As this country struggles with growing homelessness, it’s time to start standing up and speaking out.

Hi, my name is Lila and I have considered writing a blog for some time. A place to contemplate, talk, and ramble, but not necessarily in that order. I specifically wanted to start a blog that covers my stark realization about housing insecurity in America, and more specifically in my backyard of Philadelphia. I recently became more aware of the significance of housing insecurity and what that can mean for a person while volunteering at an inner city non-profit program that focuses on ending homelessness and empowering individuals to achieve self sufficiency by supporting them through a variety of programs that serve meals, pantry support and clothing. While working with the program, I have heard the stories of housing insecurity that many faced in their youth and continue to be challenged by.

A lot of us think the majority of homelessness is related to drugs and mental health illness, but that is not always the case. The New York Times opinion article recently inspired me and opened my eyes even wider to the systemic problem. It’s truly something that everyone should take 5 min to watch.

Criminalizing Homelessness Won’t Make It Go Away

By Mark Horvath, Adam Westbrook and Lindsay Crouse

16 April 2024

If you live in one of America’s cities, you probably see homeless people all the time. You might pass them on your way to work. Maybe you avoid eye contact. If they ask you for money, maybe you pretend you didn’t hear, and walk on by.

But what if you stopped and listened to what they have to say? Mark Horvath explained that, “last year, roughly 650,000 people in America were homeless on any given night”.

“I want you to see them how I see them.” New York Times Opinion video.

Horvath, the founder of Invisible People, a nonprofit organization to educate the public about homelessness through innovative storytelling, news, and advocacy. Horvath has a deeply personal connection to this cause after experiencing homelessness himself following a job loss and he has been interviewing people on the streets ever since.

As you’ll see in the Opinion video below, you might find their stories of landing on the streets strikingly relatable. Such accounts reveal a hard truth about our country: Amid an affordable housing crisis, where 70 percent of all extremely low-income families today pay more than half their income on rent, becoming homeless is easier than we’d like to think.

These stories are even more important today, as a record number of people experience homelessness and face increasing threats from the law.

Every homeless person’s path is complicated, and in this video, we haven’t remotely captured anyone’s whole story. Yes, some are addicts, some are mentally ill, some have made unwise choices, and some are simply unlucky. Some are many of those things. But all of them argue that in the hardest moment of their lives, they have been largely abandoned, and even punished, by the rest of us. So we hope you’ll do more than dismiss, or judge, the people in this video, and instead listen to them.

Affordability is an unshakeable problem that we have not come even remotely close to solving. My goal with this blog is to explore ideas and avenues to better understand and address affordability issues. Additionally, I hope to identify and share practical ways in which individuals can contribute to solving the issue, such as volunteering or supporting relevant organizations.

Until next time…

Lila K