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Federal Budget and Policy Priorities

Increasing the level of federal housing and services currently available to homeless households is crucial to ending homelessness in the United States. We look forward to achieving more success with our federal budget and policy priorities under the Obama administration.

Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing in the Federal Stimulus Package of 2009

The National Alliance to End Homelessness has developed several helpful resources for communities as they make plans to spend stimulus money. See the prevention and rapid rehousing toolkit on their website. You can also view selected helpful documents using the links to the left.

WSCH Federal Budget and Policy Priorities

Federal Homeless Assistance Programs

WSCH feels that all federal homeless assistance programs should be increased each year to fully fund all current programs accounting for inflation, and to allocate additional funds for new projects. These federal homeless assistance programs include:

Re-Entry from State Institutions and Systems of Care

Congress should continue support and fund The Second Chance Act of 2007 (HR 1593, S 1060); and should create and fund programs to assist youth exiting the foster care system and patients leaving mental institutions in the transition to independent living or permanent supportive housing. Supportive housing upon release from state institutions reduces the likelihood of recidivism, the use of costly emergency services, and prevents homelessness. The 2007 Washington State Legislature has created and funded re-entry initiatives that include transitional housing programs for Corrections and the Child Welfare System, and the Department of Social and Health Services recently completed a Mental Health Housing Plan to provide patience with appropriate care upon release.

Mainstream Federal Housing Programs

Congress should restore funding for Section 8 vouchers, public housing, HUD Sections 202 and 811, and the USDA multifamily housing programs to the 1976 levels plus inflation; and where possible, Congress should increase funding annually to allow for new projects. In Washington State, federally subsidized housing is critical to our efforts to end homelessness. It is used to provide the housing component of our service-enriched housing programs; and help to narrow the gap between income and housing costs for our lowest income citizens.

Affordable Housing Production

Congress should fund the National Housing Trust Fund; continue to support the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program while making it compatible with efforts to develop permanent supportive housing; and encourage more development of mixed-income housing, especially for people earning at or below 30% of the area median income. According to the US Conference of Mayors 2005 Survey of 24 Cities on Hunger and Homelessness in the US, lack of affordable housing is the leading cause of homelessness. Sufficient affordable housing is necessary to end homelessness.

Poverty

Congress should support efforts to increase the minimum wage to a living wage. Until a living minimum wage is realized, Congress should sufficiently fund job training and education programs for low-wage earners. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, it is impossible to afford a Fair Market Rent (FMR) 2-bedroom apartment on minimum wage, anywhere in the nation. People who are working should be able to pay for their basic needs and those of their families with the money they earn. Personal incomes must keep up with the cost of housing and the cost of living in order to prevent and end homelessness.

Safety-net Programs

Programs such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Medicaid, Food Stamps, SSI, and long-term disability programs are inadequately funded, and must be increased annually to meet the need and account for inflation. Until all personal incomes can keep up with the costs of housing and living, these safety net programs are necessary for the survival of low wage earners, persons with disabilities and others not able to work, and people experiencing unemployment. Cuts to these programs are unproductive and unacceptable.

Universal Health Care

Congress should develop and adequately fund a universal health care program in the United States. Medical crises are one of the most prevalent precipitators of homelessness. The high cost of health care, housing and other basic needs often force low income people who do not receive health benefits at work to choose between going to the doctor and paying rent. Many homeless people use costly emergency services at the expense of tax payers. Creating universal health care will provide much more cost effective medical services to the people who need them but currently cannot afford them.

Civil Rights for Homeless Persons

Congress should protect the civil rights of homeless people by including homeless people on the list of protected classes under hate crime legislation, removing barriers to voting that some homeless people experience, and discouraging local efforts to criminalize homelessness.