I'm really excited about this panel that we're going to be hearing from today. These are folks who are
in our community, have a specific perspective. As Tatiana talked about earlier today, a perspective
is really helpful to inform the work that we're all doing to build housing security and strengthen our
community and our region.
I will start out by introducing the panelist moderator, Erin Reynolds Nyland, who is Heading Home's
Housing Solutions Director. Let's give it up for Erin. Erin will be introducing the panelists.
Hi everybody, thank you so much for being here today. I have the distinct pleasure of moderating this
panel and getting to elevate the voices of people who have experienced the most extreme housing crisis.
So without further ado, I would like to invite Mandy New, William Corbin, and Angie Reed up to the stage
with me today.
All righty, so I mean, I think we've heard it a bunch today already, and most of us, I think, know and
believe that and apply it to our practice is that we're the experts in our own lives. Nobody knows us
and the path that we've been on better than ourselves. And so when experiencing a whole housing crisis
like homelessness, unless you've lived it, you don't know what it's like. So we need to make sure that
our policies and how we practice are informing what the real life
experiences of people experiencing homelessness or are in a housing crisis. So we have three community
members here with us today to help us understand what kind of perspectives need to be involved in our
housing policies. So if each of you would like to take a moment to describe your experience and handling
your housing crisis,
In terms of that, what do you wish more people understood about those facing a housing crisis?
First of all, thank you all for coming. We appreciate everything that you do. It's easy to look at this
as numbers on a ledger instead of seeing us as people. And I thank you for the opportunity to see us
as people.
For the outreach program caseworkers who are out there in the field, they're the ones that are the true
soldiers. They're the ones who inspire us, kick us in the rear when we need it, and basically there
for our support. So I'd like to thank them specifically.
I think that becoming unhoused is not something that anybody ever dreams that could happen. And being
that I camped the entire time that I was unhoused for two and a half years. And the resources were there,
but they weren't always easily accessible. Because not having a vehicle or transportation and not having a phone
or not having the ability to get to the places that I needed to get to to gain the knowledge and the
attention to detail the things that I needed to know to become housed again. It was really hard. And
I think that if you've never been unhoused,
It's something that a lot of people take for granted, that you know you're going to have electricity.
You know you're going to have a bed. You know you're going to have food in your refrigerator and food
in your belly. But for people that are in the house, we don't have that. We don't know where our next
meal is going to come from. We don't know where our next shower is going to come from. We don't know
if we're going to be warm or if we're going to be cold. And it makes it really hard.
We have community members that look down upon us because we don't have that or because we aren't able
to obtain it as easily. It makes it really, really hard. But with being able to get to where I'm at
now, it's given me a lot of grace and made me a lot more humble than where I was before.
I'm hearing not knowing is a huge, whether resources or what the next couple hours are gonna look like.
Yeah, Mandy, what about you? Just because you see an unhoused person doesn't necessarily mean they're
a bad person and that they're not willing or wanting or deserving of a change or a home.
Like she said, maybe they just don't know how to put certain steps into action or how to begin. And
so they just need a little guidance. Housing is hard. Housing is hard to navigate. And you just need
someone, even one, to show you the way. Absolutely. So in terms of finding the way and when things start
coming to fruition, what kinds of supports made a meaningful difference in your journey to becoming
housed? It's the person that gives you the support, not just the knowledge, but actually emotionally
connects with the person they're trying to help. Again, they see me as a person.
And I haven't felt that for a long time. And this is my way of saying thank you to all of you, because
without you, our lives would be a lot worse off. And is there more that can be done? Yes. But showing
up here, that's half of the battle right there. Yeah. Thank you.
I have one situation that's a little different than my fellow panelists. I'm a veteran. So my resources
seem to extend a little bit farther than what they had available to them. But I still, I totally forgot
what the question was. Sorry. What kinds of support made a meaningful difference to you?
having case managers on your side, having community members that were willing to step up when you're
having a really bad day and somebody sees that and they're like, hey, here's 20 bucks, go get you some
food or they bring you a meal or they just are willing to sit down and chat with you and talk you through
maybe one of the hardest times of your life. The community doesn't realize what
an impact they can have on someone in the hardest time of their life. We don't realize that people reach
out without really reaching out. And when a kind word is given or a hug is given or a simple gesture
of just being acknowledged
that we're not invisible, that we're actually seen, makes all the difference in the world. I'm hearing
so far a theme is people. Yeah. Anything you'd like to add, Wendy? Definitely people. My situation,
yeah, was different too. I was overcoming addiction as well as
Oh, I was sorry. I was overcoming addiction as well as homelessness. My support was one person that
constantly and consistently showed up for me and belief. That person believed in me even when I didn't
believe in myself. And that gave me the confidence in myself to keep moving forward. Human connection
is extremely powerful.
