Queer and trans elders find overwhelming barriers and discrimination in search of safe housing

Prism

Tuesday January 24, 2023 · 8:15 AM PST

2023/01/24 · 08:15

The U.S. is falling short of meeting housing needs, but for LGBTQIA+ elders, finding safe and affordable housing can be a matter of life and death.

by Mikhal Weiner

This article was originally published at Prism.

As the baby boom generation enters its golden years and average lifespans increase, the U.S. is becoming home to more older adults. In 2019, there were over 74.6 million Americans over the age of 60, according to recent data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHSS). The agency projects that there will be 80.8 million seniors in the U.S. by 2040, a demographic trend that has particular ramifications for aging transgender people, for whom access to safe and affirming housing is already a critical need.

According to SAGE, a national advocacy organization for LGBTQIA+ elders, there are an estimated 3 million LGBTQIA+ adults over the age of 50 in the U.S., and that number is expected to double by 2030. These adults face more discrimination and experience poorer health outcomes, such as chronic illness, hypertension, and depression, than any other sector of the overall aging population, and those with overlapping marginalizations face even more dire consequences.

Prism Guest Writer for Prism Reports

Prism

Monday January 23, 2023 · 8:15 AM PST

2023/01/23 · 08:15

A closer look shows the limitations of the adjusted rules, especially for low-income people of color .

by Natasha Ishak

This article was originally published at Prism.

In early January, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finalized its decision to alter restrictions on dispensing abortion pills. Most notably, it allows some retail pharmacies to dispense the medication directly to patients. Previously, medication abortion was only available at clinics, directly from doctors, or by mail.The move comes amid the Biden administration's efforts to strengthen abortion care protections after the Supreme Court’s ruling last year that overturned Roe v. Wade.

On its face, the FDA’s decision would potentially allow some pregnant people to access abortion medication through their local pharmacy. But a deeper look at the agency’s regulatory change reveals it would do little to broaden abortion access nationwide, particularly for low-income people of color.

Reproductive health, rights, and justice advocates expressed mixed feelings following the FDA’s announcement. Lupe M. Rodríguez, who serves as executive director at the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice, acknowledged more work needed to be done to expand abortion access nationwide. Still, she took the new rules as a win.

Prism Guest Writer for Prism Reports

Prism

Friday January 20, 2023 · 8:15 AM PST

2023/01/20 · 08:15

In 1974, Boston implemented a forced busing plan to address educational inequity. Nearly 50 years later, the issues remain.

by Kio Herrera

This article was originally published at Prism

Kim Janey credits the first school she ever attended with putting her on a path that would eventually lead to her becoming Boston’s mayor in 2021—the first Black woman to hold that office.

For kindergarten, Janey attended a community school established by Black community leaders, activists, and parents, including her own. Similar schools were commonplace throughout the city, Janey said, especially during the 1970s when parents were looking for alternatives to the underfunded and crumbling Boston Public Schools children of color were regularly assigned to.

“This community school was laser focused on educating Black children,” Janey said. The school “didn’t just pour into me the importance of reading, writing, and arithmetic. They made sure I understood who I was as a little Black girl. That [was] a different foundation for me as I went into Boston Public Schools.”

Prism Guest Writer for Prism Reports

Prism

Monday January 16, 2023 · 8:20 AM PST

2023/01/16 · 08:20

As climate change threatens the Everglades, artists and activists try to foster connections between the people and the environment.

by Ray Levy Uyeda

This article was originally published at Prism.

When Rev. Houston Cypress is out in the sawgrass of the Everglades, there’s a moment when the boundaries separating the sky from the water are erased; on a clear day, sunlight reflects blue sky in the shallow sheets of water. On an airboat ride (which uses an above-water propeller that makes it possible to navigate shallow waters and wetlands) with the Love the Everglades Movement, which Cypress co-founded in 2012, it can feel as if you’re gliding through the sky. Throughout the day, participants become absorbed into the ecosystem’s natural edges and realize that the borders between mangrove forest, prairie lands, shallow wetlands, and brackish waters blend into each other in sophisticated, unboastful ways. For Cypress, the Everglades is spiritual.

But for others, many of whom hold sway over public policy and private industries, the Everglades is a political project, a site of habitat restoration, a hurdle blocking development, or a resource to be extracted. These different perspectives have long been at odds, reflected in legislation authorizing the Everglades’ destruction in the mid-19th century and 170 years later in legislation proposing its restoration.

