Reframing our language is an important step to understanding the root cause of social issues in our world today. Homelessness doesn't always mean someone lacks a community, nor does having a home mean someone feels safe. The unhoused include people who have fled their own homes like refugees or people who cannot afford to keep a house. Housing status isn't the only way many would describe their identity, nor does it provide an accurate view of their well-being. It is more complicated, and we must avoid generalizing and oversimplifying. Instead, we must focus on housing stability and why so many Americans live on the edge, one medical bill, one utility bill, or one argument away from becoming unhoused. 

 

For this episode of Force Multiplier, Baratunde is joined in conversation by two guests, Darice Ingram and Matt Rosen. As a program assistant at California State University, East Bay Darice focuses on wellbeing both inside and outside the classroom. Through her work, she provides at-risk students with warm meals, temporary housing assistance, emergency funds, and more, supporting them on their path to graduation. Matt Rosen is the chief program officer for Habitat for Humanity, San Francisco. Matt underscores the importance of looking beyond housing as a commodity and focusing more on building and sustaining communities that our children will enjoy living in. And finally, we hear from Mike King, President, and CEO of Volunteers of America. Mike has seen firsthand the struggles of America's unhoused. Understanding that this life circumstance could happen to anyone and that we should treat everyone with a level of respect and dignity is where we must begin as we look to support those in our communities.

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