United States of America

Anti-eviction group creates crowdsourcing map for stories of displacement

Published in Wednesday May 28th, 2014 In In the media

Bay Area residents who are experiencing eviction or another form of displacement due to gentrification are encouraged to contribute their stories to a crowdsourcing map, the latest effort by the Anti-Eviction Mapping Project.

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More foreclosures, more middle-aged suicides, study finds

Published in Wednesday May 28th, 2014 In In the media

The sweeping, nationwide foreclosure crisis was a hallmark of the recession, and as the worst of the crash recedes, researchers are learning more about the economic and social ramifications of losing a home. Research has already established connections between foreclosures and a host of physical and psychological problems, as well as the relationship between unemployment and the suicide rate. A new study combines the two approaches for the first time.

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Roots and Branches

Published in Tuesday May 6th, 2014

ROOTS & BRANCHES is a digital archive of historical materials tracing the origins and evolution of the community land trust (CLT), as both a model and a movement. Find out more.

After foreclosure crisis, renters suffer under Wall Street landlords

Published in Tuesday April 22nd, 2014 In In the media

Six years after the foreclosure crisis helped tank the world’s economy, investors are snatching up “distressed” properties — those that are in foreclosure or facing foreclosure — and seeking to turn a profit on them. Advocates for affordable housing worry that this profit comes at the expense of tenants.

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New York abandons plan to clear subways of sleeping homeless people

Published in Monday February 24th, 2014 In In the media

Amid sharp criticism, officials clarified that the plan was for an “outreach program” to help homeless people during cold weather. They stressed that no one could be forced to leave the subway system unless they were hurting someone or committing a crime.

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Council approves bill to aid homeless youth in Washington

Published in Thursday February 13th, 2014 In Legislation

The homeless youth measure, among other things, allocates city funds for expanding existing homeless facilities, including shelters, to include additional beds for “youth who identify themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning.” It also requires service providers to put in place “best practices for the culturally competent care of homeless youth” who identify as LGBT or questioning.

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Rights for People Experiencing Homelessness

Published in Wednesday January 22nd, 2014 In Opinion

While people experiencing homelessness are afforded the same rights as other citizens of the United States, including the right to family, the right to be protected from domestic and sexual violence, the right to an education, the right to be free from hunger, the right to vote, and the right to receive mail, they still can have their rights violated as a result of their housing situation.

Homelessness – Torture on the Streets of America

Published in Friday January 17th, 2014 In Opinion

If I told you someone was forced to sleep on a cold, concrete slab; kicked and humiliated; exposed to the elements; threatened by law enforcement; attacked by dogs; didn’t know when they would get their next meal; and generally were deprived of their basic human dignity, would you be able to say whether I was talking about an abused prisoner, or a person living on the streets of America?

I Believe in Human Rights: Homelessness is Criminal—People Experiencing Homelessness Are Not

Published in Friday January 17th, 2014 In Opinion

Human rights law is especially powerful, because it starts from the premise that all human beings have basic rights. It recognizes that everyone has a right to the basics of human life: adequate housing, food, health care, work. It recognizes that everyone has the right to basic human dignity. Homelessness itself violates these fundamental rights—criminalizing it is even worse.

I Believe in Human Rights: The Right to Counsel for People Experiencing Homelessness

Published in Wednesday January 15th, 2014 In Opinion

2013 marked the 50th anniversary of the landmark right to counsel case, Gideon v. Wainwright, which held that defendants facing serious criminal charges have a constitutional right to counsel at state expense if they cannot afford one. Since that decision, the Supreme Court extended the right to juveniles and expanded it to incorporate misdemeanor offenses that are punishable by incarceration. But the promise of Gideon remains unfulfilled.