H.R. 136: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow taxpayers to designate a portion of their... (GovTrack.us)

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow taxpayers to designate a portion of their income tax payment to provide assistance to homeless veterans, and for other purposes.

Sponsor:	Rep. Steve Israel [D-NY2]hide cosponsors Cosponsors: Leonard Boswell [D-IA3] Betty Sutton [D-OH13] David Wu [D-OR1]
Text:	The text of this legislation is not yet available on GovTrack. It may not have been made available by the Government Printing Office yet.
Status:	Introduced Jan 5, 2011 Referred to Committee View Committee Assignments Reported by Committee ... House Vote ... Senate Vote ... Signed by President ... This bill is in the first step in the legislative process. Introduced bills and resolutions first go to committees that deliberate, investigate, and revise them before they go to general debate. The majority of bills and resolutions never make it out of committee. [Last Updated: Jan 7, 2011 6:17AM]
Last Action:	Jan 5, 2011: Referred to House Veterans' Affairs

Current Status

Special Haven Is Shaken by Violence and a Death - NYTimes.com

By KAREEM FAHIM

For about 25 years, the shelter, operated by the group Barrier Free Living, has claimed a special place in the sometimes perilous world of the city’s homeless: it is the only one designated to serve the disabled.

Some have been injured in car accidents or born with spina bifida, others hobbled by shootings or illnesses. The shelter provides them with home attendants and doctors, and handrails to help them walk. For a group of people who have difficulty moving freely, the shelter and the sidewalks surrounding it can be all they see of the world.

Located on a stretch of Second Street still marked by poverty, it is hardly luxurious. Residents live four to a room, their beds separated by hospital screens. Some cope with mental illness or addiction in addition to homelessness and their physical disabilities. And, like in other shelters, those pressures can lead to conflict.

Last Saturday, a simmering dispute between two men turned violent after an argument, according to the police and residents. When it was over, one of them, Ronal Garcia, 24, was dead after being stabbed repeatedly with a folding knife. The police arrested the other man, Felipe Rivera-Cruz, 51, and charged him with second-degree murder. Both of the men were in wheelchairs and had told other residents that they had been shot.

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S. 19: Homeless Veterans

A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow taxpayers to designate a portion of their income tax payment to provide assistance to homeless veterans, and for other purposes. Introduced November 20, 2008, by Senator Clinton and referred to Committee on Finance.

Including People in Institutions as "Homeless"

Steve Gold's Information Bulletin #262 This is a very brief FYI. Last week in the NY Times, it was reported that "lawmakers in Congress are debating who should be considered homeless." This is a very important definition, because different Congressional and HUD programs are targeted to persons who are "homeless" and are denied to persons who do not meet the definition. The NY Times stated that the House and Senate are considering an expansion of the definition "to include people precariously housed: those doubled up with friends or relatives or living day to day in motels, with money and options running out." Also being discussed is whether to include "families in desperate need of stable housing" or "people fleeing their homes because of domestic violence and those who can prove they will lose their housing within 14 days." Missing, obviously, are all the elderly and people with disabilities who are institutionalized in nursing facilities, and especially the 22.6% (309,580 people) of those institutionalized who stated they want to leave the institution and live in the community. Residing in a nursing facility is not by any stretch a "home." There are none of the indicia of a home. There is no privacy, no kitchen, no rental agreement, no dignity, no opportunity to contest living conditions, and those are just the beginning! HUD, in the prior federal administration, acknowledged and wrote people living in a nursing facility were"homeless." CMS has correctly written that housing is a primary barrier for many people to leave nursing facilities. Why should one hand of the federal government, i.e., CMS, make payments (in FY 2006, $47.7 billion) for Medicaid recipients in nursing facilities, when another hand of the federal government, HUD, could significantly reduce those expenditures by defining people in institutions as "homeless" and therefore making them entitled to "homeless" housing funds so they could leave the nursing facilities. Elderly and disability advocates: We do not think your elected congressional or senatorial representatives have heard from you on this issue. If you want to increase the supply of affordable, accessible, integrated housing for people in nursing facilities, now is the time to do something. Telephone and write your federally elected officials and demand that people in institutions be included in the new definition for "homeless." Back issues of other Information Bulletins are available online at http://www.stevegoldada.com/ with a searchable Archive at this site divided into different subjects. To contact Steve Gold directly, write to stevegoldada@cs.com.

Homelessness Services: Web 2.0 Connects Providers

It’s the latest computer buzzword. But how can Web 2.0 be useful to service providers who work with people who are homeless? Young and well educated, but overworked and underpaid, providers operate in programs with few resources for expensive computer hardware. They are tech-savvy and computer literate, and they are ripe for SAMHSA’s Homelessness Resource Center (HRC), a virtual community that shares state-of-the-art knowledge and promising practices to prevent and end homelessness.

Notice of Funding Availability for Continuum of Care (CoC) Homeless Assistance Programs

The purpose of the CoC Homeless Assistance Program is to reduce the incidence of homelessness in CoC communities by assisting homeless individuals and families to move to self sufficiency and permanent housing.CoCs that sustain current successfulinterventions and advance the goal of ending chronic homelessness will receive higher scores. Current Closing Date for Applications: Sep 26, 2008 Funding Instrument Type: Grant Category of Funding Activity: Housing Expected Number of Awards: 5000 Estimated Total Program Funding: $1,420,000,000 Award Ceiling: $6,000,000

Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans

A meeting of the Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans will be held on September 15-16, 2008, at the DoubleTree Hotel Albuquerque, 201 Marquette, NW., Albuquerque, New Mexico. The meeting is open to the public. On September 15, the session will convene at 8 a.m. and end at 4 p.m. The Committee will

• review the responses to the recommendations contained in the 2008 Annual Report of the Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans (which was submitted to the Secretary in the spring of 2008).
• The Committee will also receive briefings from VA and other federal departments on programs and activities affecting homeless veterans.

On September 16, the session will convene at 8 a.m. and end at 2:30 p.m. The Committee will

• continue to receive informational presentations and
• will begin its discussion of recommendations to be included in the upcoming annual report.

Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the Continuum of Care Homeless Assistance Program

SUMMARY: On July 10, 2008, HUD published in the Federal Register the NOFA for the Continuum of Care (CoC) Homeless Assistance Program. Through this NOFA, HUD is making available approximately $1.42 billion in Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 for the CoC program. The purpose of the CoC program is to reduce the incidence of homelessness in communities by assisting homeless individuals and families to move to self sufficiency and permanent housing. Today's publication establishes the deadline date for the submission of applications and corrects or clarifies portions of the CoC NOFA published on July 10, 2008. DATES: The application submission date for applications is September 26, 2008.

New Homelessness Resource Center Web Site Launched

SAMHSA's new Homelessness Resource Center (HRC) Web site launched this week. Targeted toward providers who work with people who are homeless, the Web site shares state-of-the art knowledge, evidence-based practices, and practical resources. The Web site provides an interactive learning community for researchers, providers, consumers, and Government agencies at all levels. It is an easy-to-manage resource with content that informs, features that engage, and training that is useful. These elements are brought together to promote recovery-oriented and consumer-centered services for people who are homeless.

Continuum of Care Homeless Assistance Program

Notice of Funding Availability

SUMMARY: This notice of funding availability (NOFA) establishes the funding criteria for the Continuum of Care (CoC) Homeless Assistance Program. HUD is making available approximately $1.42 billion in Fiscal Year 2008 for the program. The purpose of the CoC Homeless Assistance Program is to reduce the incidence of homelessness in CoC communities by assisting homeless individuals and families to move to self sufficiency and permanent housing.

Submission Date: August 15, 2008