This summer, Street Soccer USA, a non-profit organization that uses the power of sports to offer education, jobs and new opportunities for youth and homeless adults in 16 cities nationally, and reaches 1,000 teens, at-risk youth and homeless adults annually, hosts the 2009 Street Soccer USA Cup in Washington, D.C. The event is organized in conjunction with D.C. based organizations such as The Washington Kastles, D.C. United, The Ted Leonsis Foundation, and DC Central Kitchen.


For the second year in a row, the Street Soccer USA Cup will be held at the fabulous Washington Kastles World Tennis Team Stadium, located between 9th and 11th and "H" Street, N.W. in Washington, D.C. The event will take place from July 31 - August 2. Admission is free.

Get more information, see photos, and the event site at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=102000217559#/ical/event.php?eid=102000217559

The National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty (NLCHP) and the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH) released a report, Homes Not Handcuffs, tracking a growing trend in U.S. cities – the criminalization of homelessness. The report focuses on specific city measures from 2007 and 2008 that have targeted homeless persons, such as laws that make it illegal to sleep, eat, or sit in public spaces. The report includes information about 273 cities nationwide.

Homes Not Handcuffs also ranks the top 10 U.S. cities with the worst practices in relation to criminalizing homelessness.The report also includes information about costs studies examining criminalization measures, constitutional challenges to measures that criminalize homelessness, how criminalization measures violate human rights law, as well as constructive alternatives to criminalization.


1. Los Angeles , CA
2. St. Petersburg . FL
3. Orlando , FL
4. Atlanta , GA
5. Gainesville , FL
6. Kalamazoo
7. San Francisco
8. Honolulu
9. Bradenton
10. Berkeley




To read the full report, follow this link: http://nationalhomeless.or..g/publications/crimreport/..crimreport_2009.pdf

A partnership of national homeless organizations, including the National Coalition for the Homeless, the National Health Care for the Homeless Council, the National Alliance to End Homelessness, the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth, National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, the National Low Income Housing Coalition, and the National Policy and Advocacy Council on Homelessness; have release a joint report on the impact of the foreclosure and economic crises and the unprecedented growth in the number of individuals and families left without a home in the United States.

To read the report visit www.nationalhomeless.org or follow this link
 http://nationalhomeless.org/advocacy/ForeclosuretoHomelessness0609.pdf

The HEARTH Act was signed into legislation by President Obama on May 20, 2009. It reauthorizes homeless assistance programs from HUD and USICH. This important legislation was part of the larger Helping Americans Save Their Homes Act of 2009.
NCH commends Congress for reauthorizing these critical programs which have not been reauthorized since 1992.

To learn more about NCH's position on the HEARTH ACT, please follow the link. You can read what NCH likes about the legislation as well as the steps that still need to be taken.
http://nationalhomeless.org/advocacy/HEARTHActStatement52609.pdf

As always, we welcome your thoughts, comments, concerns, and questions on this topic or any other.
what do YOU think about the HEARTH Act??

Former NCH intern Kristen Shaw has won the Maurizio Vannicelli
Washington Semester Away program award at College of the Holy Cross for
her thesis “What it Means to be Homeless in America.”

http://www.holycross.edu/p..ublicaffairs/press_release..s/2008-2009/09_04_06a

Congratulations Kristen!