Empowering Housing Advocates to Share Their Personal Stories

The Washington Low Income Housing Alliance's new Emerging Advocates Program builds on the organization's strong history of supporting housing advocacy. In this photo, advocates rally at the state capitol at the Housing Alliance's Housing and Homelessness Advocacy Day on Feb. 11, 2013. Image credit: Washington Low Income Housing Alliance

At Firesteel, we believe that making your voice heard can spark change that will help end homelessness. The Washington Low Income Housing Alliance is a statewide leader in connecting community members who want to speak up with opportunities to make a difference. We're very excited about the Housing Alliance's new program focused on empowering people who have experienced homelessness or housing insecurity to share their stories and have a positive influence on budget and policy decisions. Guest blogger Alouise Urness explains the motivation for the program in today's post.

From Soldier to Civilian: Affordable Childcare is an Unmet Need for Veterans

Image credit: Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs

The number of women veterans is on the rise in the U.S. While some adjust well to civilian life, others struggle with a variety of barriers. This "From Soldier to Civilian" blog series will share veterans' experiences and explore the challenges that veterans, particularly women veterans, experience. Image credit: Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs

Many veterans experience barriers transitioning into civilian life, and some become homeless. Between now and Veterans Day, November 11, our “From Soldier to Civilian” blog series will examine barriers that veterans, and women veterans in particular, face as they re-enter civilian society. We’ll also share suggestions from experts – veterans themselves – on making the transition easier. Today we introduce you to Leanna, an Air Force veteran and single mom who struggles financially, in part because of the high cost of childcare.

Family Homelessness Experts

An expert panel of community members who have experienced homelessness spoke at the Conference on Ending Homelessness. Photo credit: Janice Tufte.

The Washington Low Income Housing Alliance's excellent 2013 Conference on Ending Homelessness featured many of the speakers you'd expect -- direct service providers, policy wonks, elected officials, and leading advocates. But organizers also offered a panel discussion by experts we don't see often enough at these types of gatherings: people who have experienced homelessness themselves. They are, of course, voices we should be listening to as we advocate for an end to homelessness, and we commend the Housing Alliance for including their perspectives. We recorded a couple of their stories, and we've included videos of Mindy and David.

I’m an Advocate: Norene Roberts

Featured advocate Norene Roberts has worked as a social services provider for over a decade.

What's the first step you should take when you advocate for an end to homelessness? Listen. "Advocating for any person or group first requires that you know what it is that that person or group wants and needs – not what we think they want and need – and that requires opening your ears before your mouth," says Norene Roberts, program manager at The Salvation Army’s Catherine Booth House, a domestic violence shelter for women and children. Norene shares her thoughts on advocating for housing stability in this installment of our "I'm An Advocate" series.

Policy Matters: The Housing Trust Fund and Ron’s Story

Single father Ron Sordahl and his son Tommy live at YWCA Family Village at Issaquah, an affordable community built with help from the Housing Trust Fund.

On Monday state lawmakers started a special session to work toward a budget agreement. Their decisions about investment in social safety-net services for the disabled and the Housing Trust Fund will affect community members across the state. Our "Policy Matters" blog series introduces you to people whose lives are directly impacted by state housing policies. Today we share the story of Ron, a single father who lives at YWCA Family Village at Issaquah. Ron's community, along with many other safe, affordable homes, was built with help from the Housing Trust Fund. Read on to find out how this fund helps people like Ron, and what you can do to encourage our legislators to invest in our communities.

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