Mark Miller’s Post

In the aftermath of Friday's Supreme Court ruling on homelessness, where do we go from here? Despite the anger and frustration of it all, I'm energized by the following insights from Sara Rankin: "...there are other avenues that homeless rights advocates and human rights lawyers can still pursue. They can make arguments under other federal constitutional provisions. There are still due process arguments under the 14th amendment. You can still argue there is selective prosecution. There are arguments that could be made under the fourth amendment [which protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures]. There’s the Americans with Disabilities Act [ADA], and most chronically homeless people would likely qualify as someone with a disability who has protections from state-sanctioned abuse." https://lnkd.in/eQTEdMzc

Human Rights Watch unleashes scathing report on LA's homelessness crisis, exposing a system that perpetuates poverty, criminalizes unhoused individuals, and violates basic human rights. The report demands recognition of housing as a fundamental human right, an end to punitive measures like arrests and property confiscations, and a shift towards compassionate solutions that prioritize affordable housing, social services, and community-based care. Read full news at https://lnkd.in/dKANcDyc #LAHomeslessnessCrisis #HumanRightsAbuses #HousingIsAHumanRight #EndCriminalization #AffordableHousingNow #SocialServicesMatter #CommunityCare #HomelessnessSolutions #HumanRightsWatch

Reports are a summary: goal, process, results. Reading a well-written and informative housing report always takes me back to my why.

"Housing not Handcuffs" A Cruel and Unusual Decision (repost from Youth Collaboratory) This past Friday, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that people who are experiencing homelessness can be arrested for sleeping in public, even when communities have no shelter to offer. For the sole act of being homeless in public, people can now be legally fined and jailed, overruling the precedent that by doing so, it was cruel and unusual punishment. This ruling will lead to more incarceration and less safety for people experiencing homelessness. A Detrimental Impact on Young People Homelessness disproportionately impacts young people who are Black, Hispanic, American Indian, or Alaska Native; and those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBTQ2S+). Twenty-nine percent of youth experiencing homelessness have been in foster care, and young people experiencing homelessness are disproportionately likely to encounter police and the criminal justice system. Youth and young adults have limited access to safe, age-appropriate shelter. If young people cannot sleep outside when they need to, they will be forced to choose alternatives that could be more harmful and dangerous, just to avoid arrest. Let's Focus on Collaborative Efforts It is critically important that we stand together to publicly denounce this ruling and take action to protect our nation’s young people. All people deserve dignity, choice, and support. People experiencing homelessness need housing and services, not a criminal record. Young people need to know that their community will ensure their safety, not allow them to be placed in the criminal justice system—impacting their life goals of education, employment, family, and community—only because they had no safe shelter to stay. We need to stand against the incarceration of people of color, who are disproportionately impacted by homelessness. Regardless of the SCOTUS decision, communities do not have to create laws that criminalize people whose only crime is not having a safe place to sleep inside. Communities can do the right thing. What can you do? 1. Email/call your elected officials and demand funds for housing. 2. Join the "Housing not Handcuffs" Campaign https://lnkd.in/e3Mme7qM

Clayton County is facing a severe affordable housing crisis, with many low-income residents struggling to find safe, affordable homes. As our Executive Director, Michael Waller notes in Friday's article in the AJC, "the county became (home to) more and more low-income residents, but no resources followed." Georgia Appleseed is tackling this issue head-on through our Homelessness Intervention Program (HIP), providing crucial support and resources to those in need. Read more about the challenges and efforts to boost affordable housing. #AffordableHousing #ClaytonCounty #GeorgiaAppleseed #HousingJustice 

Early Christmas gift! Our co-authored article (with Alexandros Tsadiras), exploring the intricate relationship between discrimination and homelessness, has been published in the International Human Rights Law Review. It all started with the realisation, a few years back when I was still working at the GNCHR ΕΕΔΑ, that people experiencing homelessness cannot report discriminatory practices or incidents of racist violence, unless another recognised ground for discrimination, such as national or ethnic origin or gender identity, applies to them. Unfortunately, homelessness itself is not acknowledged by the legislator as such a ground. Consequently, without a statutory prohibition of discrimination based on homelessness, these individuals are left without any legal remedy, often feeling powerless and further marginalised. #humanrights #homelessness #antidiscrimination #streetlawyering #equality #humanrightsbasedapproach #indivisibilityofhumanrights