Prism Guest Writer for Prism Reports

Prism

Friday January 13, 2023 · 8:20 AM PST

2023/01/13 · 08:20

The Biden Administration is expanding the H-2B visa program despite how workers are essentially modern indentured servants.

by Maurizio Guerrero

This article was originally published at Prism.

The number of nonagricultural guest workers who come to the U.S. under the H-2B visa program is being expanded to unprecedented levels by the Biden administration even though the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL)—the federal agencies with authority to add more visas to the pool—are well aware these laborers “face structural disincentives to reporting or leaving abusive conditions, and often lack power to exercise their rights in the face of exploitative employment situations.”

From 2018 to 2020 853 H-2B workers were victims of labor trafficking, while wage fraud, illegal recruitment fees, wage theft, and illegal threats of retaliation have been constant features of the program, facilitated by the fact that it’s almost impossible for workers to quit their jobs since their visas are tied to a single employer. Former Rep. Charles Rangel, the former chairman of the influential Ways and Means Committee of the House of Representatives, called the program “the closest thing I’ve ever seen to slavery.”

Prism Guest Writer for Prism Reports

Prism

Sunday January 08, 2023 · 8:15 AM PST

2023/01/08 · 08:15

Formerly incarcerated residents in Alachua County, Florida, are navigating reentry and caregiving as a universal basic income program comes to a close.

by Makaelah Walters

This article was originally published at Prism

For more than a year, Murray Wilson has bathed, fed, and clothed his 75-year-old mother, whose chronic inflammatory condition confines her to a bed most days.

He became his mother’s caregiver upon his release from prison in July 2021. This newfound responsibility, coupled with his emancipation, made navigating reentry uniquely challenging until a pilot universal basic income program made caring for his loved one feasible.

“When I got out, I hadn’t seen my mom in so long, and I wanted to be a part of helping her out,” said Wilson. “But, knowing there’s a part of me that gotta get my life together and get myself back on track, it was hard to balance.”

Prism Guest Writer for Prism Reports

Prism

Saturday January 07, 2023 · 8:15 AM PST

2023/01/07 · 08:15

Manufactured and affordable homes are disproportionately susceptible to climate change, but housing cooperatives give autonomy and power back to residents and improve their quality of life.

by Ray Levy Uyeda

This article was originally published at Prism

Natividad Seefeld has tried to quit her role as co-op board president many times. As she heads into her 12th year in the volunteer position, the problem is that she’s too good at the job: managing the everyday and long-term infrastructure, community, and logistical needs of the Park Plaza Cooperative, a resident-owned manufactured housing community in Fridley, Minnesota, located 10 miles north of Minneapolis.

Since purchasing the park from its previous owners in 2011, residents have improved roads and sewer systems, added more streetlights, implemented water meters at each home, and built a new tornado shelter that doubles as a community center, among other improvements. Until that year, residents had been at the mercy of the park’s owner to respond to infrastructure and environmental problems. The tornado shelter wasn’t easily accessible by wheelchair, neighbors kept to themselves, and residents struggled to tackle the increasingly challenging impacts of climate change.

Prism Guest Writer for Prism Reports

Prism

Friday January 06, 2023 · 8:15 AM PST

2023/01/06 · 08:15

Advocates debate the best way to scale and implement reparations to recognize centuries of slavery, segregation, and redlining that continue to impact Black Americans today.

by Frances Nguyen

This article was originally published at Prism

This article was co-published by Prism and Next City as part of our Solutions for Economic Equity partnership, highlighting how low-income and marginalized BIPOC communities are cultivating, building, and seizing economic justice in cities across the U.S.

In January 1963, the city council in Berkeley, California, passed a pioneering anti-segregation law that included criminal penalties for housing discrimination. But residents so fiercely opposed it that it was repealed via referendum only a few months later. One referendum supporter reportedly called the law “a plot to Congo-lize our city,” according to Charles Wollenberg’s “Berkeley: A City in History.”

Prism Guest Writer for Prism Reports

Prism

Sunday January 01, 2023 · 8:15 AM PST

2023/01/01 · 08:15

Current and former video game workers detail a longstanding culture of sexual harassment, exploitation, and retaliation.

by Cassandra Roxburgh

This article was originally published at Prism.

