“Homeless, Not Helpless”: How Homeless Unions Transform the Local Political Life of the Unhoused

• In Event: Student Forum Open Topic Paper Session

Abstract

As homelessness continues to proliferate across the United States, grassroots membership-based organizations led by unhoused and formerly unhoused people, often referred to as homeless unions, have grown in number and influence as they seek to organize homeless people against the structural forces perpetuating their plight. Yet, the extreme marginalization of the unhoused has led scholars to largely dismiss homeless people as political actors and, consequently, overlook the role of homeless unions in building and channeling the power of the unhoused. This paper explores this incongruence in the literature by investigating how homeless unions build power. To study this phenomenon, I conducted in-depth interviews and participant observation with eleven homeless unions organizing locally across the country. I find that homeless unions build power by constructing critical opportunities for homeless people to meaningfully engage in local politics as active agents rather than passive victims. By strengthening their members’ leadership skills, consolidating their resistance through organization-building, and engaging in direct action within the public sphere, homeless unions overcome significant barriers to building power amongst a population thought to be unorganizable. These findings demonstrate the importance of community-led organizations as a vital source of power-building for populations excluded from the formal political arena.

Author

• Emory Paul, Johns Hopkins University