IT’S TIME TO OPEN OUR EYES, pull our fingers from our ears, and talk about a crisis in our community — family homelessness. Many don’t realize or can’t fathom the magnitude and gravity of the situation because mothers with their children aren’t seen panhandling, standing on the street corner, or slouched on the curb. Yet, […]
Deborah Hughes
Posted inOpinion
Reauthorize Violence Against Women Act
RIGHT NOW MANY hot button political matters are competing for our collective attention. Let’s move the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) to the top of the list because it saves lives. This federal legislation critical to women’s safety is threatened. VAWA institutes protections aiding millions who face domestic and dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. […]
Posted inOpinion
Domestic violence, homelessness linked
CONGRESS HAS ESTABLISHED October as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, marking a time to celebrate survivors, to grieve for those who have died, and to pay tribute to advocates who work tirelessly to end it. Domestic violence is a public health crisis that afflicts all communities – urban, suburban, and rural. One in four women will experience domestic […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Opinion
Let’s rehabilitate moms, not lock them up
TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO, I met Sylvia, a smart, talented mother with dreams – like most moms – for her family, despite experiencing homelessness. Formerly in prison for a non-violent drug offense and caught in the cross hairs of the growing mass incarceration movement, she held on to her aspirations despite numerous roadblocks, pursuing work, housing, […]
Posted inOpinion
The invisible homelessness
FAMILY HOMELESSNESS is sometimes called the invisible homelessness since these mothers and children are more likely to seek nightly shelter in public places – in a hospital emergency room, at a bus station, or huddled together in a car – not necessarily in plain view. As a result, people regularly fail to realize how widespread […]