Speak Out for Housing, Homelessness Prevention, and Solutions: Join the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless at the State House Next Thursday, March 3rd!
Please join the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless for our annual Legislative Action Day on Thursday, March 3rd from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. in the Great Hall at the Massachusetts State House in Boston.
The Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless has been working for over thirty years as a key voice in the public policy and social services arenas for families, youth, and adults in Massachusetts who are at-risk or experiencing homelessness. Each year, the Coalition holds a Legislative Action Day at the State House to engage our members and allies in educating state legislators about the needs of the Commonwealth’s residents who are experiencing homelessness, housing crises, and poverty.
This year, we are mobilizing our members and supporters to advocate on a number of priorities, including efforts to expand eligibility for the Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT) homelessness prevention programs to include elders, people with disabilities, unaccompanied youth, and others; fund housing and support services for unaccompanied youth who are experiencing homelessness; ensure that families with children no longer have to first stay in places not meant for human habitation before qualifying for Emergency Assistance shelter; and expand funding for the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (MRVP) and the Alternative Housing Voucher Program (AHVP). We also are working to move forward several bills that would improve quality of life for people living in poverty and those experiencing homelessness, including legislation to create a Homeless Bill of Rights and to improve benefits under the state’s Emergency Aid to the Elderly, Disabled, and Children program (EAEDC).
As part of Legislative Action Day, the Coalition will host a series of speakers who will share their call to action and personal testimonies on the importance of increasing access to housing, shelter, homelessness prevention resources, and support services. Legislative speakers will include Representative James O’Day (West Boylston), the event sponsor and lead sponsor of House Bill 529, An Act Relative to Assisting Elders and People with Disabilities in the Commonwealth; State Senator Harriette Chandler (Worcester), Senate Majority Leader and member of the Special Commission on Unaccompanied Homeless Youth; Senator Linda Dorcena Forry (Boston), Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Housing; Representative Marjorie Decker (Cambridge), Member, Joint Committees on Ways and Means and Housing; Representative Kevin Honan (Allston), House Chair of the Joint Committee on Housing; Senator Jamie Eldridge (Acton), Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Financial Services, State Representative William Smitty Pignatelli (Lenox), lead sponsor of House Bill 1129, An Act Providing a Homeless Bill of Rights; and State Representative Denise Provost (Somerville), lead sponsor of House Bill 119, An Act to End Child Homelessness.
Most importantly, there will be time in the afternoon to meet with State Representatives, Senators, and their staff to advocate for improved access to affordable housing, services, and programs for youth, families, and individual adults who are at-risk or experiencing homelessness in Massachusetts.
We hope you will be able to raise your voice and join us for this exciting day!
For more information and to register for this free event, please go to http://www.mahomeless.org/advocacy/item/legislative-action-day-2016.