Despite the Nova Scotia Human Rights Act protecting family status, single moms like Mallory Gunn are facing discrimination in their quest for housing in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Imagine being told, "NO HOME FOR YOU, because you have kids." This isn't just unfair; it's illegal. Mallory is one of many battling a housing crisis that's turning single moms into undesirables in the rental market. With over 7,500 families on the waiting list for public housing and rental subsidies nearly out of reach, the struggle is real and it's hitting single moms hard. In Nova Scotia, landlords turning away single moms because they have children is not just a violation of rights, it's a moral failing. But Mallory's fight isn't just about her. It's about a bigger issue: A system that lets landlords and corporations discriminate, leaving families in despair. Mallory's desperation to find a home is pushing her to consider giving up custody of her children. Let that sink in. A mom, forced to choose between homelessness or being apart from her kids. It's a decision no parent should ever face. Let's start a conversation. Have you faced similar struggles? How can we as a community support single moms like Mallory and push for systemic change? 📢 It's time for ACTION! 📢 It's time our voices are heard LOUD and CLEAR. Source: CBC/Radio-Canada, https://bit.ly/3TBbCvo #SingleMom #SingleMoms #SingleMother #SingleMommy #SingleMomByChoice #SingleMomsRock #SingleMomLife #SingleMomStruggles #SingleMomSupport #SingleMomsOfInstagram #SingleMomStrength #HousingCrisis #SingleMomsFightBack #FairHousingForAll #NovaScotia #StandAgainstDiscrimination

Imagine the uproar and lawsuits this would generate if it were the belongings of the college students (and "professional agitators" among them) being thrown out, or the belongings of illegal migrants being housed at the public's expense in motels. Some forms of discrimination are right in front of our faces but we choose not to see them. It's easy to see discrimination if it's based on skin color, and too much is too quickly assumed to be discrimination if skin color appears to be involved. People recognize that those who are a different skin color are readily recognized and more likely to be discriminated against because they can't hide their skin color. That is the sad and unfair truth. But for some odd reason, recognition of that doesn't seem to apply to other groups of people suffering from severe discrimination and abuse who are also readily recognizable, such as the disabled, the homeless poor, autistic people, developmentally disabled people, mentally ill people, etc. How come we don't have lawyers raging in courtrooms in their defense and innumerable stories in the media about the abuses they are being subjected to just for being who they are? No doubt there are multiple causes for this insensitive lack of concern by the public, but here's one of the biggest ones: the lack of legal representation. Former president Ronald Reagan slashed the Legal Services Corporation's budget because he decided that the government should not provide funding for an agency that sued it. The Legal Services Corporation had to slash its services, and even though they got a small increase in funding during the Biden Administration, they are still able to do very little, if anything, to help the poor and the homeless, and cannot afford to bring much if anything in the way of discrimination claims. Every state also has an advocacy and protection agency, but they suffer from funding cuts and don't get much anyway. Their attorneys literally cannot afford to fight discrimination except in very few instances, and even then often only with the help of a well-funded private law firm. Discrimination cases are not cheap to bring into the federal courts without help from big powerful law firms or well-funded anti-discrimination organizations focused on racial discrimination. Apparently "civil rights" is something only those who can afford to pay for can get. #civilrights #homelessness #poverty #lawyers https://lnkd.in/gRDHJRqU

An interesting analysis to say the least. Thoughts: - More action and less talking? 💪 - Accountability for the 💰 spent on this and a true analysis of whether we get bang for buck? 📉 - Less politicking and more of actually helping people? #edmonton #municipal #mayor #homeless #encampment #streets #neighbourhood #communitysafety #politics

Today is the launch of Home Time, a national advocacy campaign—comprising over 75 organisations including AYAC—seeking urgent action to unlock Australia’s housing system for children and young people.   New data from homelessness services has shown that almost 40,000 children and young people aged between 15 and 24 years old are alone with nowhere to live each night.   Young people experiencing homelessness often lose their homes and family support early in life due to extreme life events and trauma, with First Nations, LGBTIQ+, culturally diverse, and disabled young people being disproportionately impacted.   Australia’s current housing system is structurally incapable of delivering enough safe homes and appropriate support for under 25 year-olds. The Home Time Action Plan seeks to unlock Australia’s housing system for young people through urgent action on three key policy reforms:   1. Develop and maintain a national pool of 15,000 dedicated youth tenancies for 16-24 year olds; 2. Provide linked support services so young people can pursue their goals and transition to independence; 3. Address the rental gap to ensure viability for housing providers and landlords offering tenancies to young people who have been homeless.   Implementing these recommendations would establish 15,000 dedicated tenancies for young people across the country, with linked support services and financial support for housing providers.   Ending youth homelessness demands a nation-wide, coordinated and youth-specific response. Find out how you can support the campaign by signing up at hometime.org.au    #FixHousingForYoungPeople #HomeTime #youthhomelessness #auspol