Tropes of the Unhoused

Referencing myths about homelessness is a reliable way to create an easily-understandable title for a piece of journalism, yet the word itself is a bit too glamorous for comfort. “Myth” is a rather positive word, one that elevates and ennobles, associated with grand...

Pets, Media, and Ethics

Consensus holds that between 5% and 10% of people experiencing homelessness have pets, most often dogs. The notable exception, Ace Backwords, lives in the Berkeley hills with a herd of cats that he feeds, photographs, and writes numerous blog entries about. Most...

State of the Year

Last month, at Austin’s 25th Homeless Memorial, participants read the names of 187 poverty-stricken people who died in Austin this year. Earlier this month, the Austin American-Statesman published a commentary by House the Homeless president Richard R. Troxell. He...

Remembering the Departed

Sunday, November 19, is the day of this year’s Homeless Memorial Service. If you are in or near Austin, Texas, please go to Auditorium Shores, at South First and Riverside Drive (on the south side of Lady Bird Lake). There is a story behind the annual event. In 1992,...

Flooding and Its Aftermath

Late in May 2015, frequent Huffington Post contributor Arlene Nisson Lassin wrote about the Memorial Day flood in her area of Houston that affected about 4,000 houses, one of which belonged to her family. A series of posts described 99 varieties of pain — from the...