Coalition on Human Needs: We will continue to oppose blank check funding and lawless actions by ICE and Border Patrol
June 10, 2026
For homeless Americans, Dec. 21 is the longest night of the year
David Elliot,
December 19, 2019
Saturday, Dec. 21 is the first day of winter and the longest night of the year. It is also the day that many affordable housing advocates have chosen to remember the many homeless people who die each year. Sponsored by the National Coalition for the Homeless, the National Consumer Advisory Board and the National Health Care for the Homeless Council, the National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day has been commemorated for nearly three decades now.
CHN on Congressional spending bills: Important progress and missed opportunities
Deborah Weinstein,
December 18, 2019
The appropriations bills passed by the House of Representatives will provide important help to many Americans in areas such as child care funding, affordable housing, Medicaid, and more. But Congress missed some opportunities to make our tax code serve those who need help the most, and it failed to block the Trump Administration’s abusive anti-immigrant and anti-discrimination policies. The need to help more people escape poverty and to stop inhumane attacks on immigrants remains urgent, and the members of the Coalition on Human Needs will redouble their efforts towards just and commonsense policies in the new year.
A missed opportunity: Congress fails to expand tax credits to help children, low-income workers
David Elliot,
December 18, 2019
Moments before midnight Monday, Congressional leaders reached an agreement on an end-of-year tax package that leaves out millions of poor people. In particular, despite a tenacious push by Speaker Pelosi and allies and a welcome demonstration of at least some bipartisan support, some children in poor families remain too poor to get help from the tax code. Advocates had hoped that Congress would expand the Child Tax Credit to cover families who are either too poor to qualify, or qualify for just a fraction of what other families receive. Also needing help were low-income workers without dependents, the only group whose tax payments can push them deeper into poverty.
CHN in the news: How the Trump Administration’s new food stamp restrictions will hurt people in deep poverty
CHN Staff,
December 12, 2019
This week, CHN Executive Director Deborah Weinstein appeared on both TV and radio to discuss the Trump Administration's latest effort to cut SNAP benefits -- this time, a rule that would take away benefits from as many as 688,000 Americans. Weinstein appeared on the nationally syndicated Leslie Marshall show, and she appeared on a shorter segment on Fox News.
Cutting food aid promotes hunger, not work
Sherry Brennan,
December 11, 2019
You may have heard about the Trump administration’s latest attack on very poor Americans: a punitive new restriction that will cut SNAP benefits for 688,000 people. Growing up, my family got food stamps — and oh, I hated it. I hated standing in line at the grocery store, knowing we’d be paying with coupons that would brand us as “poor” to anyone who noticed. And yet I loved the fact that we had food. As a growing kid, I knew what it was like to come home to a bare kitchen. Those dreaded vouchers meant we got cheese, milk, fruit, eggs, cereal, beans, tortillas, and yes, sometimes even ice cream. That food — and the stability that came with it — sent me on my way. Because I wasn’t hungry in school, I could pay attention. And I excelled.
