Housing Is a Human Right with Julia Orduña

Housing is more than a roof over your head. It shapes your health, your income, your safety, and your future.

In this episode of Working Girl, I sit down with Julia Orduña, Southeast Texas Regional Director at Texas Housers, to unpack what the housing crisis actually looks like on the ground and why women are often at the center of the fight for housing justice.

We talk about the realities behind housing instability, from rising rent and disaster recovery to eviction cycles and policy failures. Julia shares how systemic barriers keep families stuck, why women, especially women of color, are disproportionately impacted, and what it really takes to create change at both the community and policy level.

We also get personal. I open up about my own experience growing up in housing instability and how it shaped my sense of safety, identity, and self-worth. This conversation is about dignity, not just data.

If you have ever thought that housing issues do not affect you, this episode will change your perspective.

In this episode, we cover:

• What the housing crisis actually looks like in Texas and beyond

• Why being “cost burdened” impacts millions of families

• The biggest misconceptions about low-income communities

• How systems of oppression keep people stuck in housing instability

• Why women are leading housing advocacy and community care
  The emotional toll of justice work and how to sustain it

• Real examples of policy wins and community-driven change

• Why housing justice is directly tied to gender justice
  

As Julia reminds us, you are not alone, and you do not have to do this work by yourself. Change happens one person, one policy, and one community at a time.

GET INVOLVED + RESOURCES

If this conversation moved you, here are ways to take action and support housing justice:

• Donate to support advocacy and community work: https://texashousers.org/donate/

• Know your rights as a tenant: https://www.texastenant.org/

• Learn more through Houser Academy: https://texashousers.org/houser-academy/

• Stay informed with their newsletter: https://texashousers.org/texas-housers-newsletter-archive/

• Explore more resources: https://linktr.ee/texashousers

Follow Texas Housers:

Instagram + Facebook: @texashousers

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/texas-housers/

Tags

housing justice, affordable housing, housing crisis Texas, eviction prevention, tenant rights, women in social justice, gender and housing inequality, community advocacy, public policy reform, disaster recovery housing, systemic inequality, nonprofit leadership, Texas Housers, working women podcast, social impact podcast

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