Our government created the economic and social conditions under which I, and countless others, became unhoused — through unlivable wages, the absence of affordable housing and childcare, and an inaccessible health care system.

Instead of comprehensively addressing this crisis, our government has approached it with patchwork solutions that disregard the humanity of people without housing and those who are living on the edge.

This week, I introduced a resolution that would put unhoused people in homes, address the compounding public health emergency, and eradicate the conditions that foster the unhoused crisis.

It describes in detail the multitude of complex issues faced by unhoused people on a daily basis, especially in relation to the disproportionately high levels of mental and physical trauma, substance use disorders, exposure to communicable diseases, and treatment on behalf of health care professionals.

The Unhoused Bill of Rights illustrates concrete actions the federal government is obligated to take to end the unhoused crisis by 2025, protect and enforce the human rights of unhoused people, and provide the highest levels of support for unhoused advocates, communities, and programs.

Dramatically expanding the affordable housing stock, mandating universal housing vouchers, implementing universal health care, and guaranteeing livable wages are permanent solutions that will keep people sheltered and safe.

As elected lawmakers, we have a solemn duty and obligation to develop and enact policies that will permanently end the unhoused crisis.