National Coalition for the Homeless

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The National Coalition for the Homeless is a non-profit organization providing direct assistance for homeless people with a variety of needs which include shelter, food, affordable housing and opportunities to work and earn a living wage. The Coalition also acts as an advocacy group on behalf of the homeless to protect their rights as citizens and human beings. The goal of the Coalition is to provide long-term, humane solutions to homelessness.

"NCH" was created in 1984; however, some local organizations of Coalition for the Homeless were started as early as 1979 and 1980. Many other cities in the United States have organizations which are members of the network, such as Chicago, San Francisco, New York, Seattle and Houston. There are also statewide coalitions, like those in Massachusetts and Colorado, and organizations focusing on the region. The local factions of Coalition for the Homeless often rely on volunteers to help with the programs assisting those who are homeless and at risk of being homeless.

The Coalition for the Homeless has a number of programs to assist in providing housing for people who are homeless. In New York, the Coalition's Rental Assistance Program (RAP) helps single adults and families who are homeless or at-risk of becoming homeless bridge the gap between their incomes and the cost of affordable apartments. RAP provides them with a rental stipend of at least $250 per month for up to two years. At the same time, case managers work with them towards self-sufficiency. The Scattered Site Housing Program (SSHP) provides homes for families and individuals who are homeless and diagnosed with AIDS. The Bridge Building Program allocates single and two bedroom apartments for formerly homeless women.

In addition to housing, the Coalition helps provide a variety of services to the homeless, near-homeless and formerly-homeless community such as job placement, medical assistance, food and clothing distribution, legal advice and aid, transportation, and self-help counseling. There are also local projects which seek to make the issue of homelessness more visible to the public, such as the One Night Count, conducted by the Coalition of the Homeless in the Seattle area. On January 26, 2006, volunteers in the One Night Count event found 1,946 unsheltered homeless between the hours of 2 am and 5 am.