Episode 5.1: Criminalizing Survival: Homelessness and the Law

This episode is the first of a two part series examining the complexity of addressing homelessness. In Los Angeles in particular, as the voters were passing measures for significantly increasing the amount of money available to address homelessness and help people find housing, the city continued to enforce ordinances that violated the civil rights of people who did not have a home. In this episode, we speak to former UCLA Professor Will Watts, who headed up our Veteran's Legal Clinic, to discuss how both actions existed side by side, the perspectives people bring to addressing homelessness, and how to understand the problem holistically. In August 2019, Will Watts left UCLA and now works at the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles. In the next episode we continue speaking with Professor Watts, as well as hear from Shayla Meyers, who was on the legal team seeking the protection of the civil rights of people who were unhoused.

Hosted by Zach Morris and Jeremy Weese
Produced by Chris McGill

Music provided by Soleternity.