The 63-page report, “‘We Deserve to Have a Place to Live:’ How US Underfunding Public Housing Harms Rights in New York, New Mexico, and Beyond,” examines the impact of a decline in federal funding for public housing, which has been accompanied by a modest increase in investment in affordable housing programs that rely on the private sector, such as voucher and subsidy programs. Human Rights Watch found that budget cuts have led to deteriorating living conditions in public housing in New York City, as well as in northern New Mexico, and have reduced the public housing stock nationwide. It also finds that other affordable housing programs, which rely on the private sector, have often failed to guarantee long-term affordability for people with the lowest incomes.
Glen Amick has a checkered past. The 57-year-old Taos resident has had his fair share of ups and downs throughout his life, and has been homeless for the past five years. In his younger days, he had several run-ins with the law and did a stint in a Texas prison. But in this past year of worldwide chaos and turmoil, things have started looking up for Amick, who after six weeks at the Taos Menâs Shelter, now has a housing voucher and soon, a place to call home.
A seasoned river guide and outdoor lover, Amick has prided himself on living off-grid for the past 15 years to some degree. Heâs had a few run-ins with the law in his past, but time and nature haven t been kind to Amickâs body â heâs suffered multiple back injuries, a neck surgery, nine compound fractures in his arm and more. It also doesnât help that he suffered from MRSA â a type of staph infection that is resistant to antibiotics â and is now considered a high risk were he to get sick.