On April 16, 2015, the DePaul
Journal for Social Justice hosted a panel discussion about the rights of people
who are homeless. The panel brought together an activist lawyer, community
organizer, social justice professor and a national non-profit leader from
Chicago and Detroit. The diverse panel allowed for a robust discussion on the issues
that people who are homeless face, as well as how large non-profit
organizations and attorneys can make a difference in helping to de-criminalize
homelessness.
Clark Washington, a community
organizer with the Detroit Action Commonwealth, a longstanding grassroots
organization and newly registered non-profit, began the discussion by touching
on some of the biggest issues that homeless individuals face on a daily basis. He
focused on the issues surrounding a lack of access to identification and
government services, housing, and transportation. Following that discussion, Washington
shared some of the significant accomplishments of his organization, namely the
implementation of Street Outreach Court Detroit, as well as a successful effort
to force the City of Detroit to implement and manage warming shelters
throughout the city. Washington’s remarks were powerful, and his stories
motivating.
Charles Levesque, the Executive Director
of Depaul USA, a nationwide nonprofit committed to helping the homeless and
rooted in the Catholic tradition, discussed his organization’s role in helping
to implement better housing, healthcare, and access to employment for homeless
men in several cities across the country. He also described for the attendees
the interplay between homeless rights and the responsibilities that such
homeless individuals must uphold in order to be afforded such rights.
Dr. Greg Markus, Professor Emeritus of the University of
Michigan and founding organizer of the Detroit Action Commonwealth, began his
discussion by explaining the creation of the Detroit Action Commonwealth and sharing
the current initiatives of the organization. He also explained how without
sufficient government identification an individual cannot attain a job, bus pass,
education, or healthcare. Markus made an impassioned plea to the legal
community at the event to undertake and support initiatives to aid homeless
individuals. According to Markus,
lawyers are in a perfect position to help change social policy in favor of people
experiencing homelessness. His enthusiasm and honesty was both thought
provoking and moving.
Finally, the Laurene Heybach,
senior counsel at the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, discussed the recent
enactment of the Bill of Rights for the Homeless Act, and how her organization
was instrumental in advocating for the bill. She used her experiences to shed
light on how similar initiatives, in other mid-western cities where homelessness
has become a widespread cause of concern, could be implemented. Her clear care
for the homeless community radiated through her words and her gestures, and in
doing so she acted as a great role model for young and aspiring public interest
attorneys.
The panel discussion served as
opportunity for a critical conversation about the injustices in the ways that
our country has criminalized people who are homeless. It is up to those in positions of power to
actually make changes to our policies and policing, and to do so in a way that
helps the least advantaged in our communities.