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And Housing for All: The Fight to End Homelessness In America
A groundbreaking legal advocate argues that only by recognizing housing as a fundamental human right can we hope to solve America’s homelessness crisis.
In And Housing for All, founder of the National Homelessness Law Center Maria Foscarinis reveals the human impact of the housing crisis by sharing personal stories and examining the flawed policies that have perpetuated it. As millions face rising housing costs and encampments spread nationwide, she uncovers why past efforts have failed and what must change to achieve lasting solutions.
Drawing from over 35 years of national advocacy, Foscarinis shares compelling stories of individuals and families impacted by homelessness, highlighting their resilience and growing leadership. Blending personal narratives with policy analysis, she reveals how deliberate decisions have fueled the crisis and how public narratives have sustained it.
And Housing for All is essential reading for social justice advocates, policymakers, lawyers, and anyone invested in solving one of America’s most pressing challenges.
In And Housing for All, founder of the National Homelessness Law Center Maria Foscarinis reveals the human impact of the housing crisis by sharing personal stories and examining the flawed policies that have perpetuated it. As millions face rising housing costs and encampments spread nationwide, she uncovers why past efforts have failed and what must change to achieve lasting solutions.
Drawing from over 35 years of national advocacy, Foscarinis shares compelling stories of individuals and families impacted by homelessness, highlighting their resilience and growing leadership. Blending personal narratives with policy analysis, she reveals how deliberate decisions have fueled the crisis and how public narratives have sustained it.
And Housing for All is essential reading for social justice advocates, policymakers, lawyers, and anyone invested in solving one of America’s most pressing challenges.
534 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 3, 2025
15 people are currently reading
286 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 20, 2025
“We need liberty and justice —and housing for all. This book is more than my account of the evolution of homelessness in America. It’s a call to action for the human right to housing” (p xviii).
“Poverty, as extreme as homelessness, does not have to exist in a country as rich as the United States. It is a problem that can be solved. What I didn’t realize at the time was how powerful and deeply embedded the causes behind it truly were. The drive to commodify housing, the policies enabling it and the simplistic myth of individualism that undermines the very idea of the Commonweal have been formidable since the early 1980s and they’ve only gotten stronger” (p vxiii).
“In the human rights framework, housing is not primarily a commodity from which a few can profit regardless of the impact of the larger community. Housing is instead viewed and prioritized as serving a universal human need. Human rights concepts are based on a worldview that centers human dignity, treating all people as worthy, and makes a commitment to meet their needs” (p 175).
“As of 2024 only one and four of those poor enough to be eligible for a voucher received one. The rest are directed to waiting list that are often so long it takes years for the applicants name to come up, if ever” (p 217).
Loooove seeing a KC Tenants shoutout in books about housing. So proud of my city for having this vital resource for tenants. (p 223-225)
“Poverty, as extreme as homelessness, does not have to exist in a country as rich as the United States. It is a problem that can be solved. What I didn’t realize at the time was how powerful and deeply embedded the causes behind it truly were. The drive to commodify housing, the policies enabling it and the simplistic myth of individualism that undermines the very idea of the Commonweal have been formidable since the early 1980s and they’ve only gotten stronger” (p vxiii).
“In the human rights framework, housing is not primarily a commodity from which a few can profit regardless of the impact of the larger community. Housing is instead viewed and prioritized as serving a universal human need. Human rights concepts are based on a worldview that centers human dignity, treating all people as worthy, and makes a commitment to meet their needs” (p 175).
“As of 2024 only one and four of those poor enough to be eligible for a voucher received one. The rest are directed to waiting list that are often so long it takes years for the applicants name to come up, if ever” (p 217).
Loooove seeing a KC Tenants shoutout in books about housing. So proud of my city for having this vital resource for tenants. (p 223-225)
November 8, 2025
a solid policy/legislative background on housing/homelessness in the US. lots of details in here, but broadly -
- Reagan sucked
- criminalizing homelessness does not solve homelessness
- activists are trying to shift towards housing as a human right on the whole, but lots of pushback throughout the years
- Housing First!!!
