Social Justice
What do we mean by ‘Social Justice’?
Homeless, disabled, and low-income people are often isolated from civic decision-making processes. Because meeting daily basic survival needs is understandably their top priority, many choose not to participate in mainstream institutions and community decision-making. The result is that a crucial voice goes unheard.
BOSS aims to empower individuals, strengthen communities, and build civil society by helping people to get involved in the policy-making process.
How do we get people involved?
BOSS currently has several initiatives designed to include homeless people in social justice work:
- Leadership development – training and opportunities for homeless people to be public speakers, educators, and role models in BOSS and outside
- Popular education – education on the causes of poverty, homelessness, and related issues, and how it impacts men, women, and children in our local neighborhoods
- Building networks and linkages – connecting homeless people with other groups that have shared goals, to build a larger movement for social justice
- Advocacy – identification of legislative and environmental issues affecting homeless people, community education on these issues
- Direct action – voter registration, rallies, contacting policy makers, and other participation in local, state, and national decision-making
For more information about the Social Justice work we do, and current campaigns and policy measures that affect homeless people, visit BOSS’s social justice website.
The website is maintained by both staff and homeless participants, who contribute poetry and articles about their experiences on the street. The site provides a valuable training tool, helping homeless people learn internet research and organizing, and basic computer skills.
