Writing Opp: Housing and Homelessness

We know there are plenty of Quakers who only need a little nudge to share their perspectives with a wider audience. If you know anyone who should write about this topic, please share this post with them!

Fast Facts

  • Features run 1200-2500 words (General information)
  • Submissions close February 17, 2025 (Ready? Submit here)
  • Questions? Email editors@friendsjournal.org

Our May 2025 issue will look at Housing and Homelessness. As anyone who has tried to buy or rent a house or apartment in the last few decades knows, this is a serious problem in the United States and many other countries. There’s a fundamental scarcity of housing that is raising prices beyond the means of many citizens. Service economy workers are being forced to move further from potential jobs and rely on often unreliable public transit. Housing insecurity and homelessness is a very real issue for millions of people.

Housing has been a primary source of generational wealth for most Americans: our houses are the most expensive things we own (or, more likely, the highest debts we owe). When people are locked out of the market it becomes harder to save money to pass on to succeeding generations.

Additionally climate change is shifting where we can safely live, shrinking the market even more. As we saw with the recent fires in Los Angeles County that destroyed 12,000 homes, extreme weather in climate risk areas are leaving more and more people without a place to live. Where will they go?

We’d like to hear of Friends working on solutions for these issues, either in their neighborhoods or on a larger scale. What kind of regional or city planning can alleviate these conditions? Can ideas like ecovillages or small houses help? How does a community affected by a natural disaster rebuild?

And how does the housing crisis affect our Quaker communities? Many Friends have less time or resources to devote to their Quaker life because they work extra jobs to make the rent or mortgage every month. The rising prices are also increasing the number of unhoused neighbors, a tragedy for them and a strain on our wider community. What have meetings done to help alleviate the issues that unhoused neighbors face?

There’s also room for stories about our houses—that is, the actual buildings and structures we live in, whether a multi-bedroom with a backyard, a one-bedroom apartment, an RV, or a converted van. Where do you live? Where did you grow up? How do our housing choices reflect our values and build our faith community?

Submit: Housing and Homelessness

Other upcoming issues:

Learn more general information at Friendsjournal.org/submissions.

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