steps that the federal government can take right now to help end and prevent homelessness go to www.McKinney20th.org or www.nlchp.org.

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