Local Homeless Coalitions in Action: How Lamar County Homeless Coalition campaign for people experiencing homelessness Guest author Shelly Braziel, Executive Director of Lamar County Human Resources and Chair of the Lamar County Homeless Coalition (LCHC), outlines how the coalition responded to growing community support for an individual leading a rogue online campaign to criminalize panhandling in Paris, Read More »
THN’s Response to HUD’s Proposed Change to Equal Access
THN’s Response to HUD’s Proposed Change to Equal Access On July 1st, 2020 the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a press release announcing the essential reversal of the 2016 Equal Access Rule. The proposed modification would allow discrimination against transgender people seeking access to shelter through HUD-funded services by returning decision-making Read More »
With eviction freezes expiring, here’s what you need to know
With eviction freezes expiring, here’s what you need to know By: Nick Thompson It’s the first of the month and we know thousands of people around Texas are fearful of being forced into homelessness due to COVID-19. It is estimated that at least 2 out of every 10 Americans have struggled, or failed, to pay Read More »
LGBTQ+ Rights Win, But There’s More Work to Do
LGBTQ+ Rights Win, But There’s More Work to Do This week the United States Supreme Court ruled that employers with more than 15 employees cannot discriminate against workers based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. This landmark decision is a monumental step that helped LGBTQ+ persons around our country breathe a collective sigh of Read More »
Be Anti-Racist. Join the Work.
Be Anti-Racist. Join the Work. This moment in history is not one in which we will stay silent. After two centuries of slavery, another 89 years of legal segregation, and decades of systematic oppression and trauma, what we saw over the weekend was what MLK once said was “the language of the unheard”. Due to Read More »
What you should know about evictions in Texas
What you should know right now about evictions in TexasBy THN Staff: Samantha Foss You may be one of the countless Texans currently in jeopardy of losing their housing. With more than 2 million Texans who have filed for unemployment during the pandemic, experts are predicting a nationwide increase of homelessness by 40-45% as a Read More »
Texas Homeless Network’s Letter to the Governor in response to COVID-19
Texas Homeless Network’s Letter to the Governor In Response to COVID-19 March 20, 2020 To: Governor Greg Abbott, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, Speaker Dennis Bonnen We applaud the Texas Supreme Court’s recent decisive actions to protect Texans by halting some evictions as we deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. We share your desire to protect those Read More »
A Letter to Texans: COVID-19 Response
Fellow Texans, Coronavirus, known as COVID-19, impacts countless vulnerable Texans. The elderly, immunocompromised people, low-income households and people living without basic shelter are all at a higher risk of contracting, spreading, and dying from this virus. Texas Homeless Network realizes the breadth of this impact and seriousness of the consequences at hand if we do Read More »
Reflections on 2020 Solutions for Individual Homeless Adults: A National Conference
This year THN, as the CoC Lead Agency, provided a scholarship to support 10 local leaders from across the Texas Balance of State Continuum of Care to attend the 2020 Solutions for Individual Homeless Adults: A National Conference presented by the National Alliance to End Homelessness. Katherine Hennecke, a community leader in Lubbock, offers her reflections Read More »
Texas Homeless Network Response to Marbut
On December 10th, Robert Marbut was announced as the new Executive Director of the US Interagency Council on Homelessness. Texas Homeless Network is encouraged to work with anyone that seeks to end homelessness, but we, along with our partners and advocates across Texas, are concerned about the events that led to this leadership change and Read More »
Texas CoC Leads Letter to the Governor
Our collective response to the State of Texas/Governor’s interventions regarding homelessness in Austin: Overview Bullet Points: The state of Texas and the Governor’s office recently created a sanctioned encampment on state land in Austin, TX for people experiencing unsheltered homelessness. The given explanation for the State’s intervention was to protect Texans, but for this to Read More »
The Case for Resident-Owned Communities
By: Christian Volckaert As we continue to grapple with the affordable housing crisis, the importance of creating and maintaining low-income housing remains a key component to moving towards the goal of every person having safe and affordable housing. To reach that solution, manufactured homes (also known as mobile homes) are often touted as the solution Read More »
The Criminalization of Homelessness across the Texas Balance of State
By: Jen Beardsley The Texas Balance of State encompasses a huge swath of an already enormous state – 215 counties, or roughly 60 percent of Texas’ population. Though this region and its area and population are diverse, all communities share the burden of affordable housing shortages and operating homelessness resources on shoestring budgets. They’re also Read More »
Source of Income Discrimination
Written by: Christian Volckaert Affordable housing is the cornerstone of providing housing as a human right. To help low-income people gain access to housing, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) created a rental assistance program in 1974. This program, commonly known as Section 8, works to help individuals and families afford housing by Read More »
Advocacy as the foundation and future of ending homelessness
Advocacy means the opportunity to cultivate conversations in intentional and meaningful ways. Through advocacy, we can engage in policymaking, promote community equity work, and critically analyze the ways in which we can create a better and more just country. As THN’s Statewide Initiatives Coordinator, I have a direct role with THN Advocates in ensuring that Read More »