ABOUT THE NATIONAL COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS

The National Coalition for the Homeless, founded in 1982, is a national network of people who are currently experiencing or who have experienced homelessness, activists and advocates, community-based and faith-based service providers, and others committed to a single mission. That mission, our common bond, is to end homelessness. We are committed to creating the systemic and attitudinal changes necessary to prevent and end homelessness. At the same time, we work to meet the immediate needs of people who are currently experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of doing so. We take as our first principle of practice that people who are currently experiencing homelessness or have formerly experienced homelessness must be actively involved in all of our work.

Staff

Board of Directors

Barbara Anderson, EC Secretary Executive Director, Haven House Services Anita Beaty, EC Executive Director, Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless Ed Bell Operation Get Down Osvaldo Burgos-Perez, Esq. Michael D. Chesser, EC & Development Committee Chair Executive Director Upstate Homeless Coalition of South Carolina Michael Dahl Executive Director Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless Brian Davis, EC Executive Director, Northeast Ohio Coaltion for  the Homeless Sherrie Downing Montana Council on Homelessness	Bill Duncan Vice President Marketing & Sales Homewood Suites by Hilton Bob Erlenbusch, EC, President Executive Director L.A. Coalition to End Hunger & Homelessness Hugh Grogan Sioux Empire Homeless Coalition Rey Lopez President The King’s Outreach Phoebe Nelson Executive Director Women’s Resource Center of North Central Washington Gordon Packard Primavera Foundation Phillip Pappas   Rey Lopez President The King’s Outreach Phoebe Nelson Executive Director Women’s Resource Center of North Central Washington	John Parvensky, EC, Vice President President Colorado Coalition for the Homeless Glorin Ruiz Pastush La Fondita de Jesus Sue Watlov Phillips, EC Treasurer Elim Transitional Housing, Inc. David Pirtle Faces of Homelessness Speakers’ Bureau Diana Robledo Primavera Foundation Greg Sileo Baltimore Homeless Services Louisa Stark Phoenix Consortium for the Homeless Sandy Swank Inter-Faith Ministries	Richard Troxell, EC President House the Homeless, Inc. Matias  J. Vega, MD Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless Mike Wallace National League of Cities Dana Woolfolk Faces of Homelessness Speakers’ Bureau John Zirker Nashville Homeless Power Project

ABOUT THE NATIONAL LAW CENTER
ON HOMELESSNESS & POVERTY

The National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty (NLCHP) is the only national legal advocacy organization dedicated to ending and preventing homelessness.  Our attorneys go into courtrooms and the halls of our legislatures to protect the needs of society’s most vulnerable members. Through impact litigation, policy advocacy and public education we address the root causes of homelessness at the local, state and national levels.

Established by attorney Maria Foscarinis in 1989 and based in Washington, DC, NLCHP works with a wide variety of groups around the nation.

You are invited to join the network of attorneys, students, advocates, and activists who make up NLCHP’s membership. By becoming a member you can help make a difference in the lives of millions of homeless Americans.  For more information about membership, please visit our website at www.nlchp.org/join_us.cfm.

Staff

Board of Directors

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The National Coalition for the Homeless

The National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH) thanks all of its advocates, service providers, and homeless individuals for providing information for the report. We are extremely grateful for the time and efforts of our volunteers, interns, and staff who have assisted in the publication.

The following individuals and organizations assisted in the publication of this report:

Sean Cononie, Lois Cross, and Mark Targett are homeless activists with the Homeless Voice/COSAC Foundation, located in Hollywood, Florida.  All three have dedicated tremendous time and energy to stop hate crimes/violence against homeless people. Cononie’s organization is the most active local organization nationwide doing work on the hate crimes/violence issue. He is viewed as both a local and national expert/spokesperson on this issue. Targett is best known for video broadcast work of the news to advocates across the United States on vicious attacks to the homeless by using the latest technology in multimedia means.  Cross does all the media/public relations on this issue for both Helping People in America and assists the National Coalition for the Homeless in getting the word out to the media.

Michelle Lee, NCH’s Graphic/Web Designer, did the final editing and layout.

Brian Levin, director, Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, served as an advisor for the report.

Adam C. Sloane, an attorney with Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP, provided pro bono legal assistance for this 2007 report, plus the eight previous reports published from 1999 through 2006.

Michael Stoops, acting executive director of NCH, provides ongoing staffing support for the Civil Rights Work Group/Grassroots Organizing Committee, a nationwide network of homeless advocates committed to documenting and stopping civil rights violations of homeless individuals plus documenting hate crimes/violence against homeless people. He is also the project director for NCH’s National Homeless Civil Rights Organizing Project (NCHROP). He has served as the overall editor of this 2007 report and the eight previous hate crimes/violence reports published from 1999 through 2006.

Michael O’Neill, director of Faces of Homelessness Speakers’ Bureau. He speaks on hate crimes and violence issues to thousands of young people across the country annually.

Corey Yarbrough, Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellow of the Congressional Hunger Center, did research, writing, and editing. 

Ashley Davis, social work intern from Appalachian State University (NC), Myrna Robinson, sociology intern from Marymount University (VA), Teana White, an intern from Amherst College (MA), and Tyrone White, social work intern from James Madison University (VA), did research and writing.

Joshua Kanary and Sarah Valek, community organizers at the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless in Cleveland, did research.

NCH would like to also thank the numerous named and unnamed interns and volunteers who have worked on this report throughout 2007 and early 2008.

Special gratitude is also extended to members of NCH’s Civil Rights Work Group/Grassroots Organizing Committee and the state field site representatives of the National Homeless Civil Rights Organizing Project for their news reports, continued dialogue, and tireless work and dedication to preventing and stopping hate crimes/violence against people experiencing homelessness.

The National Coalition for the Homeless also extends its appreciation to the following funding sources: Presbyterian Church (USA)/Urban Ministries and the Sidney Stern Memorial Trust.

The National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty

The National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty (NCLHP) would like to thank all of the people who contributed to this report. 

NLCHP thanks Ted Liazos, Victoria Shabo, and Tracey Allen from WilmerHale who researched and drafted the legislative section of the report. 

NLCHP gives special thanks to Rachel Hertz, NLCHP intern, for her assistance editing the report and Lucy Martin, Development and Communications Coordinator, who assisted with releasing the report.  Tulin Ozdeger, NLCHP Civil Rights Director, oversaw the project and conducted research, drafting, and editing for the report.  Robert Nasdor, NLCHP Legal Director, and Maria Foscarinis, NLCHP Executive Director, provided editorial assistance and guidance. 

NLCHP would like to thank the Herb Block Foundation, the Paige Family Foundation, the Public Welfare Foundation, the US Human Rights Fund, and our anonymous donors.