December 15, 2022

On her first day as mayor, Karen Bass issued a state of emergency declaration for homelessness in Los Angeles. In 2022, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority counted 69,144 people experiencing homelessness—a 4.1 percent increase over 2020. “My emergency declaration will recognize the severity of our crisis and break new ground to maximize our ability to urgently move people inside and do so for good,” said Mayor Bass.

The Housing Equality Center of Pennsylvania brought a lawsuit against ProManaged Inc., a large property management company, after the nonprofit investigated the landlord’s practices and found they refused to rent to prospective tenants with federal housing vouchers in their majority-white properties. “We feel strongly that robust enforcement and education about this really vital tenant protection is key to the city’s ability to increase its number of affordable housing units,” said Sari Bernstein, staff attorney for the Public Interest Law Center. 

The Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter, a nonprofit based in Manhattan, is launching an innovative pilot program that will pay the rents of 16 students attending the City University of New York who are experiencing or are at risk of homelessness. “Our hope and expectation is to shine a light on the need and the effectiveness of doing this in order to garner broader public and government support,” said Ann Shalof, CEO of Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter.

The Connecticut Department of Education reports at least 2,516 Connecticut students were experiencing homelessness as of the fall 2022 school year. Housing instability can lead to educational and child care disruptions, which can have immediate and long-term effects on kids’ mental health, social lives, and more.