Ending Homelessness: What is to Be Done

Vin Lyon-Callo

A Podcast Featuring Discussions with Academics, Activists, and Advocates. It is hard to imagine today but there was a time in the not too distant past without so many people living in camps, on the streets, or in shelters. How did today's conditions of homelessness being largely accepted as "just the way things" are come to be? Why is it that despite the well-meaning helping efforts and hundreds of millions of dollars spent over the last four decades homelessness remains widespread?  How has homelessness become as American as Apple Pie, Football, and Mass Shootings?   And, of course, it is not just the US as homelessness has become a normal part of the social landscape of nations across the globe. Can we imagine and enact different policies and practices that might prevent and end homelessness? Vin Lyon-Callo has been asking these questions in his research, teaching, and activism for the last four decades.  Through conversations and dialogue with activists, advocates, and academics, this podcast aims to explore how we got here and return our attention to the quest to end homelessness rather than simply manage people who are homeless or unhoused.

  1. 2d ago

    Why is criminalization of homelessness so common again?

    David Peery from the Florida Coalition to Advance Racial Equity again joins the discussions along with Rob Robinson and Vin Lyon-Callo. The focus is a consideration of why so many commmunities in 2025 and 2026 have chosen to implement costly measures to punish and criminalize public homelessness. Much of the focus of the conversation centers on Miami, Florida which just in July of 2026 passed criminalization policies. The conversation delves into the increasing punishment and criminalization of unhoused people, the need for housing rather than just more shelters, and the racial and profit-driven aspects of homelessness policies. It also explores the situation in Miami to provide low-barrier shelter options. The conversation concludes with a discussion on poverty, job creation, and the role of billionaires in addressing homelessness. The conversation delves into the interconnected themes of poverty, homelessness, systemic inequality, and the need for societal change. It highlights the impact of race, class, and the profit motive on policy decisions and public perceptions. The discussion emphasizes the importance of education, community support, and the need to challenge dominant narratives. Takeaways Criminalization of homelessness has racial and profit-driven implications.The provision of low-barrier shelter options can be a game-changer in addressing homelessness. Systemic inequality and poverty are at the forefront of issues related to homelessness and social justice.The interconnectedness of race, class, and the profit motive influences policy decisions and public perceptions.

  2. Jul 27

    Constructing Affordable Housing and Community Today: Challenges and Possibilities

    Nick Khomsopa from Hudson Housing Lifestyle in the Hudson River Valley in New York joins the podcast to discuss the possibilities and challenges of constructing housing that is actually affordable for working people in the communities. What is needed to produce housing for teachers, municipal workers, firefighters, and young adults so that they can live, play, and work in security? Building upon his decades of work in the construction industry, Nick Khomsopa and Vin Lyon-Callo discuss the need for stacking public support with a developer's desire to contribute housing affordable for those at 60-80% of AMI.

  3. Jul 20

    Boise, Idaho: Homelessness and Housing in a Boom Town

    Vanessa Fry from Boise State University joins the podcast this week to discuss the economic growth and population increase in Boise, Idaho, leading to housing affordability challenges and opportunities. Vin and Vanessa explore the impact of rising housing costs without similar increases in wages but also the possibilities fr stable housing's role in fostering democratic participation. Additionally, the discuss innovative housing solutions and possible approaches to addressing NIMBY concerns in housing projects. The conversation delves into the topics of eviction prevention, housing insecurities, and community-based housing solutions. It explores the efforts and strategies employed to address homelessness and prevent evictions, highlighting the importance of community-based support and housing first models. The discussion emphasizes the need for innovative and intentional approaches to housing challenges, with a focus on creating supportive and secure housing options for vulnerable populations and for fostering community and social connections so we can live well together. Takeaways Boise's rapid population growth and economic success have led to increased housing costs and unaffordability.Stable housing is integral to a decent democratic society, fostering civic participation and social connections.Eviction prevention and preventing homelessness is both good policy and fiscally responsibleCommunity-based housing solutions and community connections are key.

  4. Jul 13

    Wages, Work, and Housing Insecurity: Discussion with Rob Robinson

    The conversation explores the impact of rising housing costs, the challenges of work, wages, and income, the decline of manufacturing jobs, the role of union jobs in achieving self-sufficiency, and the narrative of laziness among homeless individuals. It also explores the struggles of working individuals, the illusion of homeownership and wealth, the working homeless, and the lack of quality data for those living doubled up or in their autos or in motels. We discuss the low pay in 10 of the 12 most popular jobs in the US in 2026 and how every state has a shortage of affordable housing. Moving beyond a focus just on people who are homeless to begin to think and act as though the vast majority of us in the US are workers who are economically vulnerable and insecure. The discussion also emphasizes the importance of moving beyond individualized thinking and action towards thinking of we and how we collectively can live well together as well as the ideological and cultural challenges to doing so.

