Disaster Funding Sign-On Letter: Take Action!

Despite extremely challenging political times, NLIHC’s Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition (DHRC) successfully passed their longest standing priority – the “Reforming Disaster Recovery Act” (RDRA), as part of the “21st Century ROAD to Housing Act” – last July!

The bill authorizes for three years the Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program, the federal government’s only program providing long-term disaster recovery and resilience resources, and establishes a standing Long-Term Disaster Recovery Fund. It also enacts many key changes that will ultimately create a long-term recovery and mitigation program that is faster, fairer, and forward-looking.

On the heels of this historic, bipartisan and bicameral legislation, Congress must now fund the program so that disaster survivors can access the resources they and their communities need to get home and whole!

DHRC staff have been told by nearly every Congressional office they’ve met with that increased multisector support would be extremely helpful to get the ball rolling on passing a disaster supplemental bill by the end of this year.

Join the letter by Nov 6th! For any questions, reach out to Meghan Mertyris, NLIHC Senior Housing Policy Analyst (mmertyris@nlihc.org).

Housing, Transportation, and School Segregation

The Johns Hopkins 21st Century Cities Initiative, a hub for interdisciplinary research on urban experiences in Baltimore and worldwide, released a new report analyzing racial segregation patterns within and between Baltimore City Public Schools (City Schools) and other schools in the Baltimore region. The report finds that school segregation Baltimore is due to regional housing segregation, and cross-sector strategies that foster racial and economic integration across jurisdictions are necessary to reduce racial segregation. The report’s authors identify housing and transportation policies required for meaningful outcomes.

2026 Youth and Pet Inclusive Housing Report

Companions and Animals for Reform and Equity (CARE) shared a new report, “Youth & Pet Inclusive Housing: A Practical Guide for Building Systems That Keep People and Pets Together,” which draws on the experiences of youth experiencing homelessness and service providers to explore how pet-related policies impact access to housing, healthcare, and supportive services.

The report finds that while pets provide a source of stability and emotional support for many youth, housing and shelter restrictions make it difficult or impossible for youth to access services while remaining with their pets. Housing and youth-serving organizations can improve engagement and reduce harm by adopting pet-inclusive policies.  The report provides practical recommendations to reduce barriers, improve service engagement, and build more inclusive care systems. CARE participates on the campaign’s Roundtable.

Are you a part of a national organization interested in cross-sector partnership? Join representatives from over 130 multi-sector organizations, including housing, education, healthcare, civil rights, anti-poverty, seniors, faith-based, anti-hunger, veterans, LGBTQIA+, and more on the campaign’s Roundtable. If you are interested in the Roundtable, please fill out our interest form and and feel free to share it with other national organizations that may want to get involved.