NPACH Announces Opening of Southern Regional Office
New Office Will Address Issues Unique to Area; Others to Follow
NEW
ORLEANS, January 7, 2004 - The National Policy and Advocacy
Council on Homelessness formally opened its Southern Regional
Office (NPACH-SRO) today. NPACH-SRO will work to coordinate
Southern regional efforts with national strategies to end
homelessness, including work on federal legislative
initiatives such as the Bringing America Home Act (BAHA) and
the National Housing Trust Fund. NPACH aims to challenge the
policies and perception that homelessness operates
independent of the larger issues of poverty and occurs in
geographic isolation from national policy.
"The
challenges faced by cities and towns such as Atlanta, Mobile,
Tampa, Baton Rouge, Chattanooga, Greenville or Meridian
operate within a wider regional and national context. What we
hope to accomplish through the Southern Regional Office is to
encourage people to view homelessness in their city or state
as part of the greater social, economic and national policy
fabric," said NPACH Executive Director Dr. Brad Paul.
"Too often public policies are developed in Washington,
DC without regard to local trends and systemic causes,”
said Dr. Paul.
NPACH’s
Southern Regional Office is located in the historic Hope
House in New Orleans, Louisiana. Hope House is a faith-based
organization, which works to alleviate the suffering of
people experiencing poverty by providing housing, food and
other services and by maintaining a visible presence in a
community where the need is great. "We're delighted to
welcome NPACH to New Orleans and look forward to working with
them as part of this regional project," offered Hope
House Director Don Everard.
The
National Policy and Advocacy Council on Homelessness is
dedicated to ending homelessness through grassroots advocacy
and inclusive partnerships. NPACH works to accomplish its
mission by educating the public and policymakers on the
causes and consequences of homelessness, creating and
advocating for appropriate federal policies in collaboration
with local communities, and connecting community-based
organizations, schools, and work places to national
anti-homelessness policy through advocacy and public
education initiatives.
For more information on NPACH-SRO, please call (504) 524-8751, or write us at 916 St. Andrews St, New Orleans, LA, 70116.