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Home is where we feel safe, where we belong, where we build the relationships that give life meaning. We understand instinctively that home is precious; that its loss represents trauma extending far beyond the physical structure. The planet is home in exactly this way. Not metaphorically, but materially. The air we breathe, the water we...

In April of this year, The Shift brought together experts and municipal leaders for the Beyond Tents: Rethinking Encampments webinar, to explore how a human rights approach can transform local responses to homelessness. As part of the tools provided to attendees, we created the Human Rights Scorecard for cities to assess how well their current...

As we reflect on the first quarter of 2025, The Shift continues to advance housing rights across Europe and beyond through strategic partnerships, advocacy, and knowledge sharing. Our team has been engaged in several initiatives that are helping to reshape housing policy and strengthen the role of cities in addressing housing challenges.   Rome: “All...

By Kirsten McRae There’s a brutal calculus at work in our world: as global crises multiply, we’re systematically stripping away people’s last line of defense. The acceleration of housing commodification at a time when the cost of living is skyrocketing, geopolitical tensions are mounting, and the planet is warming isn’t just creating rampant homelessness –...

The U.S. Supreme Court recently delivered a devastating blow to homeless people, greenlighting the criminalization of poverty and denying the most vulnerable group in America potentially life-saving Constitutional protections. In a chilling decision, the Court ruled that jailing and fining people for sleeping outdoors on public property when they have nowhere else to go is...

On August 11, 2023, we issued an urgent letter expressing grave concerns about potential human rights violations in Philadelphia’s Chinatown to 76 Devcorp. The letter focuses on the contentious proposal to construct a new stadium within the heart of Chinatown, emphasizing that this is more than just an ordinary infrastructure project. The stadium proposal has...

Source: Urbanet By Kirsten McRae Echoes of the same story can be heard in cities across the globe – homelessness is on the rise and the cost of housing is increasing at an alarming rate while the availability of decent housing dwindles. Kirsten McRae with recent statistics on the global housing crisis and why we...

On 14 September 2021, The Shift received a reply to the letter of concern we wrote to the Mayor’s Office regarding the clearing of encampments in August. The reply is below, in its entirety.  

Homeless encampments have continued to grow in size and number across Canada since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of our work, The Shift monitors city engagement with these communities to help protect the human rights of residents and provide guidance on implementing the human rights approach to city officials. After hearing of...