For more information about our partner organization Take Back the Land- Madison visit:
tblmadison.wordpress.com
We believe Housing is a Human Right. Our main focus right now is using direct action to bring attention to the the housing crisis we are facing. We are moving families into foreclosed houses and preventing people from being evicted from foreclosed houses and public housing. We feel there should not be homeless people on one side of the street with people-less houses on the other side of the street.
Our work with Take Back The Land national Movement allows us to 1) provide direct services of housing for families, 2) expose the housing crisis that we are facing and the contradictions of laws and policies that support bailing out banks and letting banks buy up foreclosed houses while homeless people continue to be with out a place to call home, and 3) offering a vision of community ownership of land and a shift in land relationships in the US : to say Housing is a Human Right!
In the past we have had a housing first/leadership development program. We recognize that without housing, it is nearly impossible to attain employment or achieve enough stability to find successful rehabilitation and other essential services.
OWH works to expose the injustices built into the housing system by educating ourselves and the community on the barriers many low-income people face in finding housing, including a lack of affordable housing and discrimination.
This program was a comprehensive, holistic approach to support that puts housing first and then provides a broad array of support and opportunities for growth over the long term. We provide opportunities for:
- Leadership development and political participation
- Substance abuse recovery
- Building self esteem and mental health
- Community building
- Supporting people in finding jobs and creating employment opportunities
A core piece of our innovative model is that growth and transformation must not only occur on an individual level, but also on a community and institutional level. Thus, we interweave our work with community organizing to address the root causes that make keep homeless people homeless, keep people without affordable housing and keep an unequal distribution of wealth in place.
Click here for more information about our work with Take Back The Land.
