Community Legal Aid’s Post

Continue with us on our journey as we apply the principles of influencing behaviors! This is part 5 in the series of 10. #gdvania #nursinginformatics #community #professionaldevelopment

Invisible People : #US #Fails #to #Meet #International #Human #Right #to #Housing #Standards #5October2023 "...#how the #US #presents #itself #before the #United #Nations #Human #Rights #Committee : #In2021, #the #US #government #argued #in #its #Fifth #Periodic #Report #that #access #to #housing #is #not “#inextricably #related #to #or #otherwise #essential #to #the #enjoyment #of #the #right #to #life.” The body also #argued that #addressing #homelessness and #poverty is #outside #the #scope #of #the #federal #government. Tars said the #State #Department also has a #long-#standing #practice #of #resisting #language #in #treaties #that #acknowledges #housing #is #a #human #right. They do so because the #government #considers #itself the #protector #of #civil and #political #rights, #not #economic #and #social #rights, Tars added."

Imagine you're a young person living in DC. You don't speak fluent English. You're experiencing homelessness. You don't have immigration documentation. AND you're queer. Any one of these things could be hard enough to navigate, let alone all four. My colleagues and I just put together this video of several young people and one staff person from SMYAL, testifying before the DC Council Committee on Housing, about what life is like for them, how SMYAL has provided support, and what DC must do to make life better for ALL young people who live here. https://lnkd.in/eDGEW2Bh

The number of fair housing complaints filed nationwide peaked to record numbers for the third year in a row in 2023. This according to the latest Fair Housing Trends Report released annually by the National Fair Housing Alliance. There were 34,150 fair housing complaints in 2023, compared to 33,006 complaints in 2022. Complaints of harassment increased by 66 percent - the highest since NFHA began reporting harassment-specific data in 2006. Harassment based on color increased by 470.59 percent. The numbers continue an upward trend that highlights the need for adequate funding for local agencies working to address housing discrimination. Just this week, House lawmakers put forth a spending bill that funds the Department of Housing and Urban Development at far less than what local organizations need to adequately serve victims of housing discrimination. Read the full Fair Housing Trends report: https://bit.ly/3WhCFxl #fairhousing #fairhousingact #housingdiscrimination #discrimination #appraisalbias #fairlending

#US #Fails #to #Meet #International #Human #Right #to #Housing #Standards Invisible People #5October2023 Eric Tars #SeniorPolicyDirector National Homelessness Law Center : "The #Biden-#Harris #administration has also taken a tough public stance against unaffordable housing. .. But #Tars said these efforts are being made in vain because the U.S. doesn’t consider housing to be a human right in practice. Instead, it is a rhetorical argument, Tars continued. One example is how the U.S. presents itself before the United Nations Human Rights Committee. #In2021, #the #US #government #argued in its Fifth Periodic Report that access to #housing #is #not “#inextricably #related #to #or #otherwise #essential #to #the #enjoyment #of #the #right #to #life.” The body also argued that addressing homelessness and poverty is outside the scope of the federal government. Tars said the #State #Department also has a #long-#standing #practice #of #resisting #language in #treaties #that #acknowledges #housing #is #a #human #right."

Out of all the initiatives I have seen from HUD in my 25 years working in this industry, PAVE has led to increased education, public awareness and policy changes that have led to real changes. #AppraisalBias #HUDLeadership

