This scene was created by affordablehousingaction.org and is licensed under CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication For better or worse, America’s legal protections for its citizens are currently trapped in an ‘originalist’ time warp. The results are based on the belief that when the American nation was born, its laws were codified by a group of people with a unique, essentially angelic, association with a Supreme Being. That Being’s otherworldly guidance made it possible for the original lawmakers to create a Constitution of The United States that was nothing less than perfect for all ti ..read more

photo by HM Treasury is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Canada's Finance Minister Freeland hobnobs with the financial heavyweights of the world at the G7. Enough for a self-satisfied country to believe that, when it comes to women's rights, it's status is 'teacher', not 'learner'? For many decades, women from developed countries have provided guidance and support to their counterparts in the developing world. Idealists, young and old, have travelled far and wide to act as guides and leaders providing guidance and training in fields such as management, education, health care and agriculture in ..read more

This scene was created by affordablehousingaction.org and is licensed under CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication A sunny day for old eyes to read city loitering tickets that they'll never have the money to pay. A U.S. report from National Public Radio explains that new local laws, which criminalize people who are unhoused, are supported by local law enforcement in Northern Nevada. The public perception, based on such stories, would seem to suggest that local law enforcement has evaluated the benefit of criminalizing the unhoused occupying public and found it not only legal but suitably ..read more

Bernie & AOC photo by Senate Democrats is licensed under CC BY 2.0 Deed Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders, speaking for the green new deal in 2018. In 2024, their green new deal is about public housing. Welcome to the Brave New World of a “Green New Deal’ for housing. Over the last thirty-odd years two major English language nations have demonstrated effective ways to slowly squeeze the life out of housing for those too poor to realize national dreams of ‘home ownership for all.’ In the United Kingdom, the Conservative government in 1980 passed legislation ..read more

Downtown Grants Pass, Oregon photo by Ken Lund is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 The United States Supreme Court will be starting a hearing this week to consider the rights of people who are homeless. The media is absolutely humming in anticipation. To mark this historic event, affordablehousingaction.org is offering five posts this week. Three are about the case itself and two are about the people who will be directly affected by the outcome. As early as 2013, the citizens of Grants Pass, Oregon were dreaming up ways to run the riff-raff out of town. Hats off to those brave, unknown pioneers a ..read more

This scene was created by affordablehousingaction.org and is licensed under CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication Bottom line: are women simply foolish and careless when it comes to money? Bankrate has published a longish article about the barriers that face women who want to buy a home in the United States. Until 1900, women were not considered to be persons and therefore not allowed to own property. Today’s world has changed, to the extent that a woman can own property on her own and borrow the money to purchase it. That said, women are generally treated as high risk borrowers, which ..read more

This scene was created by affordablehousingaction.org and is licensed under CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication Helen Castle1 kicks off an article in RIBAJ, the Royal Institute of British Architects’ Journal, with a question aimed at United Kingdom Architects: “Why such little interest in building for neurodiversity?” The article is timely: Neurodiversity Week in the UK ended just recently on March 24. Some may be unfamiliar with the term “neurodiversity.” However, they are quite probably familiar with some or all of its components, which in the United Kingdom include the autism spect ..read more

This scene was created by affordablehousingaction.org and is licensed under CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication The health link between housing and the early death of women is a concern worthy of effective communication worldwide. It is not enough, however, to wish its validity without care and attention to the truth of the assertion. An article with the follow title — Women Die Young In The Country Of Homelessness — appeared on November 19, 2017 in this blog. On what basis should it’s validity be accepted? There is a growing international concern that reports of heath data and health ..read more

These flowers memorialize the death of a homeless guy, beside St Lawrence Market photo by Old York Guy is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 Deed A memorial for a man who died while homeless. Reading the article attached to this post might put you in mind of banging your head against a brick wall. The article is about a project to calculate mortality rates among people who were homeless in the United States from 2011 to 2020. It is written by Matthew Fowle, who is based at the University of Pennsylvania and Giselle Routhier, who is at New York University. Both study population health. The research ..read more

Cranes Park Road Surgery photo by Christine Johnstone is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 Deed Just a street of houses? The sign on one says otherwise. It's a general practice surgery in Birmingham, England. People who are unhoused have difficulty accessing this basic level of care. Health researchers pay relentless attention to population health1. Population health studies reveal that people who are unhoused are more likely to be ill and to have shorter lifespans that people who have housing. Pathway is one organization that is working to change that. Pathway traces its roots to 2008, when physi ..read more