Marc Greenberg is the executive director and co-founder of the Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness and Housing (IAHH), a coalition of religious organizations and individuals based in New York City that works with and on behalf of the homeless population.
Since the assembly’s establishment in 1985, Marc has been addressing homelessness by advocating for public policy solutions and other strategies in partnership with an ever-broadening network of faith communities, other advocates, housing and service providers, elected officials, and those who have experienced homelessness. In his work for housing justice, Marc seeks to include as many stakeholders as possible in a conversation about how, drawing from our inherent spirituality and a reverence for life and our environment, we can promote the ongoing evolution of our relationships with each other and our natural world.
In this episode, Marc recounts the origins of IAHH, which included a vigil in City Hall Park that lasted several months, and speaks of its mission to “bear witness to the crisis of homelessness.” He opens us to the human face of homelessness by sharing personal stories of how his own life has been changed by being present to others—a process he describes as “reducing the distance between ourselves and those who suffer.” Marc also speaks about the interfaith and inter-spiritual aspects of his work, how he understands the relationship between public policy and direct action, and why homeless outreach must always be seen as “a fellowship of accompaniment.”
See also:
Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness and Housing (IAHH)
Street Homeless Advocacy Project (SHAP)
Life Experience and Faith Sharing Associates (LEFSA)
Sacred Shelter: Thirteen Journeys of Homelessness and Healing, edited by Susan Celia Greenfield (Fordham University Press, 2018)
“Through Life Skills Training, Professor Helps Empower People in Transition,” Inside Fordham, February 3, 2014
James Parks Morton tribute at the Interfaith Center of New York
