"Home is where we are most ourselves."

On April 13th, at the Douglass Campus Center, Matthew Desmond shared "eviction is a cause, not just a condition of poverty." Desmond spoke these words while talking about his new book Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City.

Centered in Milwaukee, this book follows eight families on the brink of losing everything. We meet Arleen and her boys as they call ninety landlords, desperate to find a home after an unexpected eviction. We meet landlords with hardened dispositions that mutter "love don't pay the bills." We meet Lamar, a man with no legs raising his sons in squalid conditions. As the book continues to follow different families, I struggled to assimilate the America I live in and the America portrayed in the book. These people are brave and flawed. Their courage and humor carry them through times of hardship. But how did they end up in these circumstances?

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These children change schools often, are unable to create lasting relationships or eat well, because “rent eats first."

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People like Arlene and Lamar spend 70-80% towards rent, which leaves very little for necessities. Children of parents facing eviction feel the full effect of this. These children change schools often. They are unable to create lasting relationships or eat well, because “rent eats first." These parents and their children deserve a safe place where they can rest at the end of the night, because, as Desmond states: home is where we are most ourselves.

Matthew Desmond’s confidence in his work and the love for his project, Just Shelter Organization carried the presentation without the need of a microphone. He showed photographs of broken windows, of snowy days-- a deep sense of grief blanketed the a city on the brink of both potential and despair.

Students and faculty alike were enthralled by Desmond's ability to live among the people he was writing about. Questions were welcomed and many people spoke about the inability to change poverty. Concerns regarding funding were raised when Desmond spoke about creating a voucher program that would help people living below the poverty line spend only 30-40% of their income on rent.

But Desmond's optimism, as noted by a faculty member, spreads like snow melting in a warm Milwaukee day. By the end of the night, the heavy conversation turned light with positivity. He encouraged us to find organizations in their town that fight unjust evictions and added that he will soon be going to Congress to talk about a voucher program.

There's a moment in the book when Arleen finds a home. Her two children move her in during one of the coldest days Milwaukee experienced in a decade. After the move, they lay their heads on Arleen's lap. The bodies lay heavy on a mattress strewn across the floor, their spirits weakened, but their ability to not be defined by hardships is clear in the even breathes they take.

Home is where one goes after a long day combating the world, and when we are homeless, the world seeps in, and we are left exposed without a protection or a buffer from inhumanity. Home is where we find our humanity, and it is our human right.