  5. Jun 29

    Volunteers, Charity, Race, Class, and Homelessness in St. Louis:

    How is it that despite years of well-meaning and thoughtful efforts by volunteers working on homelessness, housing insecurity and homelessness seems to not be improving much in many communities. Matthew Schneider joins the podcast to discuss this and much more in a conversation centered around his 2026 book "Serving the Street: Volunteering as Charity, Racial Justice, and Poverty Tourism". Set in St. Louis, Missouri and based upon ethnographic research with teams of volunteers, the book helps us to both appreciate and critically appraise these efforts. The point is made in the discussion that to understand social conditions such as housing insecurity, poverty, and homelessness in St. Louis (as with many other communities) it is essential to consider the impacts of race and racism as well as the impacts of decades of neoliberal restructurings and the loss of economically stable employment in the metro region.

  6. Jun 15

    Pets, Housing, and Homelessness

    The conversation explores the vital role of pets for unhoused individuals and the challenges they face in accessing shelter due to pet ownership. Nicholas Weinmeisterter from the University of Southern California Homelessness Policy Research Institute and Christine Kim from the My Dog is My Home federal nonprofit join the podast for a discussion on the impact of pets on the lives of homeless individuals and the barriers they encounter when seeking shelter with their pets. The conversation explores the vital role of the human-animal bond and the importance of pet-inclusive services and housing options for people who are housing insecure. We should not have to choose between our family members and having safety and security and housing. The conversation discusses the successes of the California Pet Assistance and Support Program as well as challenges and solutions for pet-inclusive shelters, the support and resources available for pet owners, and the efforts to expand pet assistance programs to other communities.

  7. Jun 8

    Right to Shelter or Right to Housing: Discussion with Rob Robinson

    Our discussion analyzes New York City's "right to shelter" and argues for a need to move to a "right to housing" instead. Impacts from the right to shelter such as a massive sheltering industry with large numbers of people living in shelters and doubled up in the city with years long waits to move into housing are explored. Housing vouchers, affordability crises, the impact of wages and housing costs, the history of public housing, and more are explored. Thinking and acting creatively with wages, incomes, and crafting affordable housing is emphasized along with the understand that private industry is not going to solve the affordability concerns or the inability of incomes to keep up with cost of housing in New York City and throughout the United States. We need to think and act differently and consider our relationship with land and private property (a topic discussed in a previous episode of the podcast with Stephen Przbylinksi from Michigan State University and a topic that Rob and Vin will be discussing in more depth in an upcoming discussion).

  8. Jun 1

    Racism, Class Inequities, and Housing Insecurities: Discussion with David Peery

    The conversation with David Peery from the Florida Coalition to Advance Racial Equity explores systemic inequities and homelessness. The fight for racial equality, the impact of the Pottinger v. City of Miami case, the intersection of racism, poverty, and homelessness, historical context of racial inequities, the impact of structural racism on homelessness, the role of racism in driving homelessness, and intentional policy choices as well as the connections between housing insecurities and neoliberal capitalism are covered. The conversation further explores the systemic issues of public housing, trauma, economic inequality, low wages, empathy for homeless children, the rise in homelessness among older adults, the housing affordability crisis, challenges in accessing social security benefits, the criminalization of homelessness, political targeting, rehumanizing the poor, and the distinction between shelter and housing. Takeaways Racism is a major driver of homelessness and systemic inequities.Intentional policy choices and capitalism contribute to the perpetuation of homelessness and housing insecurities

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A Podcast Featuring Discussions with Academics, Activists, and Advocates. It is hard to imagine today but there was a time in the not too distant past without so many people living in camps, on the streets, or in shelters. How did today's conditions of homelessness being largely accepted as "just the way things" are come to be? Why is it that despite the well-meaning helping efforts and hundreds of millions of dollars spent over the last four decades homelessness remains widespread?  How has homelessness become as American as Apple Pie, Football, and Mass Shootings?   And, of course, it is not just the US as homelessness has become a normal part of the social landscape of nations across the globe. Can we imagine and enact different policies and practices that might prevent and end homelessness? Vin Lyon-Callo has been asking these questions in his research, teaching, and activism for the last four decades.  Through conversations and dialogue with activists, advocates, and academics, this podcast aims to explore how we got here and return our attention to the quest to end homelessness rather than simply manage people who are homeless or unhoused.

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