Is Homelessness as Intractable as it Seems in this Country?

Homeless encampments are found at the intersection of widespread poverty and an array of failed federal tax and spend policies. There were over 550,000 homeless individuals in the United States in 2021, the government estimates. Most advocates consider this a significant undercount since it excludes the many hidden homeless, such as families that are doubled up.

How did we get to this point?
Reviewing federal expenditures that support affordable housing, we see disinvestment dating back to the 1980s and a corresponding rise in homelessness among Americans. Cutbacks in and elimination of the Great Society and New Deal programs left far too many fending for themselves. Congress never adequately funded the move away from support for public housing with compensatory tenant choice vouchers or the Section 8 program. Wait lists for eligible individuals and families in major cities are typically years long if the wait lists are open at all.

President Biden’s Build Back Better proposal, had it not been stymied by two Democratic senators, would have funded up to 750,000 new housing choice vouchers.

Build Back Better also included “human infrastructure” funding, which would have improved the availability of mental health care in communities across the country. Aspects of this funding are currently being debated in Congress as part of the “Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework” negotiations.

Deinstitutionalizing the mentally ill in the 1980s – on its face, a positive move -- left many people without adequate community-based support and safety net programs. The paucity of mental health care in this country, particularly for the poor, is another feeder of homelessness.

Untreated substance abuse, incarceration, and the foster care system significantly exacerbate the problem. We provide far too little funding to address these issues. The formerly incarcerated are 10-times as likely to experience homelessness than the non-incarcerated, and they find themselves ineligible for many of the scant federal programs assisting the homeless. This often leads to recidivism. Twenty percent of youth aging out of foster care immediately become homeless.

Undocumented immigrants are another impacted population, with little access to resources, while 28% of LGBTQ+ youth also experience homelessness. I could go on.

We do have answers [Find out More]

Leon D. Winston
New UUSJ Board Member

Leon worked on housing, treatment, and income-support for homeless and at-risk Veterans for 25 years

New Congregational Partners In NM And MA

UUSJ proudly welcomes UU Santa Fe, NM, and First Parish In Concord, MA, as partner congregations. We celebrate and welcome these new collaborators into our circle of members, friends, and supporters. We cherish the vital participation of all our Congregations.

Both new partners are vibrant justice-making communities that find value in partnering with UUSJ to support their federal engagement. Both showcase that a group of unified UUs can make a difference for social justice at multiple levels when working together.

If you would like to explore how your Congregation, Church, or Fellowship can become a partner and deepen your federal engagement, review the details

Meet Olivia Elder Our Campaign Organizer

We are pleased to introduce Olivia Elder as the campaign Organizer for the UU the Vote DC, Maryland, and Virginia voter mobilization midterm project. Olivia is an advocacy professional, organizer, and dancer based in Washington, DC. She recently left a role on the Infrastructure Sustainability team at Meta (formerly Facebook).

If you want to join the project and are running a congregation-based voter mobilization effort in DC, Maryland, or Virginia, contact  Olivia at uuvotermobilization@gmail.com.   You’re invited to our Meet Olivia event 9/15 7:00pmET; RSVP here.

In 2020, the Reeb Project for Voting Rights and UUSJ teamed up to fight voter suppression, improve ballot access and help people register to vote while dovetailing with the larger UU the Vote effort. This election season, we're adding the UU Legislative Ministry of MD and the UU Legislative Ministry of VA as part of a UU the Vote Project.

UUSJ Annual Report, 2021-2022

UUSJ had a busy year, engaging in more webinars to educate people about our main issue areas – Democracy, Immigration, Environment, and Economic Justice. We have also engaged constituents of specific members of Congress directly in advocacy virtual meetings rather than just asking them to write letters. We have used action alerts and electronic letter-writing to provide opportunities for all UUSJ friends to meaningfully contact appropriate Senators and House members.

UUSJ is the principal UU organization focused on federal-level policy change, direct advocacy, and regularly engaging legislators and their staff to advance UU principles and values. (View or Download) A full 56% of our database of contacts now includes residents outside the Capital Region footprint.

See a recent message to supporters by Board Chair Charlotte Jones-Carroll here.

