Help Shape National Homeless Policy

That's right. The federal government actually wants our help to prevent and end homelessness. With a deadline encroaching, the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) wants our suggestions as it develops a Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness (FSP), which it must present to the President and Congress by May 20, 2010.

If you have ever been homeless, are homeless, work or volunteer with the homeless, advocate for the homeless or are a concerned community member, let your voice be heard at an upcoming stakeholder listening session. Boston and New York sessions were held earlier this month. Chicago's session will be held tomorrow, on Monday, Feb. 22, followed by a session in Dallas on Tuesday, Feb. 23. Hurry and register! For those in San Francisco and Seattle, sessions will be held on March 2 and 3rd, respectively. You must also register for these on the USICH site.

Don't be dismayed if you missed a session or cannot make it to a session. The USICH is requesting letters with your ideas for preventing and ending homelessness. The organization has yet to provide a means for electronic submission on its site, but says that ability should be available any day now, definitely before the end of the month.

So start writing now! And if you don't know what to write about or want to be sure that your letter is as effective and inclusive as possible, the National Coalition for the Homeless provides several recommendations to inform your letter. (You can also use these recommendations to inform your speech at an upcoming session.)

I urge you to take advantage of this opportunity and to spread the word. It's not every day that the federal government publicizes an open call for our assistance in creating national policy.

I get frustrated with the persistence of homelessness daily, as do my staff members, clients and community. I'm sure you do too. Tell the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness everything; don't hold back. What does homelessness look like in your community? What are some of the stories that have remained indelible in your consciousness?

Explain what it really means to be homeless, that it goes beyond the sum of its definition of a person without a home. It goes beyond losing a job, beyond a mental health condition or an addiction. It goes beyond numbers and statistics. Tell them about the generations of poverty and racial or other oppression that you, your friends and family, or your clients have experienced that have led to and maintained homelessness. If the federal government doesn't take these realities into consideration when creating strategies to prevent and end homelessness, the billions of dollars going to this plan will be all for naught; the ineffective history of homeless policy will repeat itself. You are the experts. Connect the dots for them. Help the government prevent and end homelessness for real this time.

Photo credit: aflcio2008