To start each Justice in Housing class meeting, two students shared a reflection paper about their service related to people experiencing housing insecurity. Some students wrestled with how to implement just policies at Harvard Square’s student-run homeless shelters. Others examined the “Not In My Backyard” attitudes in their hometowns regarding affordable housing and homeless services. Reflections drew from – and often challenged – justice philosophy we had read for the course. This opening assignment highlights that Justice in Housing bridged our academic study in the classroom with impact we hoped to make outside of it.
Our professor Kenzie Bok’s design of the course consistently fostered learning beyond our classroom walls. Guest speakers shared their on-the-ground experience with housing advocacy in Boston. Kenzie’s policy work with the Boston Housing Authority gave us insight into how public agencies contend with many of the topics we discussed in class, ranging from integration to the “right to the city.” Another semester assignment asked us to attend a housing-related public meeting in Greater Boston and to reflect on its engagement with theories of justice. For our final papers, which tasked us with examining a housing policy issue through a normative lens, our capstone presentations took place at BHA.
As I became more involved in housing advocacy and service over the course of the semester, Kenzie’s class became more like a daily guide for my work, rather than just a once-a-week seminar. I am a member of a group called Hospitals to Homes, which is a Harvard-based coalition of doctors and students working with Boston-area hospitals to increase access to housing for homeless patients. SS68 gave me the opportunity to reflect on the moral assumptions, such as a right to housing, that underly H2H’s mission and to consider how our goals fit into the greater affordable housing landscape in Boston. Over the course of the semester, I was also preparing to become a director for the Harvard Square Summer Shelter. As a director, I have thought back often to the theories we discussed in class as we strive to make the shelter the most just place it can be. I am confident that the course’s lessons about moral philosophy will continue to guide my work in the future, be it in the field of housing or beyond.