Housing Justice Organizers Don’t Want to Return to 'Normal'

As they organize for immediate relief for those whose housing was affected by the pandemic, tenant leaders are also building power to demand long-term changes.

2 minute read

May 14, 2020, 9:00 AM PDT

By Shelterforce


Housing crisis

David Odisho / Shutterstock

The shelter-in-place mandates instituted across the country as result of COVID-19 have made it clear that everyone needs to have a safe home in order to mitigate this public health emergency and any future ones. In these times, it’s much easier to explain why housing is a human rights issue and a matter of public health and safety. Building on that change, housing justice activists have seized this political moment to not only advocate for local relief and urgent housing-related provisions in the next federal coronavirus package, but to advance their long-term goal of guaranteeing a home for everyone, nationwide.

“COVID-19 has served as an unfortunate wake-up call for a lot of people that we need structural change. People are seeing in real time that the sorts of things we as a society tolerated, like no water, homelessness, being unhoused, or precarious housing for people, was wrong,” says Tracey Ross, the director of federal policy and narrative change at PolicyLink. “The crisis is highlighting that too many of our systems are not compassionate to the realities of everyday people’s lives.”

“It’s a moment of incredible clarity to see that the systems that we relied on for decades to deliver housing are a complete failure,” says organizer Tara Raghuveer, the housing campaign director for People’s Action. “Housing has been treated as a commodity rather than a public good.”

Big upheavals like the pandemic create opportunity. But it’s opportunity that is usually taken advantage of by those with power, at the expense of already vulnerable populations, like people of color and those with low incomes, people who are more at risk for negative outcomes. For example ...

Tuesday, May 5, 2020 in Shelterforce Magazine

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Green vintage Chicago streetcar from the 1940s parked at the Illinois Railroad Museum in 1988.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails

Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

July 13, 2025 - WTTV

Blue and silver Amtrak train with vibrant green and yellow foliage in background.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail

The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

July 14, 2025 - Smart Cities Dive

Worker in yellow safety vest and hard hat looks up at servers in data center.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power

Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

July 18 - Inside Climate News

Former MARTA CEO Collie Greenwood standing in front of MARTA HQ with blurred MARTA sign visible in background.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns

MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

July 18 - WABE

Rendering of proposed protected bikeway in Santa Clara, California.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant

A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.

July 17 - San José Spotlight