Activists do a great job advocating for change. We should also pause to celebrate when change happens. Here's a great example of a victory on the fronts of homelessness and domestic violence.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently announced its plans for stronger affordable housing regulations that will better protect survivors of domestic violence and abuse. The requirements fall under the Violence Against Women Act (VAMA). This vital piece of legislation provides legal protections for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking. Up until now, there wasn't consistent enforcement of VAMA by landlords and other housing authorities and often families would be forced into homelessness as an only means to escape abuse.
Advocates have been working to educate housing authorities and make them more aware and sensitive to the nature of domestic abuse to protect victims. New rules now regulate owners to exhaust all protective measures prior to starting eviction proceedings. Now owners and housing authorities are held more accountable to take actions that will reduce or eliminate the threat to the victim and family before resorting to actions that could lead to eviction and homelessness.
Another important note in the new rule is the fact that it "broadens the definitions of 'actual and imminent threat', to help housing or subsidy providers understand that to use 'imminent threat' of harm to other residents as a reason for eviction of the victim, the evidence must be real and objective — not hypothetical, presumed or speculative."
http://homelessness.change.org/blog/view/victory_hud_prevents_domestic_violence_survivors_from_becoming_homeless:thumbsup:
And remember, it's National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week!
http://www.nationalhomeless.org/projects/awareness/index.html
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