Sustainability and Inequality

When the pandemic first hit the states, many didn’t know what to expect. Was this an extended spring break for elated high school students? Or was this a brutal hit on the world’s most vulnerable people? I will be discussing a specific shelter in Howard County Maryland, in connection with the Sustainable Development Goal of ending poverty, specifically, addressing homelessness and surrounding issues. Today I will be going in depth about this specific shelter, as well as how certain challenges in addressing this goal have been shaped by the pandemic. Links to Sources: 2 scholarly print sources https://www.utpjournals.press/doi/full/10.3138/cpp.2020-059 https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PIIS2213-2600(20)30234-4/fulltext 2 popular/literary sources https://www.statnews.com/2021/03/11/the-uncounted-people-who-are-homeless-are-invisible-victims-of-covid-19/ https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2020/08/24/coronavirus-homeless-people/ 2  multimedia sources (interviews, podcasts, videos, tweets, newscasts, etc.) https://twitter.com/usichgov https://www.npr.org/2012/12/06/166666265/why-some-homeless-choose-the-streets-over-shelters Academic Bibliography: Abrams, Elissa M, and Stanley Szefler. “COVID-19 and the Impact of Social Determinants of Health.” The Lancet, 2020, https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PIIS2213-2600(20)30234-4/fulltext. Jadidzadeh, Ali, and Ron Kneebone. “Homeless Shelter Flows in Calgary and the Potential Impact of Covid-19.” Canadian Public Policy, 2020, https://www.utpjournals.press/doi/full/10.3138/cpp.2020-059. McFarling, Usha Lee, et al. “The Uncounted: People Who Are Homeless Are Invisible Victims of Covid-19.” STAT, 10 Mar. 2021, https://www.statnews.com/2021/03/11/the-uncounted-people-who-are-homeless-are-invisible-victims-of-covid-19/. Molly Bohannon, Katie Surma. “Covid-19 Is a 'Crisis within a Crisis' for Homeless People.” Cronkite News - Arizona PBS, 26 Aug. 2020, https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2020/08/24/coronavirus-homeless-people/. Shapiro, Ari. “Why Some Homeless Choose the Streets over Shelters.” NPR, NPR, 6 Dec. 2012, https://www.npr.org/2012/12/06/166666265/why-some-homeless-choose-the-streets-over-shelters. Twitter, Twitter, https://twitter.com/usichgov.

The action taken will be decisive, collective, and meaningful, and it needs to be taken now. We cannot protect the most vulnerable without protecting the planet, and vice versa.