Gaming is a multibillion-dollar industry, valued at $30.4 billion in the U.S. The global industry is expected to grow to $321 billion by 2026. However, the industry’s sheer size is built on the backs of exploited workers who suffer through unpaid overtime, long periods of intense work to meet unrealistic deadlines, and a culture of sexual harassment and discrimination.

Video game studios have sustained these poor working conditions by constructing a romantic, utopian dream of pursuing a passion for video games by making video games. Many gamers perceive video game development as an attractive vocation, but the promise of a fun, creative workplace hides the ugly truth of the exploitation of the workforce.

Prism Guest Writer for Prism Reports

Prism

Saturday December 31, 2022 · 8:15 AM PST

2022/12/31 · 08:15

Farmworkers in California are losing income due to drought and extreme weather but have little support from the state.

by Ray Levy Uyeda

This article was originally published at Prism.

Since the mid-20th century, the Central Valley, a 450-mile swath of farmland that stretches from Shasta County to the southern edge of the Tulare Basin, has fed the country. The region has changed significantly since the start of the state’s agricultural era in the 20th century, and now 400,000-800,000 farmworkers maintain and harvest produce, often by hand, and begin their days before the sun comes up.

The work requires skill and expediency, as farmworkers are paid by the unit harvested. But those who ready more than 250 crops on 35,000 farms to provide the country with 40% of its fruits, nuts, and other table foods face unrelenting challenges when accessing shelter, food, and other resources. And now in the face of cascading impacts of climate change, one of which is the worst drought the state has seen in 1,200 years, farmworkers are once again being left in the lurch.

Prism Guest Writer for Prism Reports

Prism

Thursday December 29, 2022 · 8:15 AM PST

2022/12/29 · 08:15

Youth advocates are suing the government for its support of polluting industries and suppression of climate change proof.

by Ray Levy Uyeda

This article was originally published at Prism.

Lola Maldonado grew up in the most populous metro area of Salt Lake City, Utah, nestled into the west side of the Wasatch Mountains. The range’s highest peak, Mount Nebo, stands nearly 12,000 feet tall. The steep mountains form a canyon below, where Maldonado said particulate matter and air pollutants form a blanket of haze. As the consequences of climate change have ballooned in past decades, air pollution is just one of the downstream effects that Maldonado, 19, and other young Utah residents will be navigating for years to come—unless the government discontinues its support of a fossil fuel-based state economy.

On March 15, 2022, Maldonado and six other young people sued the state of Utah for denying their state constitutional right to life by politically and economically supporting the fossil fuel industry despite knowing that burning fossil fuels would create environmental conditions that might impede the health and well-being of the state’s residents.

Prism Guest Writer for Prism Reports

Prism

Wednesday December 28, 2022 · 8:15 AM PST

2022/12/28 · 08:15

Activists worry legislation targeting climate and anti-racist protesters will have a “chilling” effect on people and organizations.

by Sravya Tadepalli

This article was originally published at Prism.

Following the wave of abolitionist-led racial justice uprisings and protests that began after the murder of George Floyd in 2020, several state legislatures have introduced laws to curtail civil demonstrations. From bills creating mandatory sanctions for damaging college campuses to ones that would create liability for organizations that provide materials or resources to people in a protest that gets out of hand, conservative legislators are trying to stifle the right to protest. These bills would have a disproportionate effect on BIPOC activists trying to bring attention to the issues faced by marginalized communities.

“These are bills passed after protests and in many cases with explicit language from lawmakers that protests are what they are targeting,” said Elly Page, senior legal adviser with the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL).

Newer
Older

RSS

Queer and trans elders find overwhelming barriers and discrimination in search of safe housing

Do the FDA’s new rules expand abortion pill access for pregnant people at the margins?

The lasting legacy of Boston’s busing crisis

Advocates say caring for the Everglades isn’t about restoration, it’s about respect

Nonagricultural guest workers see little justice and protection from predatory employers

Universal basic income eases caregiving after incarceration

Resident-owned communities intersect housing and climate justice

‘This is not charity’: A predominantly white congregation attempts reparations

Corporate culture is a barrier to labor organizing in the video game industry

Support for farmworkers is an essential part of climate change policy

Young people are using the courts to hold the government accountable for the climate crisis

Anti-protest laws stifle free expression and threaten democracy