UUSJ Fall Board Meeting
September 16, 2022, 1pmET
UUSJ’s quarterly Board of Trustees meeting will be via Zoom on Friday, September 16, from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm ET. The agenda and related materials will be sent to Board members in advance. Board meetings are open to UUSJ members, who may request in advance an opportunity to speak briefly. For more information, contact: info@UUSJ.org

Tell Congress to Provide Safety to Afghan Evacuees  

Take Action Here

With the end of the United States military involvement in Afghanistan and the fall of the country’s capital of Kabul, the United States airlifted tens of thousands of Afghan persons, many of them children, to safety from persecution and violence. After often experiencing heartbreaking and harrowing ordeals to escape and secure safety for themselves and their families, most of these evacuees in the United States continue to live in legal limbo, eligible only for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). In addition, others that are eligible for evacuation have been left behind.

Currently, pathways for Afghan evacuees to permanent residency are completely inadequate to process these evacuees, the Afghan Adjustment Act (AAA)(Senate Bill 4787 and House Bill 6585) seeks to remedy this while simultaneously applying the gold standard for security screenings and lessons learned from previous evacuations of Cuba, Vietnam, Iraq, and Guatemala. Representative Blumenauer (D-OR) has provided a section-by-section of the AAA to help explain what each section of the bill would do.

UUSJ is participating with the Evacuate Our Allies (EOA) campaign in this effort. We join a group of highly engaged organizations, many of them veterans groups and other faith advocates. The EOA provides a Fact Sheet on the Afghan Adjustment Act and a tool kit so you can help share the message: http://bit.ly/EOAadvocacy as well as a Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) tool to call your members.

Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022

On September 6, the White House will host a celebration marking the signing of the IRA (complete Bill). UUSJ thanks Congressional Leadership and President Biden for their determination to deliver some of the reforms our country needs on Taxes, Health, and Climate Policy. “Despite some serious flaws, the IRA is still the most significant climate legislation in history,” says Chairman Raul Grijalva, D-AZ, of the House Natural Resources Committee. UUSJ is also involved in the permit fast-track fight going on right now. See our statement on IRA, and a subsequent communication on the permit side deal, as well as the item below about advocacy and witness with the Applachian Resistance on September 8.

The real thank you, however, is to our advocates–our members and friends; this legislation would not have been possible without your engagement. Throughout the year, you have reminded policy-makers that they must choose people over profits on things we’ve been pushing for throughout the negotiations on Build Back Better. 

The IRA accomplished many goals, such as a 15% corporate minimum tax rate, prescription drug price reform, climate change investments, and more. Along with amendments that passed, five harmful immigration amendments were defeated. You helped do this!

Congress must pursue a positive path. UUSJ is counting on your advocacy to continue the pressure to pass our necessary policies.  Such as transition to a fossil fuel-free economy, immigration reform, and expansion of social safety nets, and improving the health of our Democracy.

Watch this space. Let’s keep up the momentum and continue advocating for a better democracy.

8th Principle Community Event

Wednesday, September 14, 2022
7:00pm ET I 6:00pm CT I 5:00pm MT I 4:00pm PT
What is possible when the 8^th Principle and 7^th Principles come together?  Join the 8th Principle Community on September 14^th for new ideas and to learn about available resources to support collaboration on environmental and climate justice.

You must register [Here] in advance for this meeting

Congregational Reproductive Justice Teams Gathering

September 15, 2022 8:00 PM - 9:30 PM ET
Register Here

Congregationally-based Reproductive Justice Teams that have completed the summer Reproductive Justice Training Series are invited to attend these three "praxis-oriented" gatherings designed to support teams as they move toward and implement their organizing plans (held on Sept 15, Oct, 20, & Nov 17).

UU the Vote Homecoming Rally!

September 17, 2022 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM ET
Online  RSVP

Join UU the Vote for a special Homecoming-themed virtual rally to kickstart our Get Out The Vote efforts for 2022! For UUTV materials, see their main page. For a robust catalog of events and training, see their calendar.

UU the Vote Congregation Leaders Support Group
Wednesday, September 7
7:00pm ET I 6:00pm CT I 5:00pm MT I 4:00pm PT
RSVP

The UUSJ Democracy Action Team (DAT) wants to support UU the Vote Congregation Leaders. On September 7th at 7:00pm ET, UUSJ will provide a virtual place for congregational leaders to meet, discuss concerns, and share their actions in support of the UU the Vote 2022 campaign. Join the DAT to circle with others doing the work in fellowship and mutual support.

