FW: McKinney Push Needed to Save 65,000 People from Homelessness
Christine Johansen
From: Block, Bill [mailto:Bill....@kingcounty.gov]
Sent: Wednesday, December 08, 2010 9:08 AM
To: mmi...@tacomahousing.org; 'Serenity'; 'chri...@endhomelessnesswa.org'; 'Kirsten Jewell'
Subject: FW: McKinney Push Needed to Save 65,000 People from Homelessness
Folks:
Below please find a special request from the National Alliance to End Homelessness for calls to Senator Murray and Representative Dicks on McKinney Vento and on the 10,000 Housing Choice Vouchers. Things will change a lot next year, you voice can be the difference in getting these appropriations done before Congress changes. This email is particularly focused on those in a position to influence Rep. Dicks.
Do, please, make those calls.
Thanks.
Bill Block
Project Director
Committee to End Homelessness,
a regional coalition hosted by King County
401 Fifth avenue Suite 500
Seattle, WA 98104
From: Amanda Krusemark [mailto:AKrus...@NAEH.org]
Sent: Tuesday, December 07, 2010 8:50 AM
To: Block, Bill
Subject: FW: McKinney Push Needed to Save 65,000 People from Homelessness
Hi Bill,
I hope you’re doing well and had a great Thanksgiving. I wanted to make sure you saw this email that I sent out. If you have a few moments to send our a request to your network to the WA congressional delegation about FY 2011 appropriations, that would be extremely helpful. Senator Murray (for obvious reasons) and Rep. Dicks are both particularly important targets. I know it’s a really busy time of year for everyone, but any calls you or your network could make would be extremely helpful. We put together the attached talking points to make it a little bit easier to make your case to the WA delegation about the need for $2.2 billion for McKinney-Vento in ANY version of a final FY 2011 spending bill.
I am also attaching a copy of a one-pager reminding you about the collaborative HUD + HHS vouchers that would couple 10,000 Housing Choice Vouchers with services from Medicaid, TANF, and the Department of Education, along with substance use and mental health services for chronically homeless individuals and homeless and at-risk families. We’re particularly worried about the status of these vouchers. A lot of work has gone into them, and it would be a shame for Congress not to fund them this year. It may be that we just need a couple of Members of Congress to speak up in support of adding these vouchers into the final bill – something Senator Murray might be able to just take care of.
Thanks in advance for considering this request. Please let me know if you think you’ll have a few minutes to make some calls.
Cheers,
Amanda
Amanda Krusemark
Program and Policy Associate
National Alliance to End Homelessness
1518 K Street NW, Suite 410
Washington, DC 20005
From: Amanda Krusemark
Sent: Tuesday, December 07, 2010 9:55 AM
To: Amanda Krusemark
Subject: McKinney Push Needed to Save 65,000 People from Homelessness
Good Morning McKinney-Vento Campaign Advocates,
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Congress is likely to make some decisions about FY 2011 funding in the coming days, and it’s up to us to make sure that they properly fund the McKinney-Vento program so that we can more fully implement the changes under the HEARTH Act. The two leading scenarios under consideration by congressional leaders to fund the government for the rest of FY 2011 are:
Ø Pass an all-encompassing funding bill (called an omnibus) based on the work already done by the House and Senate
Ø Pass a long-term stopgap funding measure (called a continuing resolution or CR) that funds programs mostly at FY 2010 levels
Under the second scenario, we estimate that at least 65,000 more people would become homeless who would otherwise be housed. Attached is a one-pager exploring this figure in more detail. Whichever method Congress ends up using, however, we need to make sure that it includes at least $2.2 billion for McKinney-Vento programs.
Please CALL your representatives and senators TODAY. Ask the person who handles housing issues to urge his/her boss to contact the Appropriations Committee to express support for including $2.2 billion for McKinney-Vento programs in any final FY 2011 bill that is passed.
Attached are talking points you could use to help make the case for these dollars, along with two other key priorities: funding for HUD-VASH and the proposed Housing and Services for Homeless Persons Demonstration. Because it is a new program and was therefore not funded in FY 2010, we are VERY concerned about the status of the Demonstration, so I encourage you to also ask congressional offices to tell the Appropriations Committee they want to see the collaborative voucher demonstration included in any final FY 2011 bill. A one-pager on the Demonstration is attached.
Timing
The House is expected to vote on a long-term CR as soon as TOMORROW. The Senate will then try to pass an omnibus based on the work done earlier this year by the House and Senate. If the Senate doesn’t have enough votes to pass an omnibus, it will try to pass the House’s long-term CR.
As always, let me know if you have any questions, and please share which congressional offices you contact and any responses you receive.
Thanks!
Amanda
Amanda Krusemark
Program and Policy Associate
National Alliance to End Homelessness
1518 K Street NW, Suite 410
Washington, DC 20005
No virus found in this message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 10.0.1170 / Virus Database: 426/3303 - Release Date: 12/07/10