Picture the Homeless Records and Oral Histories

Abstract

Picture the Homeless (PTH) was an advocacy organization supporting the rights of houseless people in the New York City area. The group was founded in 1999 by Lewis Haggins and Anthony Williams, and was led by unhoused peoples and people who had formerly experienced homelessness. PTH's organizing work focused on housing, civil rights, human rights, and police violence alongside other social and economic justice concerns. The organization waged organizing campaigns that aimed to address the root causes of and solutions to homelessness through a combination of direct action, civil disobedience, street theatre, participatory action research, self-published reports, mutual aid, public education, legislation, litigation, media engagement, coalition building, and the creation of an organizing trainee program. A core value that informed PTH's work held that the people most harmed by injustice must be at the center of leadership for social change. The Picture the Homeless Records and Oral Histories (dated 2000-2023) consists of the administrative records of PTH, as well as an oral history project conducted by Lynn Lewis. The administrative materials, in both paper and electronic formats, document the organization's advocacy and support for the rights of houseless people in the New York City area. These materials document the organization's activities, campaigns, self-education, and overall organizing approach through ephemera, correspondence, meeting minutes, reports, outreach and educational materials, press releases, newspaper clippings, and organizing resources. Specific campaigns concerning police harassment and violence, broken windows policies and stop-and-frisk practices, civil rights, and housing as a basic human right are well-documented. The collection also includes materials from an oral history project conducted by Lynn Lewis, which consists of electronic interviews and supplementary materials, such as transcripts and photographs. The collection documents not only the organization's activities and advocacy, but places the rights and experiences of unhoused peoples into a broader social and economic context of affordable housing, civil rights, and police brutality.