Voter Mobilization with Reclaim Our Vote’s Andrea Miller
Tuesday, September 13
7:30pm ET I 6:30pm CT I 5:30pm MT I 4:30pm PT
RSVP

Andrea Miller of the Center for Common Ground (CCG) and Reclaim Our Vote will speak about CCG's 2022 plans for getting out the vote in key states, both on the ground and remotely. Andrea is the Founding Board Member of the CCG and an inspirational, unwavering fighter for racial justice, voting rights, and a voter-mobilization expert. 

We will learn more about postcarding, texting, phone banking, and other opportunities. And most of all, we will leave with a sense of enthusiasm for the work ahead of us and an understanding of how CCG’s work can support UU efforts. All are welcome, regardless of where you live in the U.S.

CCG is a national partner of UU the Vote for 2022, and this appearance builds on our UUSJ and CCG collaboration through the Faithful Democracy coalition.

State Of Our Democracy: Reforms To Renew And Strengthen
Wednesday, September 21
8:00pm ET I 7:00pm CT I 6:00pm MT I 5:00pm PT
RSVP

Join UUSJ to hear public commentator and scholar Lee Drutman, discuss the state of our democracy and what’s needed to strengthen it. Senior Fellow of the Political Reform at New America, Lee was named one of Washington’s Most Influential People by Washingtonian magazine in 2021. He has published numerous pieces in the New York Times, Washington Post, Vox, NBC Think, and Foreign Policy, among many other outlets. He is also the author of Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop: The Case for Multiparty Democracy in America and The Business of America is Lobbying. Lee is the winner of the 2016 American Political Science Association's Robert A. Dahl Award,  for "scholarship of the highest quality on the subject of democracy."

New America is considered a "hive of state-of-the-art policy entrepreneurship." It is led by Anne-Marie Slaughter, an American international lawyer, foreign policy analyst, political scientist, and public commentator. Anne-Marie was the Dean of Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and was the first woman to serve as the Director of Policy Planning for the U.S. State Department under U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Electoral Count Act (ECA) Makes Progress in the Senate

The ECA, enacted in 1887, contains numerous ambiguous provisions that partisan lawmakers may try to exploit, as we saw in the runup to the January 6 insurrection. A bipartisan group of senators – nine Republicans and seven Democrats –  have been collaborating to update it. The Senate Rules Committee held a very positive hearing for the bill (video) in August. Those on both sides of the aisle spoke in support of the measure and the need to pass it this session of Congress. It must move forward quickly while it has bipartisan support. We need to urge our senators to make this happen. See more information on our website.

Write your senators to support this bill, it's not too late. Spread the word, and invite your UU friends to join you (https://bit.ly/whwn_eca)

UUSJ Joins the Evacuate Our Allies (EOA) Coalition

EOA is a large coalition of faith, immigrant and veteran advocacy organizations engaging congress on the Afghan Adjustment Act. Since the humanitarian parole for many Afghan immigrants will end in about a year, it is essential to pass the AAA before the end of the calendar year, and start the program and procedural alignments.

Journey for Justice: A Border Pilgrimage
September 8, 4:00pmET
Register Here: https://mobilize.us/s/eXwGgn!

Join Witness at The Border on Thursday, September 8, at 4 pm ET for a webinar to introduce its "Journey for Justice, a “Pilgrimage" or posada pidiendo, planned for December 2-17 2022, from Brownsville, Texas to San Ysidro, California. Pilgrims will travel to honor and commemorate the lives of all migrants who have suffered and perished at the U.S.-Mexico border. To join the journey in December, you can fill out this form. Listen to Witness Radio: A Podcast About Immigration on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.

Witness at the Border is part of the Welcome With Dignity coalition, as is UUSJ.

Defund Hate National Day of Advocacy
By Detention Watch Network

September 12

The primary event will be in-person in Washington, DC (registration closed), but there will be an opportunity for folks to engage virtually or lead their in-district meetings. More Details.

You can also sign the Petition: Tell Congress to #DefundHate! or call key Democratic Leadership (House Speaker Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Schumer, Committee Chairpersons Sen. Leahy, and Rep. DeLauro) to demand that they drastically cut funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in the 2023 budget.

Why? For years, immigrant communities and allies have all been calling for an organizational culture shift toward dignity and service at ICE and CBP. For years, Congress has allocated funds to support such activity. ICE and CBP have pledged to make good use of taxpayer allocations for years but failed to do so, frequently further militarizing the border. Now the community is asking Federal legislators to force the issue using the power of the purse.

