Editor’s note: Street Sense vendors and journalists were able to attend the National Alliance to End Homelessness conference through a partnership with the organization, which allowed reporters to attend for free and provided small stipends for travel. NAEH worked with reporters to set up interviews during the conference but did not review any of the articles ahead of publication.
During July, advocates and service providers met at the National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH) conference to share stories, policies, and ideas to end homelessness in their communities. The National Alliance to End Homelessness is the organizer of this important meeting of the minds that takes place in D.C. each year and is usually capped off with a massive advocacy day at Capitol Hill. This year, the experience was a little different and came with a specific focus on lived experience.
Ann Oliva, CEO of the NAEH, spoke about needing bipartisan leadership and “evidence-based resources and solutions.”
“All of us have lived expertise,” Oliva said. “We bring our whole selves into our work. We’re going to need a new system.”
Oliva cited the progress of communities using U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Veterans Affairs supportive housing programs.
“I have seen people across the political spectrum have bipartisan support for veterans because they are seen as worthy,” Oliva said. “I think everyone is worthy.”
Oliva supports creating universal vouchers, which would target people who are earning between 0% and 15% of the median family income.
In D.C., Oliva shared, there is a limited geographic area. She has found “land use to be one issue. It’s hard to bring in tiny homes and safe parking.” While NAEH does not get into hyper-local issues, Oliva said it offers support to residents suffering from encampment closures. Oliva said NAEH values partnerships grounded in using evidence-based approaches. As for local advocacy, “it’s generally not something that we do,” Oliva said.
In the future, Oliva would like to see someone with lived experience as the chief executive officer of NAEH. Oliva feels opportunities for lived expertise should cover the country, and she highlighted the successes of Patty Murphy from Minnesota.
“There is absolutely an impact,” Olivia said as she praised the efforts of lived experience community members. “We have seen their influence on jurisdictions across the country.”
The alliance has brought on an entire team of people with lived expertise. One of those people is the NAEH director of lived experience, Albert Townsend.
“I’ve seen the work elevate,” Townsend said. He shared that NAEH is making a concerted effort to improve the partnerships with those with lived expertise. It’s something the NAEH board of directors is pushing.
Tom Murphy is the communications officer for NAEH and said one of the biggest challenges is helping lawmakers understand the issue of homelessness. It’s the stories of lived experience that can shape people’s understanding of the issue, he said.
“The entire homeless response system was created by housed people, and then we get mad at them for not using the shelter system,” Murphy said.
Murphy hopes NAEH will continue creating opportunities to include lived expertise. “As we keep working on public information, there’s a hunger for narrative change,” Murphy said. “It’s essential for lived experience people to be involved. People like stories. We need to find space for that.”
This year’s conference was one of the bright spots in a year that has become increasingly difficult for unhoused people. Politically, it is very important those with lived expertise are included in the conversation in this political climate. If more organizations undertake the work of the Alliance, unhoused people will have a platform to stand on, one that is rooted in their solutions and ideas for addressing problems. It will make the systems in our community better for everyone.
