A Strange Paradox

Advocating for people experiencing homelessness can take many forms. On the day-to-day plane of existence, there are meals to be prepared and served, medical needs to be met, paperwork to be sorted out, and so forth. Also, there is the big picture — the gigantic...

Austin Copes With Displaced People

Last week, House the Homeless (HtH) brought up a vexed question: When the nation’s infrastructure is renovated, what will happen to the estimated 100,000 Americans who live beneath bridges and overpasses? The topic is of major importance right now in Austin, where...

The Unauthorized Dwellers

Especially in the wake of recent climate disasters, the nation’s highways, bridges, and overpasses are in sorry shape. It follows that the renovation of the antiquated infrastructure must be a good thing, right? Of course it is — for all but about 100,000 Americans....

Anything for a Roof in America

House the Homeless looked at the worldwide dilemma of people who commit crimes for the specific purpose of being locked up. Jail or prison may be just as dangerous as the streets, but at least there are laws requiring that inmates be fed. Then, we zeroed in on the...

Prison As Shelter in the U.S.A.

In Wisconsin Death Trip, Michael Lesy retrieves true news about America in the late 1800s. Even then, an arsonist who didn’t get caught might have to turn himself in, because the whole point of the crime was to get in out of the weather and be fed. House the Homeless...