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Los Angeles Hearings |
On March 28, 2009, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) held the first in a series of national Congressional field hearings on the crisis in affordable housing in Los Angeles. In a victory for NLCHP, Rep. Waters committed to introducing a resolution proclaiming a right to housing for children, drafted in large part by NLCHP.
NLCHP has been working with Rep. Waters' office for many months to arrange field hearings on the crisis in affordable housing and resulting homelessness, together with our national and local partners as part of the Campaign to Restore National Housing Rights. NLCHP submitted written testimony to the hearing in Los Angeles, and our community partners -- the LA Coalition to End Hunger & Homelessness, Beyond Shelter, and the USC's School of Social Work -- all presented oral testimony to a packed house.
NLCHP has also been working with our local partners in L.A. to address the increasing problem of children being separated from their families due to loss of their housing. For a country that supposedly prizes family values, our housing policies fail to value families - removing children to foster care when their parents become homeless, even though studies show that it is cheaper and better to provide housing for the whole family. At the hearing in L.A., Rep. Waters made a sweeping statement from the podium condemning the practice of separating families due to homelessness, and vowing to introduce the resolution developed by NLCHP, USC, and Beyond Shelter to proclaim a right for families to be housed together.
NLCHP will continue to work with our partners and Rep. Waters' office to hold additional field hearings across the country as the housing crisis deepens, and to promote the passage of the resolution on children's right to housing.
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Testimony describing the affordable housing crisis and proven steps that should be taken to address it.
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Testimony describing the effects of homelessness on children and families and recommending the U.S. officially recognize a child's right to adequate housing.
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Testimony describing homelessness in the U.S., the nation's commitment to the right to housing and recommending steps toward fulfilling that commitment.
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Written testimony submitted for the record by a formerly homeless woman who was unable to speak at the hearing, describing her experience searching for housing.
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Written testimony submitted for the record by a Setion 8 tenant who was unable to speak at the hearing, describing problems caused by the shortage of Section 8 and other public housing programs.
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