One Roof, Many Stories: Recent Episodes
Bruin Shelter
"One Roof, Many Stories” highlights the intersectional struggles and issues surrounding housing insecurity. Houselessness is not experienced in the same way by everyone, and we hope to use this podcast to illustrate some of the many different experiences and stories of our unhoused and housing-insecure neighbors. We really hope you enjoy listening!
The views in this show are the personal opinions of the hosts and guests, and may not reflect the views of Bruin Shelter or its affiliated organizations or people.
In this episode, we delve into the escalating concern of "Housing Insecurity in India" with Dr. Padmini Ram and Dr. Kalpana Gopalan. Dr. Gopalan, an esteemed member of the Indian Administrative Service, contributes her expertise in land management. Dr. Ram, public policy analyst and director of Urban Ethnographer, contributes her understanding of institutional analysis and informal economy. Throughout the podcast, Dr. Ram and Dr. Gopalan systematically address pivotal aspects related to housing insecurity in India, shedding light on the challenges faced by affected residents.
Below are key points highlighted by the podcasts:
- The ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation states: India is currently short of 19 million houses and this number is estimated to grow to 38 million houses by 2030
- The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry estimate that by 2050, India’s cities will witness at net increase of 900 million people
- Informal settlements referred to as slums are often substandard, face overcrowded conditions, lack basic amenities, have rising housing costs, are unregulated in the rental market and don’t offer tenancy protection leading to inadequate housing structure for vulnerable populations
In this episode, we explore the concept of "Hidden Homelessness" with UCLA Professor Chris Herring, whose research focuses on poverty, homelessness, and housing in US cities. He explains what being "hidden" means, and why people choose not to seek assistance from institutions when facing housing insecurity.
In this episode, we will explore the intersections of LGBTQ+ identities, transitional age youth status, and houselessness. We hope to understand how government systems and local organizations interact with LGBTQ+ individuals experiencing homelessness, and how these interactions may aid in or hinder their journey toward housing security. We are joined by Dr. Bianca Wilson, a senior researcher at the Williams Institute, which is an interdisciplinary research center at the UCLA campus that focuses on LGBTQ+ research and public policy reform.
In today’s episode, we sit down with Nancy Loo, a resident of Singapore who has worked in various sectors ranging from retail and product management, to tourism, and national education. In our conversation, we take a step back to look at Singapore’s history, its response to housing and houselessness, and discuss the various infrastructure Singapore has in place to address these topics.
Poor menstrual health can lead to reproductive and urinary tract infections (UTIs), accelerated growth of harmful microorganisms which increases susceptibility of even more illnesses and infection, and an increased risk of cervical cancer due to Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). All the while, 1 in 4 teenagers in the US miss class because they can’t afford period products. In our latest episode, LA Chapter President of PERIOD, Chloe Towns, joins us on a conversation on period poverty and increasing access to menstrual products to our most vulnerable communities.
Content Warning: This episode acknowledges that not all people who menstruate are women and covers potentially triggering topics related to houselessnes and anti-LGBT discrimination.
Our latest episode focuses on the housing crisis in US tech hubs like San Francisco and Seattle. Emmanuel Muñoz from the Bill Wilson Center, a family and youth housing center in San Jose, and Savannah Ryder, a real estate project manager based in San Francisco, join us to discuss the relationship between the tech industry and increasingly unaffordable housing prices. We learn about the challenges with creating affordable housing and how our local communities can pressure public and private interests to prioritize people over profits and advocate for Housing First!
Content Warning: This episode discusses potentially triggering topics such as homelessness, racism, homophobia and anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination, and mental illness.
Happy New Year! To kick off 2021, we discuss the unique needs and challenges faced by women experiencing homelessness in this episode. With Anita Vukovic, the Advocacy and Communication Coordinator from the Downtown Women's Center (DWC), we learn about DWC's approach to addressing the systemic causes that may lead women to experience homelessness, how their services have transformed during COVID-19, and several ways we can support unhoused women to help alleviate some of the conditions they face.
Content Warning: This episode covers potentially triggering topics such as racism, sexism, domestic violence, gender violence, LGBTQ+ discrimination, transphobia, and mental illness. Please feel free to skip through overwhelming topics.
In this episode, we seek to understand the intersection of criminal justice and homelessness, whether it is how policy makers influence the policing of our unhoused community or the barriers to finding housing after release from incarceration. With Jodi Scofield, an organizer and research fellow with KTown for All, we learn how COVID-19 has compounded these effects and the current policies in Los Angeles that are especially harmful for unhoused individuals. We look at community alternatives to the police and how a framework of transformative justice is critical to safely addressing the needs of people experiencing houselessness. You can find out more about KTown for All's work at ktownforall.org or on Instagram at @ktownforall. We hope you learn as much as we did!
Content Warning: This episode covers potentially triggering topics such as police brutality, racism, sexism, ableism, mental illness, substance abuse, and trauma.
Bruin Shelter is a shelter for students in the LA area experiencing houselessness run by UCLA students. In this episode, we speak with one of Bruin Shelter's co-founders, Louis Tse, about what led him to start our shelter in 2016 and his experiences while doing so. As a graduate student at UCLA, Louis lived in his car for two years in order to save up the funds to start Bruin Shelter. In this episode, learn more about Louis's story, the prevalence of housing insecurity experienced by college students today, and why we need more student-led and institutional initiatives that tangibly address the needs of students!