We the Unhoused

Theo speaks with activist Sequoyah Thiessen about their experience being body brokered at LA area rehab facilities, and how these same places are exploiting the community's most vulnerable -- including the unhoused. We also remember past guest Cindy McAllister, who passed away this month. Theo speaks with friends about her life, and how her memory will continue. Follow Sequoyah's work here: ...

This week, Theo explores the reality of mental health complications while unhoused -- with parent to an unhoused Angeleno, Anita, and speaking about lived experience with attorney Clare Cortwright. Also, we remember Angeleno and Reclaimer activist Benito Flores. More about Reclaimers and contribute to Benito's memorial fund here:  https://reclaimingourhomes.org/support/ Se...

This week, Theo speaks with returning guest, ACLU SoCal's Kath Rogers and immigration lawyer Pasquale Lombardo about the ICE raids in Los Angeles, and how to move forward with hope and pragmatism for the undocumented and unhoused communities. Also -- Theo covers the press conference of hospitalized victim of an ICE attack, Milagra Solis Portillo, including an interview with Senator Sasha Renee Per...

As the heat picks up and Los Angeles continues to resist ICE, Theo speaks with Tanner Swanson of A New Leaf in Arizona to speak about the unique issues the state’s unhoused people face in increasingly lethal temperatures. While the year mark of the Grants Pass decision approaches and climate change’s consequences continues to spread, they speak on how the unhoused are being failed, and...

This week, Theo reports from Little Tokyo in Los Angeles, where necessary protest was met with violent retaliation from ICE, the LAPD, and the National Guard after the city was targeted for mass deportation. He reflects on the intersection of being unhoused and undocumented, and who gets left behind -- then, an interview with unhoused activist Secret.1Add reaction See omnystudio.com/listener for p...

Theo is joined by author and journalist Claudia Rowe to discuss her latest book  Wards of the State: The Long Shadow of American Foster Care and   take a closer look at the ways that those in the foster system have faced discrimination and a complete lack of support for generations. The intersections and overlaps between systemics failure to those in (and out) of foster care are exp...

Houselessness is a global issue, and every unhoused person’s experience is unique. This week, Theo welcomes his first international guest to We the Unhoused — Greta shares her story of navigating houselessness in Europe and the UK, and how her experience is in conversation with how the unhoused are treated in the U.S. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, Theo speaks with the legendary John Lee Hooker Jr. about his time being unhoused, the misconceptions media has around the unhoused, and how he found his way through addiction. Also, a moment to celebrate We the Unhoused's two Webby Award wins! Follow John Lee Hooker Jr. here:  https://johnleehookerjr.com/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, Theo talks with Becks Heyhoe-Khalil about how houselessness is treated in America versus other places in the west -- and what needs to be done in the States to combat the numerous way the U.S. fails the unhoused on the city, state, and national levels. Follow Dr. Heyhoe-Khalil's work here: https://unitedtoendhomelessness.org/   https://www.linkedin.com/in/becks-heyhoe/ See omnystud...

WE THE UNHOUSED IS NOMINATED FOR A WEBBY! Vote for us here before April 17th: https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2025/podcasts/shows/public-service-activism This week, Theo speaks with Amanda Nicholson and Max Flower about the pressing issue of harm reduction. We discuss how misinformation about harm reduction is weaponized against the unhoused and humane solutions for those struggling wit...

This week, Theo welcomes returning guest and activist Curtis Howard and academic Kevin Smith to contrast the ways that the unhoused are presented by unhoused and housed media, respectively. Curtis was unhoused for three decades and was incarcerated multiple times, and shares not just his own history, but the history of why Black men are particularly vulnerable to being forced into this cycle. Then...

This week, Theo looks to the future for the unhoused in America, and how to know your rights in an increasingly uncertain and hostile environment. He speaks with ACLU staff attorney Kath Rogers and Supervising Attorney for Tenants Rights at Inner City Law Kaimi Wenger about what you can do to protect yourself, and to remain educated, liberated, and motivated to move forward. Learn more about...

In our final installment on the LA fires (for now), Theo speaks to Alex, a survivor of the Altadena Eaton fire about his recent experience, and his previous experience being unhoused years ago. Then, we check in with Rachel Sanoff, volunteer coordinator of the SELAH unhoused coalition in LA about the efforts they've done to assist with those newly unhoused by fire while continuing to support unhou...

