January 15th, 2019
6:30pm - 9:00pm
Andrew Freedman Home
Andrew Freedman Home, Grand Concourse, Bronx, NY, USA
Lynn is a community organizer, trainer and oral historian. She has an MA in Oral History from Columbia University. Lynn worked with Picture the Homeless for seventeen years, and is the founding Executive Director and former civil rights organizer. Her work on the Picture the Homeless Oral History Project Documents the stories of members of that organization.
Marus is an artist and activist known around New York City as "The Homeless Poet." He is a leader of civil rights and housing campaigns at Picture the Homeless and has performed wit Theatre of the Oppressed NYC. His artwork crafts powerful poetry and scenes re-enacting the experiences of vulnerable populations. He is also an urban homesteader who deeply understands the need for housing stability.
Rob is a member of the Campaign to Restore National Housing Rights, the Take Back the Land national movement and the U.S. Human Rights Network. Rob has played a leadership role in NYC's housing movement since 2007 with Picture the Homeless, Right to the City Alliance and the Coalition to Save Harlem. Rob also served as New York City chairperson for the official visit of the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing.
“Homelessness exists not because the system is not working but because this is the way it works.” — Peter Marcuse
There is no easy solution to the problem of homelessness, but we believe there is a more holistic way of considering it. Our project will seek to expose the multi-faceted nature of the issue, from the formation of systemic inequity, to the evolution of bureaucratic policy, to the part that each one of us plays in sustaining these institutions in our shared city.
Event Photos ↓
Agenda ↓
6:30 Dinner and a Show
Act 1: The Setting – Marcus Moore
Everyone has a chance to pull themselves up and succeed in America. What is it like to experience housing precarity?
Act 2: The Conflict – Lynn Lewis
The programs we have are effectively addressing the situation.
What does the system in place offer? What are the alternatives.
Act 3: The Resolution – Rob Robinson
People experiencing homelessness are less than the rest of us.
How can we empower ourselves and others to break the cycle?
8:10 Cocktails and Conversation
The Socratic Circle
Closing Reflections
Acknowledgements ↓
A special thank you to our guests, The Picture the Homeless Oral History Project and the Systemic Radial Change Forefront Fellowship Team, Alp Bozkurt, Johane Clermont, April De Simone, Nova Lucero and Emma Silverblatt, for a memorable evening. This event would not have been possible without the exceptional generosity of the Andrew Freedman Home.
Our Sponsors ↓
This program is made possible through the support of Magnusson Architecture and Planning and our Director’s Circle.
Shape our year-long inquiry by becoming a program sponsor and promote conversation between our Forefront Fellows and invited decision-makers on addressing the homelessness crisis in New York City.
To learn more, please contact Daniel McPhee, Executive Director, 646-928-0550, daniel@urbandesignforum.org.
About Shelter for All ↓
This event is the tenth of our Shelter for All Forefront Fellowship, a fellowship dedicated to cultivating twenty diverse and emerging leaders in urban design, policy and development. This year, our Fellows spent the summer in partnership with the New York City Department of Homeless Services and the American Institute of Architects to draft city guidelines on shelter design, and now they are spending the fall and spring investigating the full spectrum of homelessness.
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