About Advocacy for Homeless People

In this era of teenagers beating up homeless people for fun or profit, advocates for homeless people are especially in high demand. Advocates work individually or with advocacy coalitions to combat homelessness.

Benefits

While shelters provide homeless people with a valuable place to sleep, advocacy coalitions work behind the scenes to fight civil rights abuses and hate crimes committed against homeless people. Advocates are the voice of homeless people---they routinely meet with homeless individuals to find out what the most pressing needs in the community are and then work on finding solutions to those problems. Advocates, like politicians, must remain in touch with their constituency---people who are transient.

Types

Activists advocate for homeless people in many ways. Some hold sit-ins when homeless people are facing eviction from a public space. Others work or volunteer with homeless advocacy coalitions. Advocates often hold teach-ins, work with shelters to improve their conditions, or register homeless people to vote. Some advocates have never been homeless and others have been or currently are without stable housing. Many types of homeless advocacy coalitions exist---focusing on everything from homeless health care to legal aid and housing. Some coalitions focus solely on veterans or victims of domestic violence.

Potential

The ultimate goal of homeless advocates and coalitions is to end homelessness altogether. In the mean time, they want to register homeless people to vote and get legislation passed that makes it a hate crime to attack a person who's homeless. In some cities, homeless people are holding grassroots meetings where they discuss and search for solutions to major issues affecting them in their community. In Cleveland, this group is known as the Homeless Congress and is made up of homeless representatives from area shelters.

Function

Homeless advocacy coalitions bring homelessness to the forefront of conversation. They also offer a variety of resources, such as a free voicemail service, legal aid, help with housing, medical assistance, grievance forms and a street newspaper service. Street newspapers give homeless people an outlet for expression and a way to make money by selling the paper. Many coalitions hold meetings with local nonprofit organizations and members of city hall.

Considerations

Most advocacy coalitions don't offer direct service, like shelter or meals. Coalitions are usually nonprofit organizations that rely on a few staff and plenty of volunteers to work effectively. The coalition is usually managed by an executive director and overseen by a board. Funding likely comes from individuals, grants from area foundations, and government assistance. Coalitions can be found in both rural and urban areas.

Resources

• Listing of Homeless Advocacy Groups