About this episode

Theo interviews Fred Vars about the intersection of houselessness and mental illness, discussing systemic failures and upcoming events related to the topic.

Theo interviews Fred Vars, author of Through the Fire: How People with Mental Illness Are Empowering Each Other  on the intersection of houselessness and mental illness, and how failures at city, state, and federal levels to put housing first makes it more difficult than ever to be unhoused in the U.S. Also: an upcoming screening at  Crushing Wheelchairs , a film with an unhoused cast and crew, and the long-term consequences of Spencer Pratt's ghoulish anti-unhoused language. See  Crushing Wheelchairs  at Vidiots in LA, June 25th:   https://givebutter.com/crushing-wheelchairs-vidiots More on Through the Fire: How People with Mental Illness Are Empowering Each Other:  https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/through-the-fire-fredrick-e-vars/1148151502?ean=9781493087839 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

People in this episode

Host: Theo

Guest: Fred Vars

Topics covered

• houselessness
• mental illness
• empowerment
• housing policy
• film screening
• social issues

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Through the Fire: How People with Mental Illness Are Empowering Each Other

Places: Vidiots in LA

More episodes of We the Unhoused

• History's Falsehoods: The Reality Check · July 14, 2026 · 57 min
• The People's Partnership: The State of Mutual Aid in Los Angeles · June 30, 2026 · 48 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the We the Unhoused podcast page.