Moms 4 Housing has framed their fight for housing as a human right; their claim to secure and affordable housing is shaped through their identity as mothers with children in their care. Their demand for a home in which they can securely dwell and raise their family is a core component of reproductive justice, defined by SisterSong as the “right to maintain personal bodily autonomy, have children, not have children, and parent them in safe and sustainable communities.”

Housing functions as an “anchor that families require to build security in terms of shelter, food, education, childcare, and employment,” Dr. Diana Cutts, a pediatrician and co-lead principal investigator for the research group Children’s HealthWatch, told Rewire.News.

“The stresses of prenatal and postnatal homelessness are associated with increased risk of poor pediatric health outcomes, and they are also associated with poor maternal health outcomes,” Dr. Cutts said.