Meet the 15 leaders shaping national homelessness decisions
We’re thrilled to announce the launch of the National Lived Experience Leadership & Advocacy Board – 15 leaders with lived experience of homelessness representing communities across the country in national homelessness decisions. By connecting leaders and systems across states, the Board will ensure national solutions to homelessness reflect the insights and priorities of the people most impacted.
A National Board for a National Movement
The launch of the National Board marks an important milestone in the movement to center lived experience leadership. Across the country, more communities are working with people who have experienced homelessness to design effective responses to homelessness, recognizing that their lived expertise is essential to creating lasting change. Building on this progress toward sharing power requires coordination across communities, alignment on proven strategies, and a shared advocacy agenda.
The momentum is clear – our national call for members received more than 300 applications from leaders. After careful deliberation, we’re honored to introduce the members of the inaugural National Lived Experience Leadership & Advocacy Board.
In its first year, the National Board will focus on defining its priorities and fostering strong relationships with key partner organizations. This work begins with a notable early partnership with Harvard’s Initiative on Health & Homelessness. National Board members will have the opportunity to participate in a Homelessness Solutions Academy – joining national teams of leaders to advance solutions – and to support a first-of-its-kind study on leadership rooted in lived expertise. Through this partnership, they’ll help build stronger evidence for how lived experience leadership shapes funding, policy, systems change, and public understanding of homelessness.
As board member Otis Harris, Jr., from Madison, Wisconsin, says, “Lived experience is expertise.”
The lessons learned through homelessness, instability, recovery, and resilience are not liabilities – they are assets. They provide insight that no textbook, report, or research study can fully capture. My hope is that our work helps build stronger bridges between communities, systems, and policy so that future generations spend less time navigating barriers and more time building stable, meaningful lives.
Growing a Movement of Leaders
The overwhelming response to our national call underscores a need for more ways to elevate those with lived expertise in solutions to homelessness. The National Lived Experience Leadership Conference, hosted in partnership with the National Coalition for the Homeless, is another national platform. This year, the conference returns to the West Coast. Leaders and advocates will gather in San José on September 28-30 to organize around the theme of “Answering the Call: Bridging Communities, Systems, and Policy,” connecting ideas, people, and systems to build on this momentum. (Want to help move this momentum forward? Consider supporting this year’s conference.)
Scaling Proven Solutions Nationally
The National Lived Experience Leadership & Advocacy Board is part of our broader effort to scale effective, equitable solutions that center the people most impacted by homelessness.
Last month, we reached another milestone in that work by hosting our Right at Home National Convening. Local leaders from our Right at Home pilot sites came together to deepen their partnerships and plan their own targeted homelessness prevention systems, inspired by our proven prevention program model. From funding to implementation to evaluation, Destination: Home and our cross-sector partners shared what makes the model successful and sustainable.
Trust is at the heart of this work. Whether through the National Board or Right at Home, we are partnering with leaders who know what their communities need to thrive. We are grateful for their leadership and look forward to sharing more about the far-reaching impact of both national initiatives.