For this advocacy day, communities and partners across the country will meet with their members of Congress and Congressional staff to demand they dramatically cut funding to ICE and CBP. As Congress moves toward finalizing a spending bill for the Fiscal Year 2023, we  must urge Congress to truly shift away from a punitive response to migration and humanitarian protection by prioritizing meaningful funding cuts in the following areas:

• ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations, particularly ICE detention, ICE "Alternative to Detention," deportation and surveillance programming
• U.S. Border Patrol Operations funding for agents and surveillance technologies.
• Invasive border surveillance technologies across CBP account and rescinding unspent funds for border wall construction.
• And resist all efforts to use the appropriations process to restrict people from seeking asylum, including any amendments to extend or codify Title 42

New DACA Rule Prompts Pleas For Action

Take the United We Dream Petition to President Biden (follow the link for text.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the agency that runs the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, released a final rule on DACA. See the DHS release. The good news, DACA renewals are still being accepted and processed. The bad news, this new rule does not help to strengthen DACA, says United We Dream, despite the Administration's promises to do so. 

The Administration had an opportunity to update DACA’s arbitrary 2007 cut-off date or process the over 80,000 applications that were frozen last year. Instead, it maintained outdated eligibility cutoff dates and left hundreds of thousands of young people without protection. President Biden should not hide behind the courts or Congress. He can protect DACA recipients by defending the DACA victory in court and pushing legislators to pass permanent protections.

See Biden issues a new rule to protect the program for young immigrants (Politico) for a robust description of what the new rule does. Or this fact sheet from the American Immigration Council which discusses the DACA initiative and other policies designed to protect Dreamers.

Immigration Narrative Changing

The narrative about Immigration has been changing rapidly in the U.S. There has been a decline in support for immigrants and an increase in misconceptions about immigrants and immigration, according to an NPR/Ipsos poll of 1,116 U.S. adults conducted in July. And this may be impacting politics. Or is it the other way around? "When NPR polled Americans on immigration in 2018, three out of four respondents agreed that ‘immigrants are an important part of our American identity.’ Today, that number has fallen sharply." (Find the link to the story here)   We ask, does the change in the general narrative contribute to trends among Latino voters? 

Additional Information:

• On immigration, most buying into idea of “invasion” at southern border (Ipsos Poll)
• Talk of 'invasion' moves from the fringe to the mainstream of GOP immigration message (NPR)
• Immigrants & Opportunity by the Opportunity Agenda’s Narrative Research Lab

Latino Voters And Immigration?

Latinos in the U.S. are not considered a classic voting block, yet, as a cohort of voters, they have behaved similarly since the election of John F. Kennedy in 1960, when the “block” first emerged, and showed an inclination towards Democrats.  During recent elections, immigration has played an important role as a basis for cohesion, but fractures and fissures are showing around immigration and policing–especially at the border. 

Analysts are not certain why. Some assert it is the jobs being created along the border as part of the security and enforcement complex. Or that it is part of the narrative shift on Immigration (see above). Others point to the effectiveness of GOP candidates in characterizing Democrats as weak on socialism, in both domestic tendencies and international diplomacy. Or that it's a reflection of higher confidence in Trump and the GOP on the economy--pandemic shutdowns, as a public health strategy, hit Latinos very hard.

President Biden has tried to provide more pathways to citizenship for Dreamers and others through legislative proposals. Yet, these have been buried.

Immigration advocates are urging him to lean in and show clear and committed leadership, as with the DACA petition above. This is especially the case after the bitter disappointment of the multiple decisions by the Senate Parliamentarian in 2021 and a lack of visible alternative progress during 2022. 

Will this failure to show progress further trends that indicate that the Latino voting cohort is increasing in play? As Latino voters show less cohesion, what might this mean? 

• Why Latino Voters’ Political Shifts Could Decide 2022’s Key Races (WSJ-video)
• In Texas’ most competitive congressional race, neither candidate is running toward the center (KRGV Rio Grande TX)
• Why The Democratic Party Could Lose Latino Votes (Axios) 
• Latino voters will play a pivotal role in 2022 U.S. Senate races (UCLA)

Environmental Justice Commentary

In case you missed New Board Meleah Houseknecht’s Commentary, Environmental Justice: Using Our UU Principles as a Theological Guide, see it here.

Webinar Panel, Virginia Showcase

How can we center the inherent worth and dignity of every person in this time of climate change and environmental disasters? How do we mobilize environmental voters?

