An Interview With The National Law Center On Homelessness And Poverty
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About a year ago I was speaking at the State Department thanks to an invite from my friend Beth Kanter. While in Washington, D.C., my friends at the Case Foundation invited me to stop by for a visit . As I was leaving to walk back to where I was staying I received a tweet from National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty (NLCHP) letting me know their offices are right around the corner.

I just love social media because all the connections from Beth Kanter to Case Foundation to National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty are a result of engaging people on Twitter. I first connected with NLCHP online, and then at an National Alliance to End Homelessness conference, but I really didn't fully understand how awesome and important their work was until this interview.

As a lawyer, Maria Foscarinis could have chosen a lot of different paths other than fighting homelessness. Many of them far more lucrative than social and public service work. I have a lot of respect for her and anyone who dedicates themselves to helping others.

National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty fights for homeless people's rights at the national and local level. The afternoon I spent visiting really opened my eyes to a different and much needed form of advocacy.

Taken from this about page:

Lawyers Working to End Homelessness

The mission of the Law Center is to prevent and end homelessness by serving as the legal arm of the nationwide movement to end homelessness. To achieve its mission, the organization pursues three main strategies:
  • impact litigation
  • policy advocacy
  • public education
The Law Center strives to place homelessness in the larger context of poverty. By taking this approach, the organization aims to address homelessness as a very visible manifestation of deeper causes, including:
  • the shortage of affordable housing
  • insufficient income
  • inadequate social services

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