The North Carolina Balance of State Continuum of Care (NC BoS CoC) passed in April 2023 the first Client Bill of Rights for people experiencing homelessness across the 79 counties under the purview of the NC BoS CoC. The Client Bill of Rights was spearheaded by the Lived Expertise Advisory Council (LEAC), a 10-member subcommittee of the BoS CoC comprised entirely of individuals who have lived expertise with homelessness. The NC BoS CoC provides a system of coordination and governance for service providers and agencies across 13 regions in North Carolina that serve individuals and families experiencing homelessness.
The impetus for the Client Bill of Rights was the lack of consistency of experiences individuals and families had when pursuing services across the state. Although some had positive experiences seeking services from providers and agencies, others had experiences that they felt were unhelpful and, in some cases, traumatic.
“We were treated like trash,” said Melissa Hewitt, co-chair of the LEAC. “They look down on you when you’re homeless more than any other segment of the population. Immediately the question is: what kind of drugs are they on?”
“When I was escaping my situation, the most common phrase that I would say to people was thank you for treating me like a human,” said Kay C., also co-chair of the LEAC. “There are still so many people out there who don’t treat unhoused people like they are human beings.”
The Client Bill of Rights was the culmination of numerous conversations between LEAC members and unhoused people who had had negative experiences seeking services. The document begins with a statement of rights for people receiving and seeking services within the NC BoS CoC, which includes the rights to:
- Respect and dignity.
- Services free of discrimination.
- Self-determination.
- Safety.
- Privacy.
- Inclusion and participation in decisions about their welfare.
- Transparency in agency policies that affect the services they receive.
“Everything in the Client Bill of Rights is asking for basic humanity and decency,” said Laurel Benfield, project specialist at NLIHC State Partner North Carolina Coalition to End Homelessness (NCCEH) and staff support for the LEAC. “The North Carolina Balance of State CoC has a vast, diverse territory. That is why we have the LEAC and that is what was drawn on to create the Client Bill of Rights. The LEAC wanted to universalize positive experiences because clients shouldn’t be taking a gamble with their rights when seeking help.”
The document elaborates on each bulleted right to include the right to be treated with respect and dignity regardless of gender identity, race, marital status, religion, national origin, and more. The LEAC also included the right to be free of judgment and coercion while seeking and receiving services, emphasizing the diversity of experiences of unhoused peoples.
“It could happen to anyone,” said Rachelle Dugan, former chair of the LEAC and current project specialist at NCCEH. “My friends didn’t know I was homeless partly because I worked a lot. If my friends couldn’t let me stay over, I didn’t tell them that my alternative was to sleep in my car. I wasn’t the picture of what homelessness looks like.”
After presenting the Client Bill of Rights to the full NC BoS CoC, it was passed almost unanimously with only one dissenting vote among the 22-member committee. Since its approval, service providers have begun incorporating it into the intake processes with unhoused people seeking services. The LEAC has been working directly with providers to implement the Client Bill of Rights, although members of the Council believe the fruits of their labor will not truly be felt for some time.
“We aren’t going to see the rewards for some time.” said Rachelle. “I think providers are starting to implement it by posting it at their agencies and giving the Client Bill of Rights to clients, but for change to be seen I think we will be able to see better results over time.”
With regards to enforcement, the document includes a codified grievance procedure by which clients can file formal, judicable complaints that could potentially affect providers’ subsequent public funding.
“Clients are no longer timid mice that can be picked on because of their circumstances,” said Kay C. “We are standing up to assert our rights.”
Read the full Client Bill of Rights here.
Read more about NCCEH and the NC BoS CoC here.
Read more about the LEAC here.