It doesn't matter if you know them. It's acknowledging their existence, because we're all people.
Thank you, guys. Yeah. So I'm curious. I mean, we're sitting here, and you guys are
You're experts. And we all have strengths. And we have built teams based on each other's strengths.
And we get through things based off of what we have internal to ourselves. So what did you rely on?
What kind of strengths did you rely on that people might not have seen? What were you working with that
you knew you had going?
My situation is a bit differently. I always thought I was doing the right thing, preparing for the worst,
hoping for the best. But it took just one bad day, followed by one bad decision. And then I realized
everybody's in that position. I'm still a work in progress.
I don't use the word normality anymore because they keep changing the goalpost on that. I prefer stability.
And thanks to organizations such as yours, I'm getting to that point where I can stand on my own. It's
just reaching out and helping.
and knowing when to reach out and acknowledge that, you know, I can't do this by myself and I need some
extra, I need some knowledge. I don't know what to do. Like, that's asking for help is, you know, I
think people always say that is the hardest part, right? Yes. I know for me that I have failed at many,
many, many attempts to get sober and clean, which I've finally succeeded at. It's taken a long time
for me to,
overcome bad decisions and bad choices doesn't mean I'm a bad person. It just means I made decisions
that led me down a really dark path. And with the support of certain people like Allison and people
from my church and people from other organizations, they have
made such a huge difference in my life that I'm finally able to stand on my own two feet again and be
stronger than I was three years ago when I became homeless and leaving situations of abuse and a lot
of self doubt and a lot of self hatred. And I'm finally able to say, hey, I like myself again and learning
to love myself again. And that way I can make a difference in somebody else's life.
Like, you all are making a difference by being here today, because it shows that you care, which means
more than you know. Yeah, like he said, reaching out for help was hard for me. But when I finally did
admit I needed help and reached out, help was there.
paying it forward for me. When people reach out, it's my strength. That's how I give back. That's how
I stay strong now, both in my sobriety and in my community. I think it's a common theme.
I'm really good at that. Who can say? I am the best of the best, and I've made it, and I've done all
the things. I think patting ourselves on the back is very hard. But I think the fact that you guys are
here today. Resilience plays a big part. Resilience is, yeah. So I don't know if you guys heard that.
Angie said resilience plays a huge part in being able to wake up and show up and do it all over again, not
Maybe knowing what, if it's going to play out the same way, or the unknown is really hard, and you have
to be resilient within that unknown. Amazing. So was there a moment when you felt like things started
to feel positive again, or possible again? What led to that moment of feeling things are coming around?
Things are like, I can.
I can achieve this. I can be housed. I can do this. When did that feel possible? Well, I was homeless
for four years. And it took what she said, resilience. You have to have that. I always tried to keep
in my lane.
I knew things were possible. I knew the organizations were out there to render aid. I just didn't know
how to make contact with them. Fortunately, I went to an event affair that was held over at the switchyard.
And I met a caseworker from heading home. Can I mention her by name? Sure. Rosalind Doyle. She's my angel.
She didn't put up with any of my gruff. She encouraged me and motivated me and at times said, you got
to do this. But I needed that. And she knew that I needed that. That's when I realized what the possibilities
were. I think for me, being able to reconnect with my family.
and reconnect with my children and my grandchildren. Once I became housed temporarily, I became housed
in an apartment that, and being able to be more active in their life made me want to move ahead farther
and farther. And being now that I'm able to be a part of their life, and I have two new grandbabies
that are due one due in May and one due in August, and I get to be a part of their life.
and continuing. And, you know, I want that. I want, I don't want to have that, that faded, you know,
be in the faded background of that life. And I want to be a part of my parents' life and be there for
them as they get older and know that they can rely on me. And I don't want them to feel like, well,
we can't rely on her because she's not stable. So those are things that help keep me grounded in my
day to day now that allow me to,
keep that aha moment of, yes, I'm finally in a place where, yes, I can improve, but so can everybody
in their life. But I'm comfortable with where I'm at. And I'm just going to keep striving to keep moving
forward. Thanks for me. There was kind of a moment where things finally started
to feel like they were paying off and gaining momentum. It was when a very patient and kind case manager
that I had at New Hope sat with me like at the ready at section eight open time and clicked repeatedly apply and
I was finally accepted for the Section 8 waiting list and then accepted onto Section 8. And everything
started kind of moving forward after that. And it felt doable after that. And everything kind of felt
like this is what all of this was for. This is what I was doing all of this for. And since then, it
was like everything started moving towards a positive direction, being housed.