- Reagan sucked
- criminalizing homelessness does not solve homelessness
- activists are trying to shift towards housing as a human right on the whole, but lots of pushback throughout the years
- Housing First!!!
May 20, 2025
Reviewed for Library Journal, full review appears there.
June 9, 2025
Thanks to NetGalley and Prometheus Publishing for the digital copy of this book; I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I can pretty much sum up the book by saying Ronald Reagan was bad, and the rest of the presidents and Congress haven’t been much better when coming to the issue of homelessness. (For example, remember Bill Clinton vowing to “end welfare as we know it.”)
You see, homelessness wasn’t a huge problem leading into the 1980s. Then, Ronald Reagan came into office in 1981 and started slashing funding for all sorts of social programs (sound familiar? This is the Republican playbook.) They don’t see housing as a human right.
Combining personal stories of the unhoused, as well as a deep dive into the policies and roll backs from various administrations, Foscarinis shows just how messed up the system is in the United States. Attempts have been made in Congress, like the McKinney-Vento Act and the Homeless Persons Survival Act, but lack of funds, as well as properties and the actual staffing to administrate these policies has been ridiculously underserved.
To quote National Public Radio’s recent review, “That isn’t the only myth she dismantles. One of the book’s strengths is its sustained attack on “the false narrative that homelessness is driven by personal, not systemic, failures.”… homelessness is a policy failure, not a personal one.” You can read NPR’s full review here.
Foscarinis, who has been working on the issue of homelessness for almost 40 years, winds up her book with plausible, actual, real-life, possible solutions and what needs to be done. With affordable housing disappearing across the country, we the people must put pressure on our local, state, and federal representatives.
As with issues like Social Security benefits (which also applies to the homeless,) I’ve been listening to lawmakers’ empty promises for the past 40 years when it comes to the unhoused. And Housing for All should be delivered to all members of Congress and every state legislature.
I can pretty much sum up the book by saying Ronald Reagan was bad, and the rest of the presidents and Congress haven’t been much better when coming to the issue of homelessness. (For example, remember Bill Clinton vowing to “end welfare as we know it.”)
You see, homelessness wasn’t a huge problem leading into the 1980s. Then, Ronald Reagan came into office in 1981 and started slashing funding for all sorts of social programs (sound familiar? This is the Republican playbook.) They don’t see housing as a human right.
Combining personal stories of the unhoused, as well as a deep dive into the policies and roll backs from various administrations, Foscarinis shows just how messed up the system is in the United States. Attempts have been made in Congress, like the McKinney-Vento Act and the Homeless Persons Survival Act, but lack of funds, as well as properties and the actual staffing to administrate these policies has been ridiculously underserved.
To quote National Public Radio’s recent review, “That isn’t the only myth she dismantles. One of the book’s strengths is its sustained attack on “the false narrative that homelessness is driven by personal, not systemic, failures.”… homelessness is a policy failure, not a personal one.” You can read NPR’s full review here.
Foscarinis, who has been working on the issue of homelessness for almost 40 years, winds up her book with plausible, actual, real-life, possible solutions and what needs to be done. With affordable housing disappearing across the country, we the people must put pressure on our local, state, and federal representatives.
As with issues like Social Security benefits (which also applies to the homeless,) I’ve been listening to lawmakers’ empty promises for the past 40 years when it comes to the unhoused. And Housing for All should be delivered to all members of Congress and every state legislature.
September 19, 2025
a great resource if you don't know anything about homelessness, and if you do know about homelessness, a totally nice career memoir about the limits of the legal system to fix complex socioeconomic problems. one of the more clear-eyed memoirs from a lawyer about what happens when a movement focuses solely on what people are legally entitled to, rather than ensuring improved material conditions. we could fix homelessness if we wanted to - and we should want to.
September 8, 2025
This is the most interesting, well-written book on homelessness that I have had the pleasure to read. It is now at the very top of my recommended reading list for anyone interested in this issue. Thanks so much for this great book. I will treasure it always.
January 6, 2026
Third section was best part
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews