Forty years ago, the federal government slashed affordable housing budgets of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), marking the beginning of the contemporary crisis of homelessness. It has become political fodder for local politicians to say they will end homelessness “in this city” with complete disregard for the fact that no one city created homelessness, and none will end it on their own.

To understand why national rates of homelessness skyrocketed in the 1980s, we must ask; what systemic factors changed in the late 1970s and early 1980s to allow so many people to fall through the social safety net and end up living and dying on our streets? What has been happening over the last 500 years to result in Black and Indigenous people being disproportionately represented in the houseless population, and hit hardest by criminalization? Homelessness is a direct result of the decisions and funding priorities of the federal government, in a larger context of white supremacy, settler colonialism and neoliberalism. If the federal government had chosen to support affordable housing, health care, anti-poverty wages and programs, worker’s protections, and quality education—rather than war, tax breaks for the wealthy, and corporate welfare—mass homelessness would not exist in our nation.

Thank you to everyone who helped us meet our goal during our Winter campaign to enable WRAP to continue fighting for an end to criminalization and for affordable housing as a human right - and to keep us strong and growing in 2023! WRAP has always understood damn well we ONLY exist because our core members, donors, allies and friends do whatever they feel is necessary to keep us strong - creating the match, making the match and connecting our local work and realities to each other. The gifts we receive during these Winter campaigns allow us to plan and breathe as we start out the next year. And thanks to so many of you we not only reached our goal of $40,000.00 - WE PASSED IT!!!! So far, we have raised $46,946.00 and still counting! We are so incredibly appreciative and honored to receive this support and truly Thank You All for all the ways you support the fight for Human Rights and Dignity for every person oppressed by systemic racism, classism, ableism and neoliberal social and economic policies. If you meant to give or want to now, it is not too late – we can’t do this without you. Donate here today - thank you.

The ACLU and the Coalition on Homelessness’s lawsuit against the city of San Francisco has brought an emergency order to temporarily halt all encampment sweeps, and Mayor Breed and her allies are furious with the decision.

Some huge news dropped early Friday night, on the eve of Christmas Eve, that had political ramifications throughout the holiday weekend. You may recall a September federal lawsuit against the city of San Francisco filed on behalf of seven homeless plaintiffs, the Coalition on Homelessness, and the ACLU, claiming that the way the city was conducting homeless encampment sweeps was unconstitutional. As that trial moves along, the Chronicle reports that on Friday night, a U.S. magistrate judge issued an emergency injunction that banned the SFPD and the city from clearing encampments, a ban that could remain in place for months, if not the better part of 2023.

For Immediate Release

Rep. Bowman Contact: bowman.press@mail.house.gov (914-463-0041)

Sen. Warren Contact: 202-224-2292

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, in the midst of historically high housing costs, Rep. Jamaal Bowman Ed.D (D-NY) and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) led a bicameral letter urging President Biden to pursue all possible strategies to address rent inflation, end corporate price gouging in the real estate sector, and ensure that renters and people experiencing homelessness across this country are stably housed this winter.

“My community is being crushed by the burden of high prices and wages that can’t keep pace. Meanwhile, corporate landlords and other profit-driven companies are bringing in record profits. People simply cannot afford to live anymore,” said Congressman Jamaal Bowman Ed.D (NY-16). “We must pursue all options on the table that will help renters stay housed in the short-term, while also continuing to collaborate on efforts to realize long-term investments in our nation’s affordable and decommodified housing supply. I look forward to working with the Biden Administration to implement the policies outlined in our bicameral letter and do everything in our collective power to keep renters housed.”

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