At Street Sense Media, we believe in the transformative power of storytelling. It’s one of our organization’s north stars, one of the foremost reasons we exist. And, we know that Street Sense Media vendors’ self-empowerment and the messages they spread through our media outlets are only one link in the chain of change. We strive to listen to people with lived experience and listen well, which means turning awareness into action and accounts of injustice into plans to rectify them.
We also know that systemic racism and white supremacy produce and maintain homelessness, so its solutions must also be systemic and focused on these root causes. After years of expanding our capacity and identifying gaps in our approach, Street Sense Media is ready to advocate for an end to homelessness alongside the vendors in more and different ways than we have before.
As such, we are excited to announce that we have joined The Way Home Campaign, a coalition of local organizations and community members working to end chronic homelessness in D.C. In its own words, the campaign is built around the principles that:
- All people deserve a safe and affordable place to call home;
- Housing allows people to live with dignity and thrive;
- D.C. has the resources and ability to end chronic homelessness; and
- Ending chronic homelessness is a vital step towards ending all homelessness in our community.
Street Sense Media’s newsroom operates independently of the organization’s advocacy efforts, and this partnership does not influence its reporting.
This initiative matters to us because our work has always revolved around ending homelessness in D.C., too. Though not all vendors are experiencing chronic homelessness — homelessness that lasts years or happens repeatedly and that occurs alongside a long-term medical condition — we recognize that this subset of people needs some of the most immediate and transformative relief and that any effort to end homelessness completely must start with them.
As evidence of the power of housing, just flip to the art section of the paper. On page 16, Daniel Ball and Carlton Johnson each describe living outside during the winter. For them, housing would ward off hypothermia. On page 13, Jeffrey Carter reflects on how homelessness is an obstacle in the way of his goals. For him, housing would unlock education. On page 11, Marcus Green celebrates his sixtieth birthday and looks ahead to the future. For him, housing — and the stability it provides — has allowed him to pursue a new passion: rescuing animals.
Street Sense Media vendors make it clear that housing is a human right, and we signed on to the Way Home Campaign because we believe that this work will ensure that. We make that statement with certainty because while this future is surely a far cry from our present, it isn’t a pipe dream either. The Way Home Campaign has identified how much it will cost to end chronic homelessness for those most at risk of dying without housing in D.C. For just $100 million ($96,126,983, to be exact), D.C. could provide permanent supportive housing to the 2,761 individuals and 432 families currently experiencing chronic homelessness. The campaign has also put price tags on the services necessary to prevent homelessness, like rent relief, and to support people who end up outside in the meantime, like street outreach. The total cost of The Way Home Campaign’s asks is not even one half of 1% of D.C.’s $16.9 billion budget. It’s not breaking news, but it bears repeating that ending chronic homelessness is a matter of political will.
Mayor Bowser releases her budget on May 27. The Way Home Campaign is asking the Street Sense Media community — employees and customers alike — to mount pressure on her and the D.C. Council between now and then, specifically by emailing them and submitting a quote in support of this work, as well as following the campaign for further updates. More information about these key steps can be found here. In roughly 10 minutes, you can support The Way Home Campaign’s work in these ways, and we hope you will. From us at Street Sense Media, we are excited to have you alongside us as we work to tell a new story about homelessness in D.C.
