People's University: Our Journey Home

People living in persistent poverty are often stereotyped and humiliated. As a result, it is difficult for them to share their thoughts on issues that directly affect them.

The ATD Fourth World People's University offers a safe place to break this silence and to build respect for all people by recognizing that the knowledge and experiences of people living in poverty are valuable. It is a place where people learn together — those with lived experience of poverty and discrimination joined by others standing in solidarity with them — to build solutions to issues directly affecting their lives and the whole of society.

This People's University cycle in New York City in 2024 included five preparatory sessions that gathered participants from the Bronx, Brooklyn, Harlem, Long Island, and Manhattan, with different backgrounds and different ways of being connected with the theme.

Theme: “Our Journey Home”

All ATD Fourth World members who have faced the injustices of poverty and exclusion share the experience of homelessness or insecurity in finding a place to live. As with many other people, dealing with homelessness and difficult housing conditions is the reality of their lives. The word "journey" in the theme for this cycle of the People's University was deliberately chosen. We tried to understand some of the elements involved in the long period of time that people in precarious housing situations endure when they try to find a good, affordable, and sustainable place to live. Many are still struggling to do so.

Also, wherever we live, we expect to be able to develop bonds with others, to be safe, and to have our own space with the people we love. We want to be part of a community. And for that, very often, a place to live is not enough. For all these reasons, the preparation team chose the word "home" in the theme. A home is not just a place to live, it is the goal to be achieved.

During the preparatory meetings, we often heard, "At least we had a roof over our heads." We believe it is possible for a society to offer more than that, and that is why we launched this People's University cycle — to learn how to make it possible.