By Eugene T. Lowe
April 27, 2009

On April 2, both houses of Congress introduced identical bills that would reauthorize HUD’s McKinney-Vento homeless programs. Representative Gwen Moore (WI) introduced H.R. 1877 in the House, while Senator Jack Reed (RI) introduced S. 808 in the Senate. The Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act would authorize $2.2 billion for McKinney-Vento homeless programs and consolidate the Supportive Housing Program, Shelter Plus Care, and the Moderate Rehabilitation/Single Room Occupancy Program into a single Continuum of Care program. The consolidated programs would provide for more flexibility and reduce administrative burden at the local level. The legislation is similar to that passed in the House of Representatives last October.

Other features of the bill include a designation of 30 percent of the funds for new permanent housing for families and individuals with a disability, and a minimum requirement that 10 percent of the funds be used for permanent housing activities for families with children. There would be continued focus on housing people experiencing chronic homelessness with the addition of families with children to the initiative. The bill would also require that HUD provide incentives for rapid rehousing programs for homeless families. Successful in many communities, rapid rehousing reduces the length of time families are homeless.

Expanding the definition of homelessness has been a major sticking point in getting legislation passed. The definition of homelessness, which determines eligibility for much of the homeless assistance funding, would be expanded to include:

• People who will lose their housing in 14 days (current policy is 7 days);

• Any family or individual fleeing or attempting to flee domestic violence, or other dangerous or life threatening situations; and

• Families with children and unaccompanied youth who (a) have experienced a long-term period without living independently, (b) have experienced persistent housing instability, and (c) can be expected to continue in such status for an extended period due to a number of enumerated factors, such as a disability.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors tabled a resolution at its 74th Annual Meeting in Las Vegas in June of` 2006 that would have expanded the definition of homelessness. But USCM did support house and senate legislation last year even without mayors agreeing on a position on the definition of homelessness in order to realize many of the other benefits included in the legislation as a whole.