The 1980s fundamentally reshaped the nation’s response to poverty and homelessness. Under the Reagan administration, federal support for housing and social programs was dramatically reduced while responsibility shifted toward private markets, local governments, nonprofits, and individuals.
The poorest people in our community are always forced to pay the price of federal retreat. In the 1990s—as in every other decade—welfare recipients, public housing residents, immigrants, disabled folks, and people experiencing homelessness were being pushed through the same broken systems, then blamed for the outcome. Understanding that connection is the only way to be inclusive of the whole community. We are being targeted together, and our organizing has to be powerful enough to fight back together!
