Washington, DC– The National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH) is proud to continue the Local Power Tour, a nationwide campaign aimed at shifting the national narrative on homelessness in America to further embrace a “human right to housing” approach. NCH advocates toured the West Coast earlier this year, with stops in Los Angeles, Sacramento, Portland and Seattle.
“Never before have we seen so many of our neighbors forced to live outdoors without housing, or the level of criminalization of daily survival activities,” says Donald Whitehead, Jr., Executive Director of NCH. “The Local Power Tour is a groundbreaking campaign that will bring attention to the plight of the homeless and empower communities to demand change.”
As part of its efforts to end homelessness, NCH organizers are visiting advocates and people experiencing homelessness in Miami, Florida, this week. NCH is partnering with the Miami Coalition to Advance Racial Equity to bring attention to the criminalization of people forced into homelessness and all that the Miami community is doing to address ongoing lack of affordable housing. “Homelessness is a result of the government failing the people,” states David Peery (MCARE Founder).
“This tour is born of the belief that any lasting national change must be rooted in local action and led by those with lived experience,” states Ramina Davidson, Director of Community Organizing for NCH. “Specifically, we are working with local partners to build a national movement to end homelessness by demanding change from elected officials, encouraging compassionate, solution-oriented discussions, and denouncing the criminalization of people experiencing homelessness.”
NCH invites everyone to join the movement and be part of the solution. To learn more about the campaign, visit the NCH website at nationalhomeless.org/local-power-tour.
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NCH is a network of individuals and organizations united by a commitment to end homelessness. The organization has helped draft federal, state, and local legislation, like the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 1987. NCH has long advocated for addressing the root causes of homelessness, including the lack of affordable housing, through policy advocacy (supporting efforts like the Bringing America Home Act), grassroots organizing (building a national movement led by unsheltered individuals), and public education (dispelling negative stereotypes and preserving civil rights of people experiencing homelessness).
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Press Contact:
Donald Whitehead, Executive Director of NCH | Dwhitehead@nationalhomeless.org