Having my own place and just everything after that. Taking care of my own yard, even though I grumble
about it sometimes. All of the things, all of the things, since that moment have just been great. So
that was my moment. I'm just sitting with that for a second.
I'm hearing a lot of connection. And I'm also hearing opportunity. And those opportunities aren't just
stumbled upon if you're not aware of what, like we said, the resources are. If we don't know where to
start, there's always opportunity. But how do we know how to capitalize on it? And it takes encouragement.
And it takes people to encourage you.
don't feel like you want to, or you just need the extra push. We talk all the time. My case managers
and I, I think just in general, we talk about how relationships are so important, because we don't do
anything by ourselves. I mean, if you live by yourself, you still have a community of people that you
use to charge your battery and your social battery.
and connect with. None of us do anything alone. We are social people. And I think that we need to recognize
we all do things in support of one another and with that encouragement, because we're just social people.
And we really rely on the support of others. And it's great to be independent and say that I did the
whole thing myself, but what does that
What does that really get us? Curious about what are some ways you feel like community members can show
up as better supporters and allies for people who are experiencing a housing crisis? Form a connection
with somebody. You normally wouldn't. Get to know them. Get to know us. Ask us how our day is.
how we're feeling. Engage. That's the best thing you can do to start off with. Just engage with someone.
You normally wouldn't. I think that being open-minded and knowing that everybody's situation is different
what your situation may be might be different than my situation, what your situation may be is going
to be different than my situation. And knowing that going into meeting somebody or trying to help somebody,
you can't be close minded and be judgmental because if you're that way, then you're going to push that
other person away or you're going to push possibilities away that could help both of you in the long run.
or even in short term. So just being open-minded and being empathetic and compassionate to knowing that
there's going to be setbacks. But with each setback comes progress. Even regardless how small it is,
even the smallest steps, it's still progress. And change will come and you'll see a smile
on that person's face. And just knowing that you can make even the smallest difference is, it warms
your heart. I think kind of building on what both of them said, reach out to someone. And just because
they don't necessarily want to talk to you today, it doesn't mean that they won't want to talk to you
tomorrow. Or just because they say, I don't need your help,
today doesn't mean that tomorrow they won't. Just be patient. Be patient with people. And practice gratitude
in your own life. Very well said. Thank you, guys. From your perspective, what systems, health care,
housing, businesses, those kind of systems, what's working well right now?
Me personally, I want to get off the assistance. I want to get to, I know I need it now, but I'm looking
forward to the day when I can contribute more than I'm taking. I'm glad that they're there. Could the
systems run a little bit smoother? Yeah, but every system can be said about that. As far as healthcare,
every three months I get a letter that says we need to re-examine your application for healthcare.
Usually it hasn't changed, but fortunately I am now employed and hopefully my employer will have that
problem. But it's getting to the point where I'm getting more stable and more on my own feet. So the
systems are there. You just, like I said, you have to know how to work with them and let them know you
don't want to be on it forever.
For me, I have the VA, and Health Net has been my biggest supporter besides the VA. Allison has been
in my quarter since day one that I met her. She has given me rides. She has pushed me to do things that
I'm not comfortable with and helped me make changes in my life that have been much needed and much
they're deserved for the things that I've done. And sometimes it feels like I'm just pushing against
myself to get where I need to be and I'm my own worst enemy. But with the organizations and with the
community that has been helping, I wouldn't be where I am today without you guys. And I wouldn't be
able to sit here and speak about my experience so openly if I hadn't gone through the trials and tribulations
that I had. So as much as I want to say I wish I had never been through them, I'm grateful I have because
hopefully if there's somebody else down the road that's going through this, maybe I can help them and
maybe it won't be as hard or as long for them because of the people that I've had help me.
From my point of view, something that I think that is going well is meeting people where they are. Like
she said, giving people rides to appointments, to interviews, to doctor's appointments. That affords
them the ability to have access to health care, mental health care, a job, or just anywhere really.
a housing appointment with BHA or for a walkthrough for an appointment, it makes a difference. So I
think that that is something that has made a large difference. The flexibility within those systems
of the frontline staff, to what extent are they able to support? And to what you said, William, everybody
we can all be doing a little better. I mean, the bar is high. We set the bar high for ourselves. But
I think the fact that we're all in the room together and we're talking about these things, it means
that we acknowledge that and we want to be a part of the solution. So I'm curious, a little rogue question,
area of opportunities within our system. Where do we feel like maybe something's just almost there?
