The Right to Life, Liberty, and Housing
The Declaration of Independence promised us the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But what happens when that pursuit is interrupted by the same government that promised it? How are you supposed to be fully in charge of your life? How are you supposed to have the liberty to pursue happiness when you don’t have housing! This question hangs over the heads of 170,000 people residing in this Country. Too many of them are young adults living in some form of permanent supportive housing. That’s not a statistic you skim past. For a better mental aid, that is equivalent to 91% of the population in Worcester, MA. That’s an entire city’s worth of people living with uncertainty, instability, and fear, and we’re expected to believe this is normal! Thank God we have programs like BAY-CASH that give our young adult population an expendable income to help them stay afloat while greedy millionaires and billionaires grab all the life rafts off this sinking ship they helped create.
Personally, I’m one of these young adults with my permanent supportive housing up in limbo at the moment. Imagine escaping the homelessness cycle (because that’s exactly what it is, an escape) only to find out a few years later that the federal government might revoke your housing. Not because you did something wrong, but simply because they have the power to. The current administration is no stranger to controversy, whether it be bad press from the Epstein files or ruining relationships with foreign countries, or unjust deportations without due process, or ICE killing U.S citizens, the list seems like it gets longer every day. You'd think with all this mayhem and turmoil going on that they'd be too busy to tell 170,000 AMERICAN CITIZENS to GO TO HELL, that they are losing THE MOST important factor to their long-term stability. What's there to gain from this unnecessary cruelty?
BAY-CASH is helping our young adults; why won't our government? Why won’t our government do the same? Since when did taking care of our own become controversial?
Wages have gone up roughly 11.9% over the last decade, while rent has increased by 81%. Everyone is trying their best just to keep the lights on, and every year it feels like it’s getting harder. Why is that?
It’s not because people are lazy. It’s because the system is exhausting, with so many programs expecting you to jump through a ring of fire just to get help. What programs do we have that help without punishing people for earning more money or trying to move forward in life? Almost none. That’s why BAY-CASH exists. Through their direct cash payments of $1,200 a month, BAY-CASH supports young adults to invest in our future before it's too late to have one. When I was homeless and had no money, a program like this would have changed everything. That’s why my cohorts and I helped make BAY-CASH happen. We dedicated time and energy to the cause and stayed true to the values of our youth by hiring a lived-experience board to consult with, step by step, to craft what we hope will be the most comfortable assistance our youth have had to date, with none of the bullshit. Here at BAY-CASH, we believe in lifting some of that weight, some of that financial burden off the shoulders of our youth.
Everyone deserves the right to housing. The human body should never be forced to endure harsh elements over something as trivial as a political grudge or budget cut philosophy. The human mind should never have to deal with harassment from the public or from law enforcement over trying to find a place to lay your head at night. The human soul should never have to live with the fear of being dragged back into the same conditions it barely survived. It's unnecessary cruelty to have stability ripped from them just as they had gotten comfortable. Imagine getting your bed taken from under you as you're sleeping, because that's literally what this is. Re-introducing our youth to the same conditions and traumas that already have a lifelong effect on them. We need to protect and help the people inside our country; we don't need to alienate them. Love thy neighbor should apply regardless of whatever book or religion you choose to follow.
I have no problem screaming "Eat the rich" because they take off our plate every damn time they get a chance. Just keep your promise: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
By Warren C.