Last year, Community Service Society of New York and The Legal Aid Society issued several justice and housing first-related amendments to NYCHA's ACOP. This change by HUD is welcomed and is very much in line with our comments, but it is only a start. NY State attempted to codify a law similar to the proposed change, but the language was inadequate. NYCHA is a leader in that for those applicants facing denial based on criminal history, they utilize a committee to conduct an in-depth holistic screening review. The formalization of this type of holistic review is crucial and fits in with the other points that we requested of NYCHA: We recommended that NYCHA include a more detailed overview of the process triggered by a criminal background check. Legal Aid Society often has clients that have been erroneously denied because NYCHA determined they were inadmissible based on criminal background based on convictions that are not applicable offenses. We also called on NYCHA to go further to evolve its policies on eligibility as it relates to criminal background. All PHAs can and should implement a less restrictive policy that safely aligns with principles that are evidence-based and non-discriminatory. A 2021 study by researchers at Columbia University concluded that Black and Latina/o/x people made up 90 percent of jail admissions despite being only 52 percent of the population in NYC. Further, the study found that one in four Black men were incarcerated before the age of 38, compared to 16 percent for Latino men and 3 percent for White men at the same age. Racist policing and other forms of systemic racism have resulted in New Yorkers of color disproportionately facing barriers to housing, in addition to other collateral consequences from criminal convictions. HUD and PHAs have a moral imperative, as the housing providers to communities of color, to do everything within existing laws to reverse the impacts of institutional racism. Ultimately, we asked that NYCHA eliminate periods of ineligibility and screen only for the criteria that is mandatory under federal law. We also called for more progressive policies around the use of illegal drugs and alcohol abuse. PHAs should be facilitating supportive services instead of turning families away. Research has found that a Housing First model is a cost-effective way to reduce homelessness and improve community functioning. Housing First has been proven to have higher rates of retention than requiring treatment enrollment before housing, as NYCHA requires. A panel of independent public health and prevention experts appointed by the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) found after reviewing 26 relevant studies that Housing First increases housing stability and decreases homelessness and that every dollar invested in the model resulted in $1.44 in savings. These are all goals that HUD should be prioritizing. Read our comments in full here: https://shorturl.at/dCDJX

📢 Important Notice for Affordable Housing Access! HUD has a proposed rule change (HUD-2024-0031) that could make it easier for people with past criminal records or evictions to access affordable housing. Remember, your voice matters! Participation in public comment periods helps shape policies that affect us all!!! Take Action: Submit your public comment before June 10th, 2024. Learn about the rule: https://lnkd.in/e9vMng-c

Invisible People #5October2023 : Mark Horvath Eric Tars #US #Fails #to #Meet #International #Human #Right #to #Housing #Standards "The #Biden-#Harris #administration has also taken a tough public stance against #unaffordable #housing. For instance, the Department of Housing and Urban Development [#HUD] #has #allocated [#and #the #city #of #DC #has #inexplicably #returned #to #the #feds #unspent] hundreds of #millions #of #dollars toward fighting housing discrimination and building affordable #homes #for #people #exiting #homelessness #and #low-#income #earning #seniors. But #Tars [Eric Tars #SeniorPolicyDirector, National Homelessness Law Center] said these #efforts are being made #in #vain #because the #US #doesn’t #consider #housing #to #be #a #human #right in practice. #Instead, #it #is a #rhetorical #argument, Tars continued. #One #example is #how the #US #presents #itself #before the #United #Nations #Human #Rights #Committee. #In2021, the U.S. #government #argued #in #its #Fifth #Periodic #Report #that #access #to #housing #is #not “#inextricably #related #to #or #otherwise #essential #to #the #enjoyment #of #the #right #to #life.” The body also argued that addressing homelessness and poverty is outside the scope of the federal government. Tars said the #State #Department #also has a #long-#standing #practice #of #resisting #language #in #treaties #that #acknowledges #housing #is #a #human #right. They do so because the government considers itself the protector of civil and political rights, not economic and social rights, Tars added."

"Through a case study of self-governing houseless encampments in Portland, Oregon, the article advances a relational analysis of property and citizenship to show how self-governing houseless communities are denied key privileges of citizenship that democratic self-governance is intended to realize. In doing so, the case study examines the very tradeoffs houseless encampment residents must make when living in an encampment. The paper ends suggesting that Portland’s encampment model allows us to more clearly see the consequences of establishing collective rights to access property within liberal property systems, and from this, where political and scholarly attention ought to be placed to better protect houseless people through a more democratic right to remain." #sanctioned #encampments #rights #homelessness