And it just needs to happen? Or are there other areas of opportunity within these systems that are all
working within each other? Where could we see some improvement? Where are some areas of opportunity?
I think it comes as no surprise that many of the homeless suffer from mental illness. Health Net is
great at helping the body
But there are people out there who need better help with their mental issues. They're not going to come
seeking help, most of them, because they found a solution out on the streets through self-medication.
And instead of solving their issues, they're merely masking them. So if there was better drive for mental health,
You'd see a lot of the side issues getting solved as well. Crime rate will lower, drug use will be lowered.
And the people who are even a mild elevation in their lifestyle can change their entire life. So mental
advocacy is one area I think could be worked on.
to go along with what William said, peer-to-peer counseling is a huge opportunity that you don't have
to have a certification for. Just by being there for somebody, being compassionate enough to say, hey,
I see you're having a hard time, maybe we can work through this together. But there are programs where
you can do and get certification for peer-to-peer counseling.
This is one Sherwood Oaks Christian Church. I know that they're doing a program with peer-to-peer counseling.
The reason I know that is my dad's done it. And my dad's now one of their counselors. And it's not a
degree, it's just certification. And if we are able to start more counseling programs throughout the
city or the county, maybe that might reduce
you know, self harm, harm reduction, the level of crime and just bring up more positive aura to our
town, to our city or to our county and just to people's attitudes and open their minds and hearts a
little bit better to seeing that, yes, mental health is a huge problem here.
And maybe by tackling it a little more head on and not just throwing away the key by putting people
in jail or throwing them in a psychiatric hospital, but doing groundwork of building up from there,
it might work a little bit better. I think,
Something that could be improved upon is communication between the agencies. I think we're getting there,
but it could use more work. One thing that I got frustrated with a lot when I was unhoused was having
to repeat myself so many times for each person that I had to interact with. And it's tiring. It's super
frustrating.
is traumatic in and of itself to have to rehash everything that you've gone through with each provider.
We use HMIS, which has a little bit of some of your barriers. So we have that, but it could be better.
You know what I mean? It's traumatic enough that you have to relive it once, but to have to do that
with each and every provider is frustrating. So I think that could be improved upon.
hearing mental health outreach specifically. I think that was a great point about people who are currently
in their reality are not gonna seek out support they don't think they need and building those relationships
and getting to knowing what counseling opportunities there are. I mean, we talk about peer-to-peer counseling
and those start with conversations like this with people who you can't be a peer
if you haven't had that specific experience. So it's really important to have those opportunities and
totally about communication. I agree that I think it's getting better. We're finding out how we can,
as agencies, better communicate with each other with the discretion of ROIs and things like that. We
don't want to be spilling everybody's beans.
At least on their well-being, currently. How is this person doing? Yeah, that's an important thing that
you said, Mandy, about every time that you tell a story or your story. That's that many more times.
What is defining you in that moment? And you just have to keep repeating it. And that can get very,
that weighs a lot.
What is that? It feels like it's being overlooked. Overlooked? Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Thank you guys
for answering that real question. Because I think it's always great to talk about what things are working
well. But we always know things can be improved upon as well. So what is giving you hope right now?
Or what's something that's bringing you joy this season?
about what we're here about for, what in this season of life are you really joyful about? For me, it's
seeing the progress. It's all good and fine to say, I want to do this, but getting it done, that gives
you so much satisfaction. You have no idea how we all feel about, yay,
We got a place to stay. We're comfortable. We're safe. It has changed our lives. And I'm sure these
two will agree with me. If it hadn't been for guys like you doing what you do behind the scenes and
the caseworkers who see the front line, we wouldn't be in this situation. We'd still be out there. So
thank you.