Hosted by Act For Climate Justice Today!
Wednesday, September 7th
7:30 pm to 8:30 pm ET 

Join Zoom Meeting Directly

Listen for lessons applicable to your state or your Virginia-based effort. Hear how environmentalists across the state plan to reach the more than 545,000 low-likelihood environmental voters in Virginia to turn them into consistent voters in 2022. 

Every day there are stories of environmental disasters caused by climate change. It can feel overwhelming and more oppressive because we may feel helpless to change the course the world is heading. Learn how core UU principles can create opportunities for hope and inform climate action from Rachel Myslivy, Climate Justice Organizer with the UUA. Learn how you, working with the Environmental Voting Project (EVP), can turn the tide in Virginia.  Shannon Seigel, Organizing Director of EVP, will share how they have helped turn 106,111 nonvoters into consistent super-voters in Virginia.

Join The Resistance – Stop Senator Manchin's Dirty Side Deal

September 8
Register Here

On September 8, there will be meetings during the day with Members of Congress and the Biden administration. At 5:00pmET, there’s a public rally with frontline speakers, celebrities, and lawmakers (location TBC: current permit, Taft Memorial Carillon).

Appalachia is leading the way, calling from its hilltops and hollers to all allies and other sacrifice zones such as Alaska, Gulf Coast communities, the Midwest, and more, at risk due to this legislation. They are asking UUs to show solidarity and support by attending a mobilization in DC on September 8th for advocacy, witness, or both. Select meetings will be virtual.

If you can’t make it to DC, participate online by using the robust action toolkit.

The Appalachian Resistance refuses to be sacrificed for political extortion in a classic D.C. deal that turns a blind eye to the cost for real people. This deal would gut the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Clean Water Act (CWA), thereby sidelining science, undermining tribal sovereignty, and impeding frontline communities from having a say about projects. This proposal is unacceptable and would impact Americans well beyond the impact zone of the Mountain Valley Pipeline.

To learn more about the deal, see the We Act webinar recording.

A Classic, Old School, D.C. Insider Deal

As part of the deal to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, Senators Joe Manchin, D-WV, and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, are introducing a separate piece of legislation that would fast-track permit approvals for dangerous fossil fuel projects in September. Read the letter UUSJ joined. Instead of "Drill Baby Drill" it's now "Permit Baby Permit."

It appears that both Speaker Pelosi D-CA and President Biden were aware of the deal. All four parties seemed to have misjudged the ire this deal would stoke, on the heels of the IRA's passage, with its key deficits in the environmental justice space.

Use the People vs. Fossil Fuels action to write your members and tell them to Stop Manchin’s Dirty Deal.

October Mobilization Alert:

Faiths For Climate Justice, by Green Faith

From early October through November 6th, Green Faith will mobilize for a month of action leading into the 2027 UN Climate Change Conference. (COP27). As people of faith, Green Faith believes that the Earth and all people are sacred. They call for an immediate end to new fossil fuel projects, deforestation, and related financing, a massive commitment to green jobs to reduce climate pollution and end poverty for millions, and climate reparations from wealthy countries to equip vulnerable nations for a better future.

Be sure to read New Board Member Leon Winston’s Commentary: Is Homelessness As Intractable As It Would Seem In This Country? Here

A Push For H.R./S.40 Must Be Revived

Throughout 2021 and 2022, we have asked our members to urge federal legislators to pass H.R. 40, the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act. We joined many other faith traditions and secular groups, such as Human Rights Watch, to ask lawmakers to at least  "study and recommend," calling for deeper engagement on this complex matter; Unitarian Universalists passed Action of Immediate Witness (AIW), Anti-Racism and Reparations Via Restorative Justice during UUA’s 2022 General Assembly.

In support of the AIW, we have updated our action alert for Congress. Please take the action.

See a recent call to action from U.S. Senators to the Biden Administration to issue an executive order establishing a federal reparations commission, as well as joint calls from legacy organizations and racial justice advocates on May 4, June 16, and July 21. We expect the pressure to mount on President Biden if Congress fails to act.

Poor People’s Campaign Mobilizing For Elections

The Poor People’s Campaign: National Call For Moral Revival is solidifying the final details for a September-November organizing and mobilization effort related to the midterm elections. In preparation, the PPC’s third reconstruction agenda is being updated. The effort will include actions in both Washington and across the country.

Stay tuned to emails and the PPC website for details.