Comment Submitted by Gina Loiacono

No child should wonder where to lay their head at night, regardless of gender, creed, identity, race, or religion. Shelter shouldn't be a luxury; it is a human right, and everyone deserves a decent place to live. When you deny anyone access to safe, secure, and reliable housing, you deny their humanity...their dignity...their quality of life. How dare this country look down on those communities so often intentionally exploited and marked as other...how dare the government label them as unworthy of a human right based simply on how live and breathe most authentically. We shouldn't be building walls and obstacles for those in need of housing; but rather, building longer tables where everyone has a seat and everyone has access to a sustainable, safe, and protected future. Individuals denied basic shelter have increased risk of food insecurity, unemployment, lack of healthcare, mental health care, and even suicide. The negative impact of lack of shelter disproportionately affects children, teens, single mothers, people of color, and members of the LGBTQIA+ community. Children and teens without basic shelter are less likely to advance in school appropriately, graduate high school, and go on to a higher education degree of study. Safe shelter over one's head is a ripple effect - it breaks the cycle of poverty and allows families to invest in healthcare, education, food security, and savings for a sustainable future. How can we ever deny those basic principles and staples of life to an entire community of people? Gina Loiacono