Homeless
Homeless
Our donors are instrumental in the mission to end homelessness. So, whether your support comes in the form of funding or handmade clothing, you can rest assured knowing that your contribution is making a difference.
In recent years, federal policy has been driven by narrow interest groups instead of demanding that funding address homelessness on a national scale. Join NCH as a member to be a part of pushing for the resources we actually need to house our communities!
is a national network of people who are currently experiencing or who have experienced homelessness, activists and advocates, community-based and faith-based service providers, and others committed to a single mission: To end and prevent homelessness while ensuring the immediate needs of those experiencing homelessness are met and their civil rights are respected and protected.
If you are not homeless yet, it may be possible to avoid becoming homeless by finding out about prevention or emergency assistance programs in your area. Often these programs can help in paying rent, utilities, or bills.
Donald Hugh Whitehead Jr. is recognized as a leading expert on homelessness, having served as the Executive Director of the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, Assistant Director at St. Vincent de Paul of Baltimore, Program Director at Ohio Valley Goodwill, Grant Manager at Goodwill of Greater Washington, and Director of Communications at Greenpeace Ohio. Donald served two terms as President of the Board of Directors for the National Coalition for the Homeless, two terms on the Board of Directors for Faces and Voices of Recovery, and two terms on the Georgetown Center for Cultural Competency.
Kelvin was raised in a middle class family in the suburbs of Washington, DC. Life challenged him early. The death of his mother sent Kelvin into a very dark space fueling a drug addiction. Nearly three years of homelessness challenged him further. Just when Kelvin considered giving up, a minister entered his life that believed in him and decided to help him. Reverend J.C. Melvin worked with Kelvin and helped him with recovery. In 2009, Kelvin began his homeless advocacy with the National Coalition for the Homeless. He also wrote and self-published two self-help books. Kelvin and his wife of 15 years currently reside in Washington, DC.
Want to know what VA is doing to end Veteran homelessness? Join us each month as we explore how our country is working to ensure that every Veteran has a safe and stable place to call home.Learn more
If you are a Veteran who is homeless or at imminent risk of homelessness, we strongly encourage you to contact the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans at (877) 4AID-VET (877-424-3838) for assistance.
The rights of people suffering from the devastating effects of homelessness also vary from country to country.[2] United States government homeless enumeration studies[3][4] also include people who sleep in a public or private place, which is not designed for use as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.[5][6] Homelessness and poverty are interrelated.[1] There is no methodological consensus on counting homeless people and identifying their needs; therefore, in most cities, only estimated homeless populations are known.[7]
In 2005, an estimated 100 million people worldwide were homeless, and as many as one billion people (one in 6.5 at the time) live as squatters, refugees, or in temporary shelter, all lacking adequate housing.[8][9][10]
In 2004, the United Nations sector of Economic and Social Affairs defined a homeless household as those households without a shelter that would fall within the scope of living quarters due to a lack of a steady income. The affected people carry their few possessions with them, sleeping in the streets, in doorways or on piers, or in another space, on a more or less random basis.[12]
In 2009, at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Conference of European Statisticians (