Early Conference Registration Opens








April 8, 2014    
ISSUES  |  POLICY  |  SOLUTIONS  |  NEWS & EVENTS Forward Editor: Emanuel Cavallaro


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Early Conference Registration Opens


Registration for the Alliance's 2014 National Conference on Ending Homelessness begins today, Tuesday, April 15, with the opening of early registration. If you are interested in attending the conference, which will take place at the Renaissance Washington DC Hotel in Washington, DC, from July 29 to 31, now is your chance to sign up at the early registration rate of $500 per person. This rate will be available until 3 p.m. ET on Tuesday, May 13, when the regular registration of $550 per person will begin. Look for future updates and additional information about the conference on the Alliance website and in upcoming editions of Alliance Online News.
If you're interested in volunteering at the conference, please email Alliance Conference Associate Jaime Colman at jcolman@naeh.org. Conference volunteers receive complimentary conference registration.






Unemployment Insurance Extension Bill Stalls in the House
The extension of unemployment insurance benefits that the Senate passed last Monday has become a point of contention in the House. The Senate bill would change unemployment insurance laws passed in 2012, strengthening re-employment and eligibility assessment and re-employment services programs, and ending unemployment insurance payments to anyone whose adjusted gross income exceeds $1 million.
In an op-ed that appeared in Roll Call last week, Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Dean Heller (R-NV), co-sponsors of the Senate measure, claimed it would prevent evictions and foreclosures that would otherwise lower property values and weaken neighborhoods. The cost of inaction on this issue, they said, would be more unemployed people turning to shelters, food pantries, and other social services. This week, however, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) again voiced his opposition, explaining that, before he will consider an extension, the Administration must come up with a new proposal that includes job creation provisions.
House Passes Budget Resolution
Last Thursday, April 10, the House passed Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI)'s fiscal year (FY) 2015 budget resolution, "The Path to Prosperity," which would cut numerous programs that serve the most vulnerable Americans and put in place reforms of some housing assistance programs, such as expanding the Moving to Work program to more public housing agencies. Democratic members of the House Budget Committee have released a their own budget blueprint, the "Democratic Alternative Budget," which would increase funding levels for programs that serve vulnerable populations.
House Appropriations Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Budget Proposal
Last Thursday, April 10, the House Transportation, Housing, Urban Development and Related Agencies (T-HUD) subcommittee held another hearing on the proposed FY 2015 funding for programs under its jurisdiction. During the hearing, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan outlined the key goals of the proposed HUD budget and noted the progress that communities across the country have made toward ending homelessness.
House Appropriations Committee Marks Up Veterans Bill
Last Wednesday, April 9, the House Appropriations Committee marked up the 302(b) level for the FY 2015 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill for agencies, programs, and activities under its jurisdiction, including the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The draft bill included a total of $71.5 billion in discretionary funding and would provide $1.265 billion in FY 2016 (VA operates under advanced appropriations) for targeted homeless assistance programs within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), including the Grant and Per Diem, Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF), and joint Department of Housing and Urban Development-Department of Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) voucher case management programs. In the draft text of the bill, the Appropriations Committee requests an analysis of the challenges facing homeless female veterans and an explanation of how the VA will work to meet these challenges and provide equal treatment and assistance for female veterans.
Congress Departs for Recess
Both chambers of congress have returned to their home districts for their spring recess. They will return to session on Monday, April 28.



The Forty to None Project, in partnership with the Palette Fund and the Williams Institute at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), is asking Youth Homeless Service Providers to participate in a survey to that is intended to determine the extent to which lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth are overrepresented among homeless youth. The information will be used to educate federal policymakers and stakeholders about the importance of addressing LGBT youth homelessness. If your organization serves homeless youth, please consider participating.
For many years there has been debate in the homeless assistance field about whether homeless assistance programs should serve homeless people who are engaging in substance abuse. In this post, we look at what research into the Housing Approach to answering says about this important question.
How Can We Keep Former Foster Care Youth from Ending Up in Shelters?
By Sharon McDonald
In this post, we look at what we can do to help vulnerable youth who face the very real prospect of ending up in an emergency shelter for homeless adults or youth.
Keys to High Performance: Clear Outcome Measures
By Kim Walker
In this post, we continue our series form the Alliance's Center for Capacity Building on Keys to High Performance by looking at why it is so important for communities to identify and develop numerical targets or milestones for outcomes in order to measure progress and make adjustments.

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