Housing as a Public Health Mission

Housing as a Public Health Mission

How AHF is helping change the conversation around housing and human rights

GUEST BIO:

Dominique Eastman is the Regional Property Operations Manager for the Healthy Housing Foundation.

Susie Shannon is the Policy Director for Housing is a Human Right.

Mark Dyer is the Vice President of Operations for Corporate Real Estate and Housing.

CORE TOPICS + DETAILS:

[2:03] - Finding Rooms for Those Who Need Them

Understanding housing as a human right

AHF has recently been buying up vacant properties for the purpose of adaptive reuse—taking existing buildings and infrastructure and converting it into affordable housing for people who are low-income or unhoused. AHF also advocates on behalf of that housing, helping ensure that people are moved into housing quickly so they can begin to experience a stable environment.

[4:09] - Getting Strategic with Building Purchasing

About AHF’s strategy for buying living spaces

AHF focuses on large, empty older buildings—including SROs or vacant residential hotel buildings. There are approximately 10,000 vacant rooms in Los Angeles, and AHF focuses on finding them, acquiring them, improving them, and providing them as housing for unhoused people.

[7:52] - Advocacy First

How AHF is taking steps to protect unhoused or low-income people

AHF’s advocacy efforts relating to rent burdened or unhoused people have included running a national campaign to lift the ban on rent control. They’ve also released a campaign of full-page ads in the LA Times highlighting vacant buildings and how they could be used to house people in need.

[18:55] - How to Get Involved with AHF’s Housing Efforts

Want to contribute to making housing a human right? Here’s how

Dominique stresses that she has an open door policy where anyone can come and be provided with opportunities to contribute. You can also visit healthyhousingfoundation.net or housinghumanright.org, or email HHF management directly.

RESOURCES:

• [1:12] The Healthy Housing Foundation
• [1:14] Housing is a Human Right

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• Follow Lauren Hogan: LinkedIn
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ABOUT AFTER HOURS:

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation is the world’s largest HIV/AIDS service organization, operating in 45 countries globally. The mission? Providing cutting-edge medicine and advocacy for everyone, regardless of ability to pay.

The After Hours podcast is an official podcast of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, in which host Lauren Hogan is joined by experts in a range of fields to educate, inform, and inspire listeners on topics that go far beyond medical information to cover leadership, creativity, and success. 

Learn more at: https://www.aidshealth.org

ABOUT THE HOST:

Lauren Hogan is the Associate Director of Communications for the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, and has been working in a series of roles with the Foundation since 2016. She’s passionate about increasing the public visibility of AIDS, the Foundation's critical work, and how everyday people can help join the fight to make cutting-edge medicine, treatment, and support available for anyone who needs it.

• Learn more about Lauren at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenhogan3
• Learn more about the AIDS Healthcare Foundation at: https://www.aidshealth.org