We the Unhoused

This week, Theo is on the ground for a brutal Grant's Pass motivated sweep of a long term, vulnerable unhoused community in El Monte, CA this month. He speaks with people affected, and asks sheriffs and Army CORPS members on how one can justify sweeping and threatening to arrest allies assisting the unhoused in the middle of a triple-digit heat wave. How are sweeps changing now that the Supreme Court has empowered them? The reality is gruesome.

Then, Theo speaks with returning guest Kath Rogers, an attorney with the Southern California ACLU, who gives a detailed perspective on how the establishment is taking advantage of the Grant's Pass decision, how it differs from policies under the Martin v. Boise decision, and how the unhoused can defend themselves in the face of this horror.

Learn more about Kath's work here: 

https://www.aclusocal.org/en/biographies/kath-rogers

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It's a busy week on We the Unhoused -- Theo travels between California and Michigan to take a closer look at the intersecting struggles of the unhoused and the housing-insecure. 

First, we speak with journalist Phoenix Tso of LA Public Press and Alejandro Gutierrez of the Hillside Villa Tenant Association on the current struggle to keep longtime residents housed in the face of brutal landlord rent hikes and complicity within the city government. 

Then, we head to Michigan, where Theo speaks to Tyree Guyton of the Heidelberg Project in Detroit, where we discuss how art and political education intersect with the liberation of the unhoused people.

Over on Unhoused News, Theo continues to cover the developing horrors of the Grant's Pass Supreme Court decision, and discusses the current brutal heat wave across LA.

Follow the Hillside Villa Tenant Association here: https://www.instagram.com/hillsidevilla_

Follow Phoenix Tso here: 

https://www.instagram.com/phoenixtso

Follow the Heidelberg Project here:

 https://www.heidelberg.org/history 

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Theo concludes the We the Unhoused trip to the National Alliance to End Homelessness Conference in July, and reflects on the conference's urgency on the heels of the Grant's Pass Supreme Court decision. 

He speaks with three interviewees, who share how they've turned their lived experience with being unhoused into advocacy for others -- Curtis Howard, Rachel Parker, and Tawanna Simpson share the state of advocacy from across the country.

Plus: California governor Gavin Newsom and San Francisco mayor London Breed begin the slow process of using Grant's Pass to punish local unhoused residents and destroy encampments in our Unhoused News Segment.

Learn more about the NAEH conference here:

https://endhomelessness.org/events/conferences/2024-national-conference-on-ending-homelessness-and-capitol-hill-day/

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Theo's adventures in Washington continue this week, with two more interviews from the National Alliance to End Homelessness Conference in July. First, Albert Townsend, the Director of Lived Experience at the Alliance, shares his story; then, Theo attends the "Lessons Learned from the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program" talk and speaks with Tatiana Reis and Lenn Dittmeier.

Learn more about YHDP here: 

https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/yhdp/ 

Learn more about Albert here:

 https://endhomelessness.org/who-we-are/our-people/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today we're sharing our first episode from Theo's summer trip to Washington, D.C., for the National Alliance for Ending Homelessness Conference. Theo attends a thought provoking presentation featuring Melissa Chinchilla and Deyanira Nevárez Martínez: Latinx Houselessness, Understanding and Addressing Double Up Houselessness. 

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Description: Theo heads over to Painted Brain LA to meet with artist-in-residence Amanda Nicholson, whose work explores the diversity and uniqueness of the unhoused experience. Plus, Theo checks in for Unhoused News all the way from Washington DC, where he just finished covering the National Alliance to End Homelessness conference.

Follow Painted Brain LA: https://paintedbrain.org/

Help Keep a Queer Black Femme Moving! Fundraiser: https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/82Prif

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, Theo takes you inside the Care, Not Cages press conference from this past spring in LA, organized by the Reimagine LA coalition. How do we get our cities to invest in their people as promised? Gather, and demand it. Also: Theo gives his take on the horrifying Supreme Court decision that further criminalizes being unhoused in the U.S.

Follow Reimagine LA here: https://reimagine.la/

Follow Trans Latina Coalition here: https://www.translatinacoalition.org/

Follow Bamby Salcedo here: https://www.instagram.com/labamby/

Follow La Defensa here: https://ladefensa.org/who-we-are/

Follow Makeen Yasar: https://www.instagram.com/makeen_yasar/

Follow Baba Akili: https://www.instagram.com/akili4thepeople/

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Theo speaks with Ralph Silverman and Fred Waitzkin. Waitzkin is the author of the upcoming book "Anything is Good," an account of his friendship with Ralph ranging from their high school best friendship, through Ralph's experiences being unhoused in Florida, and Waitzkin's learning that his assumptions about the unhoused experience were far from the truth.

Pre-order the book here:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/anything-is-good-fred-waitzkin/1144380103

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This week, Theo explores how struggles of the unhoused are intersected with Palestinians fighting for freedom while being ethnically cleansed. He catches up with reclaimer and past guest Martha Escuerdo with @reclaiminghomes, then speaks with student organizers in protest encampments at USC, demanding divestment from Israel and acknowledging the displacement universities do locally. 

Also, a memorial for Jessica ‘Queen’ Mendez.

Follow Martha’s work at @reclaiminghomes.

Donate to Queen’s memorial fund here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/QueenEPLMemorialFund

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This week, Theo learns about the origins of a successful, ever growing mutual aid group — the Echo Park Trash Club, and what they offer to the unhoused community.

Follow EPTC here: https://linktr.ee/EchoParkTrashClub

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.