For the Membership Matters campaign, we have asked our current members why they support NCH. In today’s installment, current Board Member Jeremy Haile shares his 15 year history with NCH, and talks about why he continues to support NCH:
“Some fifteen years ago, Michael Stoops came to Midland,Texas, and it changed my life. Midland is a town known more for its oil bust than for its political activism. But that’s where I first heard Michael speak about the acute problem of homelessness, its causes, and what could be done to address it. Michael was like a prophetic voice in the wilderness. His intelligence and passion awakened in me a desire to join the fight for justice for marginalized people.
I doubt this story is unusual. For decades, the National Coalition for the Homeless has been bringing attention to one of our nation’s greatest injustices — that too many people do not have a home. Thanks to NCH, thousands of people, young and old, have been awakened to this challenge. Many have made addressing homelessness their life’s work. When NCH was established, federal funding for emergency shelters and affordable housing barely existed. Now, thanks largely to NCH, such funds provide homes and services to people and families who need them.
Though much work remains to be done, the National Coalition for the Homeless is committed to protecting those who don’t have a home and fighting until all of us do. NCH is truly the voice of and for the homeless. That’s why I am honored to support them.”
