Action Needed Today!
Communities across New Jersey have reported increases in homelessness as a result of the recession, and without effective intervention, we are expecting those spikes to continue. For that reason, many of you have been working with the Advocacy Network and our national partners to secure funding for affordable housing and prevention strategies in economic recovery legislation which Congress is crafting this week.
The Advocacy Network and the National Alliance to End Homelessness request your assistance in getting signatures on a Congressional sign-on letter to the House Appropriations Committee which Representative Gwen Moore (D-WI) began circulating TODAY.
The letter calls on Congress to include in the final economic recovery legislation:
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$2 billion in the Emergency Shelter Grant Program for preventing and ending homelessness,
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$10 billion for the National Housing Trust Fund, and
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$3.6 billion for 400,000 Section 8 vouchers.
This is a policy issue the Advocacy Network has been advocating for since last year. Click here for our earliest post.
We are expecting a similar letter to begin circulating in the Senate by the end of the week.
What you can do:
Join with the Advocacy Network in contacting our House members this week and ask your Representatives to sign the letter! The deadline for action is probably early next week. Call today! Click here for a copy of the letter.
To sign the letter, Congressional staff should contact Andrew Stevens [Email address: andrew.stevens #AT# mail.house.gov - replace #AT# with @ ] (202-225-4572) with Rep. Moore’s office. Contact us via email [Email address: rbrown #AT# njaneh.org - replace #AT# with @ ] to let us know what response you receive.
Timing:
Reports indicate that House and Senate Appropriations Committees will begin “marking up” legislation late next week.
Members to target:
All Members are important
Beware: House Appropriations Committee Members may not sign the letter because it is addressed to their committee. If not, ask them to work to get the funding included in the final bill.
Materials available:
Background on the funding request.
One-pager on homelessness and the current recession.
