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House The Homeless, Inc., an educational and advocacy group, was founded in Austin, TX in 1989. House The Homeless considers all homeless and formerly homeless individuals to be members of this 501 (c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit Corporation. At no time does the makeup of our Board of Directors ever fall below 60% of homeless and formerly homeless people.

Our mission is Education and Advocacy surrounding
the issues of homelessness.

Read Richard Troxell's latest whitepaper on homelessness in America -- Criminalization of Homeless Cycle

A letter from HTH's president, Richard R. Troxell:

February 2008

Dear Philip Mangano, Executive Director, US Interagency Council on Homelessness:

The Ten Year Plans coming out of American cities and being promoted by the federal government in an effort to end “chronic” homelessness cannot do so without addressing serious economic concerns of people experiencing homelessness.

Obviously, there are many aspects to homelessness. However, on one level we can divide homelessness into two distinct economic categories: those who work and those who are unable to work. Sustainable responses to these economic categories can be characterized as establishing “Livable Incomes.”

Presently, there are over one million minimum wage workers experiencing homelessness on an annual basis. Although working a full time minimum wage job, a person cannot afford basic rental housing throughout urban America. This is true even with the pending minimum wage of $7.25 per hour by July of 2009. Historically, Congress has embraced the practice of only increasing the minimum wage to a level that takes the American worker less than the economic distance necessary to climb out of poverty. The current minimum wage structure does not elevate the minimum wage worker to a level where they can afford basic housing and the other core necessities of life. Decidedly, the current Congressional approach only ensures their position in the ranks of America’s homeless population. At the same time, while these individuals meet the definition of “chronic” homelessness with four or more instances of homelessness over a three year period, none of America’s 10 year plans provide a solution to this problem.

House the Homeless, Inc. in Austin, Texas conducted a survey in December 2007 of 625 people experiencing homelessness. Astonishingly, 38% indicated that they were currently working, yet still homeless. Upon releasing the survey results (margin of error of 3.98%) we were notified that in Atlanta, Georgia, 45% of their homeless population were working at some point during the week. From Fredericksburg, VA, we learned that 54% were working “at significant jobs.” In Austin, we also posed the question: “Would you work a 40 hour week job if you were sure it would pay you enough for basic food, clothing and shelter [a living wage]?” The resounding affirmative response was that 90.7 % said they would work 40 hours for a living wage. Apparently, the work ethic is there but the wage is not.

Then there is the situation affecting people who cannot work, but who in 2008 will receive a government stipend in the form of Supplemental Security Income, SSI, in the amount of $637.00 throughout the nation. This is about half of the federal minimum wage and again wholly inadequate to sustain independent living without being further heavily subsidized with some kind of government supported “affordable” housing. Securing housing in Washington, DC, Boston, MA or Santa Cruz, CA etc. in the general housing market with an annual salary of less than $14,000 or even half that per year is not possible.

In order to stimulate the economy, specifically the housing industry, and to end “chronic homelessness” for a significant portion of the nation’s homeless community, we must:

1) establish the principle/formula that by using existing government guidelines including the HUD Section 8 formula and the HUD Standard that no one should pay more than 30% of their income on housing, we can ensure that anyone found by the federal government to be disabled will receive a monthly stipend, (SSI), that enables them to afford basic food, clothing, and shelter (including utilities) wherever that person lives throughout the United States.

2) establish the principle/formula that by using existing government guidelines including the HUD Section 8 formula and the HUD Standard that no one should pay more than 30% of their income on housing, we can permanently fix the federal minimum wage and ensure that anyone working 40 hours in a week will be able to afford basic food, clothing, shelter (including utilities) wherever that work is done throughout the United States. See www.UniversalLivingWage.org to read support statistics, the mathematical formula and the hardest asked and answered questions found in our Facts and Myths Section.

By indexing to the local cost of housing, we ensure affordable housing throughout the US. This simple approach mirrors US Military pay practices (Base Housing Allowance).

We strongly encourage the Interagency Council on Homelessness to adopt our resolution and send the United States Congress and the US Department of HUD the clear message that our focus on homelessness: 1) must be for all those experiencing homelessness, not just “chronic” individuals, and 2) we must fix the Supplemental Security Insurance program and the Federal Minimum Wage ensuring that all participants (workers and those unable to work) can afford basic, food, clothing, and shelter (including utilities) throughout the United States.

Sincerely,

Richard R. Troxell
President and Co-Founder, House the Homeless, Inc.
Universal Living Wage National Chairman,
National Coalition for the Homeless
Executive Committee Coordinator, Livable Incomes

Enclosures: please find 1642 endorsing organizations consisting of businesses, non-profits, faith- based organizations, and unions collectively representing over 1,000,000 registered voters.

cc: President George W. Bush, Senator Hillary Clinton, Senator Barack Obama, ICOH-Nat, Reg, TX

House the Homeless Smashes Homeless Myth