#92 Diane Yentel, NLIHC

Diane Yentel leads the National Low-Income Housing Coalition, the nation's most influential champion for ending housing poverty and homelessness in America. It is a respected presence on Capitol Hill and in state houses where legislators know that their reports and testimony are evidence-based and accurate. In recent years, NLIHC has stopped every effort rolled out by the Trump Administration and US Department of Housing and Urban Development's Secretary Carson to weaken housing policies and demonize low income renters. Given this context, Diane is alarmed but not entirely surprised by the president's appointment of Robert Marbut to head the US Interagency Council on Homelessness. It coincides with the administration's proposal to use empty barracks in Los Angeles to warehouse a growing homeless population, an opportunity to demean a democratic mayor and hurt people with no options other than to live on the streets. This new challenge does not overwhelm the National Low-Income Housing Coalition. They will mobilize, create new partnerships and stand up for the real solution to solving homelessness: access by low income people to safe and affordable homes. Diane tells the story here.