The National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty
The National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, a 501(c)(3) organization based in Washington, D.C., serves as the legal arm of the national movement to end and prevent homelessness.Through impact litigation, policy advocacy, and public education, the Law Center works to meet the short-term needs of homeless people while addressing the root causes of their condition.
THE CASE
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Uncomfortable with visible homelessness in their communities and influenced by myths about homeless persons’ food access, cities across the country are using laws banning or restricting food-sharing by charitable groups to move homeless persons out of sight.In 2006, the city of Dallas enacted such a law, limiting distribution of food to a small number of locations, none of which were chosen based on their accessibility.
The National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty is challenging this law on behalf of Big Heart Ministries and Rip Parker Memorial Ministries, whose food-sharing efforts have been stymied by the city.The Law Center is asserting that the law:
1) violates Plaintiffs’ right to freely express their religious beliefs under the First Amendment and the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act;
2) violates Plaintiffs’ right to due process, guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment;
3) violates homeless persons’ liberty interests in the right to food, as guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment; and 4) violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
CASE UPDATES SINCE GRANT YEAR
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Big Heart Ministries Association Inc. v. City of Dallas
Reports the successful results of the litigation they brought under the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act against the City of Dallas with respect to its local law preventing religious organizations from providing food to homeless persons living outdoors. The ordinance placed burdensome and costly restrictions on food-sharing and severely limited volunteers’ ability to share food with the City’s homeless population, an integral part of their ministries.
GRANT AMOUNT
$10,000 (2012)
“Thanks to the Barbara McDowell Foundation we were able to protect the rights of individuals to share and receive food in accordance with their religious and moral convictions, setting forth a precedent that has helped prevent similar laws elsewhere,”
— Maria Foscarinis, Executive Director