In the second part of We the Unhoused's LA fire coverage, Theo speaks with JTown Action and Solidarity co-founder Mario Correa about the mutual aid response to the fires, both with the existing unhoused community and newly displaced people. Then, he checks in with longtime unhoused veteran activist in West LA Ryan Thompson, who speaks on how the unhoused vets living outside the VA were nearly perm...

Theo takes a closer look at how the recent fires in Los Angeles affected the city's unhoused community, who the mainstream media and the city continued to ignore. He speaks with returning guest Roof Lesser about her experience being unhoused close to the fires, and with restaurateur and activist Philip Hirose, co-owner of Azay in Little Tokyo.  Follow Roof Lesser here:  https://www.insta...

Welcome to 2025 at We the Unhoused! Theo is starting the year on a high note, interviewing former Black Panthers, Lorenzo Ervin and JoNina Abron-Ervin. They share their experiences and insights on what a more just world can still look like. In Unhoused News, Theo takes a look at the persistent struggles faced by people transitioning from temporary to permanent housing, and the real dangers of hypo...

In our last episode of 2024, Theo reflects on how 2024 has affected the unhoused community, and how to look forward to 2025. Then, he speaks with two returning guests -- Peoples City Council cofounder Albert Corrado about his journey toward mutual aid and building a better world in the wake of his sister Mely's murder at the hands of the LAPD, and Azoy, who speaks to the struggle to remain housed...

Theo returns to the field to continue exploring SELAH, the Los Angeles mutual aid organization working to educate their participants and volunteers on Grants Pass and provide necessary services. He speaks with volunteer coordinator Rachel Sanoff, participant Cindy, and longtime outreach volunteer Suzy to learn more. Also: Theo reflects on the horrific Daniel Penny decision, memorializes Jordan Nee...

This week Theo provides updates on the Jordan Neely murder trial before exploring how one Los Angeles mutual aid organization is working to educate their participants and volunteers on the Grants Pass decision, and how they plan to continue providing services during a second Trump administration. We speak with new volunteer Max, current volunteer site lead Raquel, operations manager/local advocate...

This week, Theo gives insight into what the election means for the unhoused population, and speaks with activists on how to move forward. Rooflesser returns to the show to discuss their work on the ground in LA, and we check in with home reclaimer and advocate Martha Escuerdo to talk about her continued fight for safe and sustainable housing. Follow Rooflesser here:  https://x.com/rooflesser Follo...

This week, Theo checks in with two candidates for judge we spoke with earlier this year -- George Turner and Erika Wiley. We discuss what's changed with the Grants Pass decision, the journey to the ballot box, and the pressing need for local politicians that are advocating for the unhoused. Learn more about George here: https://georgeaturner4judge.com/ Learn more about Erika here:  https://www.wil...

Ahead of the election, Theo dives deep into why the unhoused vote is so crucial with Dr. Caitlin Krenn. Also, Theo speaks with Oregon-based activist Jetty about how Grants Pass legislation is already affecting the intensity of sweeps across the country. Follow Jetty here:  https://www.instagram.com/junkartlady/  https://www.instagram.com/barefootdefenders/ Follow Dr. Krenn here:  https://www.caitl...

Theo continues his exploration of the wreckage of the Grants Pass ruling with a focus on the effects of youth houselessness, and goes in depth with Dr. Robin Petering and Tonny St. James to discuss the Young People to the Front initiative. But first, Theo speaks with Emptea about the uptick of evictions in Los Angeles in district one, and how they're taking City Councillor Hernandez to task for fa...

This week, Theo is on the ground for a brutal Grant's Pass motivated sweep of a long term, vulnerable unhoused community in El Monte, CA this month. He speaks with people affected, and asks sheriffs and Army CORPS members on how one can justify sweeping and threatening to arrest allies assisting the unhoused in the middle of a triple-digit heat wave. How are sweeps changing now that the Supreme Co...

It's a busy week on We the Unhoused -- Theo travels between California and Michigan to take a closer look at the intersecting struggles of the unhoused and the housing-insecure.  First, we speak with journalist Phoenix Tso of LA Public Press and Alejandro Gutierrez of the Hillside Villa Tenant Association on the current struggle to keep longtime residents housed in the face of brutal landlord rent...