NATION: Housing as a Human Right

Tim Waag's Report on the National Law Center 
on Homelessness & Poverty Webinar

Upon Laurel’s suggestion, I “attended” this free webinar today 4/24/2014 on “Human Right to Housing Symposium”. The webinar lasted 1 hour and featured multiple speakers. You can read more at www.nlchp.org (National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty) where there are some great articles. 

The bottom line is that we have a long way to go in the United States before the concept of “Homelessness as a Human Right” actually gives us a tool for creating housing for the homeless. Below I will summarize the state of affairs regarding “housing as a human right”, as presented at this webinar. 

Note that I pulled out all the relevant “nuggets” of thought, independent of whether it directly addressed the main topic - Homelessness as a human rights issue. Note also that I have not verified any of the "facts" contained therein - please don't shoot the messenger!

Above (click to enlarge): Thistle at sunrise, north Johnson Canyon, Panamint Mountains, Death Valley National Park. Photo by Tim Waag ("posts are boring without photos!").

1. Criminalizing homelessness is a popular strategy among government entities for dispersing the homeless.

2. Studies have suggested that “ending homelessness” is a more cost effective strategy for a municipality than criminalizing it. Costs compounded by homelessness include health care, law enforcement, and mental health care.