NLIHC held a national HoUSed campaign call on March 11. During the call, we were joined by Dr. Daniel Brisson of the University of Denver’s Center for Housing and Homelessness Research for a discussion about a new basic income project being implemented in Denver, Colorado. Jesse Rabinowitz of the National Homelessness Law Center’s Housing Not Handcuffs Campaign provided updates on City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson, the most significant case on homelessness to be considered before the U.S. Supreme Court in decades. We received field updates from Christie Stewart of the Center for Housing Opportunity and Julian Pierce from the Fairfield County Community Foundation, and Kim Johnson of NLIHC provided an overview of the final fiscal year (FY) 2024 spending bill and President Biden’s FY25 budget request.
Dr. Brisson discussed Denver’s Basic Income Project and findings from recent analyses of the program’s impact. The program provides 12 months of unconditional, direct cash assistance to people experiencing homelessness in Denver, with the goal of determining the feasibility and impact of guaranteed income programs. A recent analysis of the program’s impact showed that, at six months, program participants were more likely to report living in rented or owned homes and having full-time jobs than individuals who did not participate. Participants were also less likely to report sleeping outside and less likely to report using public health services like emergency rooms.
Jesse Rabinowitz shared updates on the pending U.S. Supreme Court case City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson, which will decide whether cities are allowed to punish people experiencing homelessness for engaging in life-sustaining activities, like sleeping, outdoors, even when there are no safe shelter options available to them. The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the case on April 22, with a decision expected by the end of June. The National Homelessness Law Center, National Coalition for the Homelessness, NLIHC, and a growing list of allies are organizing a rally on April 22 to get the message out that poverty and homelessness are not crimes and that criminalization makes homelessness worse. Learn more and register to attend the rally here.
Christie Stewart and Julian Pierce highlighted their work on the Center for Housing Opportunity, a program developed in collaboration between statewide and regional partners in Connecticut that brings together a broad array of stakeholders to increase capacity and resources available to create and preserve affordable homes. Kim Johnson provided an overview of the final FY24 budget for HUD and a preview of the appropriations fights that lie ahead for FY25.
A recording of the call, as well as the presentation slides, are now available.
The next NLIHC national HoUSed campaign call will be held on April 8 from 2:30 to 3:30 pm ET. Register for the call here: https://tinyurl.com/ru73qan
Resources discussed on the 3/11 call:
- Denver Basic Income Project – Daniel Brisson, Center for Housing and Homelessness Research, University of Denver
- Learn more about the Denver Basic Income Project (DBIP).
- DBIP Research Overview
- City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson Update – Jesse Rabinowitz, Housing Not Handcuffs Campaign, National Homelessness Law Center; Brooke Schipporeit, NLIHC
- Learn more about Grants Pass v. Johnson here.
- Field Update: Fairfield County Center for Housing Opportunity Initiative – Christie Stewart, Center for Housing Opportunity & Julian Pierce, Fairfield County Community Foundation
- Learn about the Fairfield County Center for Housing Opportunity.
- Policy Update – Kim Johnson, NLIHC
Register for the next webinar here!