Everyday Injustice Podcast Episode 287 –Maria Foscarinis on the Fight to End Homelessness

On this week’s episode of Everyday Injustice, host David Greenwald speaks with Maria Foscarinis, a former Wall Street lawyer who left corporate law in the 1980s to become one of the nation’s leading advocates for homeless rights. Foscarinis, who helped found the National Homelessness Law Center, joins the podcast to discuss her forthcoming book, Housing for All: The Fight to End Homelessness in America. The conversation tracks the roots of the modern homelessness crisis, beginning with the Reagan-era cuts to federal housing programs and continuing through today’s growing reliance on criminalization rather than care. Foscarinis emphasizes that the United States has faced multiple waves of homelessness—from the explosion in the 1980s to the fallout from the 2008 foreclosure crisis and now the worsening crisis driven by the commodification of housing. Despite increasing visibility and public discourse around homelessness, she argues that the fundamental issue—access to safe, affordable housing—remains unresolved. “Housing is a human right,” Foscarinis insists, referencing both international law and decades of advocacy. The U.S., she notes, has never fully embraced that principle, instead relying on market-driven solutions that leave millions behind. The episode explores the harmful myths that continue to shape public perception and policy, particularly the idea—originating with Reagan—that homelessness is a choice. Foscarinis addresses the link between homelessness and substance use, cautioning against narratives that blame the individual while ignoring structural failure. She discusses how criminalizing homelessness—through encampment sweeps, arrests, and anti-loitering laws—has become a bipartisan failure, citing the Supreme Court’s Grants Pass decision as a dangerous turning point that has sparked a surge in local anti-homeless ordinances. Finally, Foscarinis shares powerful stories from her book, including that of Danny, a Denver resident who lost limbs after being forced to live outside in the cold. She urges listeners to move beyond charity and become vocal advocates for systemic change: “Use your voice. Tell your representatives: housing is a human right.” As the episode makes clear, solving homelessness isn’t about removing people from view—it’s about creating a society where everyone has a safe place to live.