Message From Our Executive Director

The National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty is the only national organization dedicated solely to legal advocacy on behalf of the millions of Americans who are homeless and at risk of homelessness.
 
Since the recession began, more people than ever understand first-hand the catastrophic impact of losing their home.  Research shows that 36% of renters with children and 22% of owners worry about eviction or foreclosure. Each year, 3.5 million Americans experience homelessness, and over 7 million are at imminent risk.

Family homelessness has risen over 13% and more than 1 million school-aged children are homeless. 
 
NLCHP uses the power of the law to fight for their civil and human rights, by educating, so that people can help themselves; advocating for new policies and resources; and litigating when laws are violated.
 
Housing is essential to ending homelessness, and NLCHP fights for the human right to housing. Through advocacy and litigation, we’ve transformed formerly vacant federal properties across the country into housing and services; each year, over 2 million families, children, veterans, elderly and disabled people are helped through these once vacant properties. We’ve won protections for tenants, so that they are not summarily evicted through no fault of their own. We’ve won housing rights for domestic violence survivors, covering more than 4 million households.
 
NLCHP protects the rights of homeless children to get an education so they have a chance for a better future. We make sure they can realize their right to stay in schools—receiving an education along with the stability, meals, and basic health care that come with it.  When these rights are denied, our lawyers take action to change policy for thousands or for a single child.
 
We challenge laws that punish people for homelessness and poverty, and that make it even harder for them to find housing and jobs. And, we uphold the right of homeless people to vote—and to influence decisions that affect their lives.
 
We do all this nationally with a dedicated staff of 12 working closely with community groups and law firms across the country. In fact, we leverage millions of dollars in donated legal services each year, multiplying our impact many times over.
 
Thank you for your interest in the innovative, high impact work NLCHP is doing to end and prevent homelessness in America.