Springtime is a season of birth and renewal. And so, I mean, this summit being held right now is the
perfect time because we're getting a chance to see flowers bloom and grass grow and our trees grow leaves
and we're seeing animals come out after a long, hard winter with their newborn, their babies.
we're able to take in that joy and the fresh air and just kind of exhale and take a deep breath and
just be for a bit. We don't have to worry about, oh, when's that snowstorm going to come in? Or when
are we going to have to plow our driveway so we can park our cars? We can just take a step back and
just be grateful for what we've been given and to be able to
see that and know that I'm in a place in time right now that I feel like I can help others maybe. I
hold on to that hope that I can make as much difference as people have made in my life. I can make a
difference in somebody else's life or in people's lives. So I'm grateful for everything. I'm grateful
to be upright and breathing.
and being able to speak on a panel like this, because without this type of opportunity, who knows what
you all may have heard down the road or today. You wouldn't have learned things that you may be learning
today. But we're grateful that you've given us this opportunity. So thank you. What gives me hope is
seeing firsthand
all the people who are succeeding in getting housing and getting mental and physical health care of
their own, and not just getting it, but keeping it. Yeah, that makes me happy. Finding sustainable housing,
that's great. I think the theme here to this question is sustainability. Yes.
not being in survival mode and... Living. Yeah, and... Yeah, they enjoy living, and they get to see,
oh my gosh, let's sit with that for a second. That there's stability and safety, and they enjoy living
again, you know? Like, oh, my goodness.
A lot comes from that. And you can enjoy the spring. And you can enjoy seeing the tulips and everything
pop up and begin anew. I think that was beautiful. And I think that that really puts it into my perspective,
right? Because it's different maybe when you're not living in the spring.
If an organization would like to seek the expertise of people with lived experience of homelessness
in their program or policy design, how can they do so in a meaningful way? Go up to one of us on the
streets. Make a connection. Some of us don't bite.
Just the show of concern and learning about what our story is. Each of us has a story to be told. My
mother always said, you should listen twice as much as you speak. And I have been listening to each
and every one of you today, having conversations at your tables, showing concern for each other,
for us. You keep doing that.
You don't have to have 100% of the solution. If 100 people have 1% of the solution, there's no problem
that can't be fixed. I think that if there was an organization, and this probably sounds a little extreme,
If there were people that were willing to take a step and live in our shoes for, say, a week, find out
what it's truly like to be homeless, because you go from having everything to giving up everything for
a week, to seeing what it's like to actually live and breathe being homeless, and then coming up, pulling
together, coming up with ideas that might be not
I think coming to, you know, to maybe my mind to put forth as an idea to try and create sustainability
for somebody. Those, I think that would be something that would be worthwhile and it might create more
compassion for people that have a harder time understanding why people do become unhoused because there
are people that make that by choice and then there's others that don't.
I think that for me, that's always been something that I would love to see happen is people live that
way for just a short amount of time to gain a little more compassion and empathy and understanding of
maybe a breakthrough ideas to come help end it. I think just active listening and
compassion and the understanding that every situation, like they said, is different. Every person is
different. And what works for one person isn't going to work for every person. He is different. She's
different. I'm different. And so a cover-all solution isn't going to be effective. You have to be flexible.
You have to be
understanding that you're going to have to come up with different ways all the time to keep things moving,
to be able to make things work for each individual. That's how we're going to be successful. I feel
like rarely ever one size fits all is just not a thing anymore. And it shouldn't be in policy. It shouldn't
be in how we interact and encourage and motivate just as
All of us up here are different. Every single one of you are different. So I think it'd be crazy to
think, how would a policy that applies to somebody with different circumstances, how would that affect
me? And how would we feel about something that has no, it doesn't make any sense for me to be a part
of this umbrella because it just doesn't work with where I'm at or what I need or what my ability levels are.
So yeah, we're wrapping up here. I'm curious, you know, what would you like frontline staff, policymakers,
community to hear directly for you? I think you guys have shared a lot of consistent messaging and things
like that, but if you had the hot, you know, you have the microphone, what would you like for them to
hear or sink in? What's your message?
We're people, too. That's it. We're not a case number. We're not a file. We're not a statistic. Each
and every one of us is an individual. You have your stories. We have ours. If we learn to share those
stories, we can find common ground. I think we want you to understand that we appreciate you. We appreciate
everything that's being done.
Sometimes I may not come across that way. It might come across as being rude and gruff, but deep down,
we truly appreciate everything that's being done because without you guys, we could be so much worse
off and that your effort and your kindness go a long way because it lets us open ourselves up a little
bit easier each time.
I know I'm grateful and I'm forever in debt to the hands and hearts that have helped me. I feel like
they hear me a lot, but if I had to pick one thing to say, it'd be don't give up on people. Because
I turned down a lot of opportunities for help. And if the one day that I reached out for help
that door had been closed even a little bit, I would not be sitting here talking to y'all. So don't
give up on people. Leave the door open, and just always be willing. I feel so better off having heard
what you guys have shared.
everybody take something from hearing these conversations and the themes. I would really just love to
hear a round of applause for our community members up here and showing up for themselves. Thank you,
everybody.