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June 30, 2022 | Volume 26, No. 5| Archives
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| Abortion, Guns, and An Exciting Announcement
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| In This Issue:
- Announcing Corinne Lovett, Our New Health Policy Manager
- Supreme Court Decisions: Abortion and Guns
- Administration: Funding for Unsheltered Homelessness and Executive Orders
- Congress: Mental Health Legislation and Guns
- COVID Corner
- What We’re Reading
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Announcement: Corinne Lovett is Our New Health Policy Manager
Corinne Lovett has joined the National Health Care for the Homeless Council as Health Policy Manager. Here are her thoughts on being a part of our work:
"It has been a lifelong dream to serve people experiencing homelessness and be an advocate for social justice. I began my public health career as a community health worker (CHW) in rural Maryland serving vulnerable populations. My organization was honored by the NAACP for bringing health care access to a historically marginalized area.
Limited in what I could change in my CHW role, I began my graduate studies in public health at the University of Maryland in order to make a broader impact. In my time there, I have worked on publications regarding patient and public involvement in defining public health measures and interned with the National Association of Community Health Centers. My passion for social justice is ultimately rooted in my shared lived experience of homelessness and my belief that housing and health care are human rights."
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Supreme Court Decisions
The Supreme Court issued two critical decisions in the last week that impact the HCH community:
• Abortion: On June 24, the Court issued its ruling effectively overturning Roe v. Wade and ending federal protections for abortion, reversing 50 years of legislative law. Here is the Council’s statement in response, which illustrates the disproportionate impact on people experiencing homelessness and urges the HCH community to re-dedicate itself to ensuring equitable access to preventive health care services to all patients.
Read five things to know about what happens next.
• Guns: On June 23, the Court overturned a New York State law related to permits to carry concealed weapons. This decision will likely impact other states that have similar laws. This decision comes just after several recent mass shootings have galvanized the nation to take action to reduce access to guns (see below under “Congress”), and may open the door to other gun control laws being overturned. Unfortunately, this comes at a time when guns are the leading cause of death in children and young adults (surpassing car accidents).
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HUD Announces First-Ever Funding Opportunity for Coordinated Approaches to Address Unsheltered Homelessness
A recently announced $365 million package includes grant funds, along with additional housing vouchers that will enhance communities’ capacity to humanely and effectively address unsheltered homelessness by connecting vulnerable individuals and families to housing, health care, and supportive services. There are also provisions to more strongly involve people with lived experience of homelessness in the decision-making.
More information is available on HUD’s press release and in a blog post from the National Alliance to End Homelessness. Grant details are available here. Applications are due October 20.
Relatedly, the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness issued a set of seven principles to help communities as they develop and implement their response to encampments.
ACTION TO TAKE: Encourage your CoC to apply for these funds, urge them to prioritize connecting unsheltered people to comprehensive health care services, and partner with them to deliver care.
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The Biden-Harris Administration has been busy with several Executive Orders (and related fact sheets) addressing key issues important to the HCH Community:
• Advancing Equity Through the American Rescue Plan: A new fact sheet describes how the American Rescue Plan has advanced equity, along with a lengthy report illustrating more detail for 32 major policies enacted during COVID-19, including funding for health care and rental assistance programs.
• Advancing Effective, Accountable Policing and Criminal Justice Practices to Enhance Public Trust and Public Safety: A new executive order (and fact sheet) establishes new accountability frameworks, raises standards for policing, and seeks to increase training for federal police forces.
• Advancing Equality for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex Individuals: A new executive order (and fact sheet) directs many federal agencies to review their programs for barriers and opportunities for improvement. Notably, HUD is directed to establish a workgroup to address LGBTQI+ homelessness and housing instability.
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Good News on Mental Health and Substance Use Legislation
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On June 22, the House of Representatives passed the Restoring Hope for Mental Health and Well-Being Act of 2022 (H.R. 7666). Not only does this wide-ranging bill reauthorize a number of SAMHSA programs for mental health and substance use disorder, it also contains the Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment (MAT) Act to remove the buprenorphine X-waiver -- one of our key policy priorities! Get the full bill text here, or read the section-by-section summary).
Next steps: Soon we will issue a fact sheet on this legislation based on our HCH priorities, and will be asking for your advocacy to advance this bill in the Senate.
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Gun Legislation Signed
On June 25, President Biden signed into law the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which is the first time Congress has passed any gun restrictions in nearly 30 years. Read our fact sheet on this bill, which lists the provisions for mental health, school funding, and violence prevention.
Importantly, many of the provisions of this new legislation are only modest changes, and many others are optional for states to implement.
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Even though COVID-19 cases are rising in many areas, we are winding down our work related to the pandemic. Yesterday, we issued our last dedicated COVID-19 Flash Blast, but never fear! We’ll continue including a section here in the Mobilizer for COVID-19 issues.
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Related Reading/Listening
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Did you receive Mobilizer as a forwarded email or hear about it via social media? Register now to receive our action alerts each month!
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This publication and all HCH advocacy are funded by dues from Organizational Members of the Council and by private donations. Consider joining the Council to support this work.
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604 Gallatin Ave., Suite 106 | Nashville, TN 37206 US
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