Improving Access & Equity within Our System

Centering Lived Experience

Join the Movement

We’re recruiting leaders from across the country to join the National Lived Experience Leadership and Advocacy Board (NLEAB) to help ensure systems and solutions to homelessness are shaped by those most impacted.

Applications are due on Friday, December 19th, by 5 PM PT.

Learn more and apply

We are building a movement that recognizes people with lived experience of homelessness as essential co-creators of solutions. Their firsthand knowledge is not optional — it is vital for driving systemic change that genuinely reflects the realities of homelessness and the conditions necessary for long-term stability. This movement calls on organizations and decision-makers to fully commit to lived experience leadership, recognizing that any meaningful solution must be shaped by those who have faced this crisis directly. Only then can we shape systems that are accountable to communities, guided by real experience, and built to drive lasting solutions.

Anything About Us, Not Without Us

Alex, Rebekah, and Nicole draw from their own experiences to share the value of lived expertise in solving our homelessness crisis.

Cynthia: We’re the only ones who can tell you what’s really wrong with the system.

Who better to drive solutions to end and prevent our homelessness crisis than the people who have experienced homelessness firsthand? As Cynthia says, “We’re the only ones that can tell you what’s really wrong with the system. We can tell you what worked and what didn’t work because we went through it.”

Jeffrey: It feels like I’m right where I’m supposed to be, doing the work I’m supposed to be doing.

Jeffrey’s experience with homelessness was through no fault of his own. An unexpected health condition cost him his job—and, soon after, his home. Today, Jeffrey is healthy and using his lived experience to help stabilize people transitioning out of homelessness, “It’s been so meaningful and it just doesn’t feel like work. It feels like I’m right where I’m supposed to be, doing the work I’m supposed to be doing.”

Rhie: What are we building together?

We cannot solve homelessness if we don’t fully understand it. That’s why people with lived experience are essential co-creators of the solutions to homelessness – their firsthand knowledge drives true systemic change. As Rhie says, “If you know how to listen, it can impact and transform systems.” True inclusion isn’t just a seat at the table; it’s about ensuring that people who have lived through the experience lead the conversations and decision-making.

Donnell: I have a lot of fire, and I’ve got a lot of experience with this.

At just 18, Donnell was kicked out of his home for wanting to pursue higher education. Without stable housing, securing a job became impossible – and without an income, continuing school was out of reach. Today, Donnell is preparing for law school and serves as the Chair of the Homeless Services Panel of Experts. Through his story, we see the bigger picture: homelessness is rooted in systemic issues, not personal shortcomings. To solve it, we must close the gap between housing costs and wages.

Nicole: This lived experience – we count that as an asset here.

When people who have lived through homelessness are the ones leading the work to end and prevent it, we can be sure our solutions are effective and our systems are accountable to their communities.

How We Are Doing This

Leadership in Decision-Making

Our supportive housing system is more effective when people with lived experience have meaningful roles in decision-making, helping shape policies and practices through shared power and leadership. This ensures programs address real needs and foster truly responsive systems of care—which is why it is critical that people with lived experience have seats on advisory boards, decision-making bodies, and leadership teams.

Rebalancing Power

Centering lived experience is not just about inclusion –it is about shifting power. True partnership means that individuals with lived experience have a voice in decision-making processes that shape housing and homelessness services. Organizations must prioritize policies that embed lived experience leadership at all levels and remove systemic barriers to participation.

Policy Change

Our work is grounded in the understanding that without systemic change, we will continue to fall short of real, lasting solutions. To make meaningful progress, our systems must reflect the insights and leadership of those who have experienced homelessness firsthand. This requires advocating for bold, substantive policy changes that recognize lived experience as essential to shaping housing and homelessness solutions.

Equity Within Our System

Too often, programs and policies are designed for people experiencing homelessness rather than with them. Strategies that fail to integrate lived experience thoughtfully risk perpetuating inequities and inefficiencies. The most effective solutions emerge when people with firsthand experience are involved at every stage – from ideation to implementation to ongoing evaluation.

Narrative Change

This movement also calls for a shift in how we view and value lived experience. People who have experienced homelessness are experts in their own lives and bring critical insight to the mission of ending homelessness. Their experiences are not personal failures; they are powerful assets. The more we listen to and learn from people with lived experience, the better informed and more effective our solutions will be.

Lived Experience Locally

LEABsv

In 2018, we funded the creation of the Lived Experience Advisory Board of Silicon Valley (LEABsv): a leadership development body consisting of members with current or past experience of homelessness. This self-governing board serves as a platform for people who’ve experienced homelessness to provide meaningful input to improve Santa Clara County’s supportive housing system, and has become a vital voice in our community.

Today, LEABsv includes dozens of active members who bring first-hand experience to homeless services, providing consultation and advocacy for improving our supportive housing system, while also offering a source of personal and professional growth for its members.

Learn more about the Lived Experience Advisory Board of Silicon Valley and their work in our community.

West Valley Community Services LEAP

With support from Destination: Home, West Valley Community Services launched its Lived Experience Advocacy Program (LEAP) to build power and elevate the voices of individuals with lived experience of homelessness and housing insecurity. Through this initiative, they established a robust Lived Experience Advisory Council (LEAC), created a community Action Hour series focused on policy engagement, and launched a mentorship program that pairs LEAC members with experienced leaders.

In August 2025, one LEAC member will officially join the WVCS Board of Directors, ensuring lived experience representation in governance. This work is helping shift systems by equipping community members to drive policy change and hold leadership roles in the West Valley region of Santa Clara County.

Lived Experience Nationally

National Lived Experience Leadership Conference

We hosted nearly 400 attendees from 40 states and Canada (over 75% with lived experience of homelessness) at the 2024 National Lived Experience Leadership Conference, as part of our efforts to foster a national growing movement to center lived experience in the work to end homelessness. This joyous and important gathering – developed in partnership with the National Coalition for the Homeless – was designed by and for people most impacted by homelessness to develop leadership skills and build power to mobilize for action.

Ensuring attendees and speakers felt fully supported and empowered to show up as their most authentic selves and meaningfully contribute was integral to the success of the conference. To promote inclusivity and accessibility, we provided robust scholarships, transportation to and from the airport/venue, and abundant opportunities for professional development and networking.

Led by the true experts of homelessness, a variety of interactive workshops and presentations equipped attendees with actionable ways to drive solutions to homelessness in their communities.