Dear Friends:

This was a good year for the National Health Care for the Homeless Council. Our core programs of advocacy, research, and technical assistance and training prospered and grew. We found new partners and established new collaborations in every aspect of our work, and we strengthened the invisible but palpable bonds of friendship and shared commitment that make the Council a true home for many in the struggle against homelessness.

The National HCH Council's activity and success are evident throughout this newsletter and everywhere in our extensive website and social media. I'll not boast of any particular Council achievements in this letter, as that would mean neglecting many others. Hundreds of you take active part in the Council's work, providing trainings or technical assistance to your colleagues, interviewing other people experiencing homelessness, serving on committees, calling your Senators, gathering data in your clinics, and more. Your contributions are essential to the ultimate success of our mission. To all of you, I say, "Thank you."

Inclusion is important to us. Every reader of this letter is part of our constituency, and part of our task is making sure that your perspectives and needs define our organization's work. Our structure is inclusive by design, and we continually seek input to feed our consensus decision-making process. 

I hope that in the coming year you will continue or increase your involvement with the Council. 2013 will be a critical year of health reform implementation, and we will need your strength and wisdom. If you are not already an Individual Member of the Council, please join now. If you want to volunteer for a committee or a specific task, please contact a member of our superb, responsive staff. Also, please remember now at year's end that despite all its success the Council is still a small nonprofit that relies on individual charitable donations to accomplish key parts of its work - those parts that government cannot fund and foundations generally will not fund. Please donate as you are able.