We Are Neighbors
By We Are Neighbors
New episode each month so join us as we explore the issue of homelessness. We look forward to continuing to raise awareness, support advocacy, and move us all to action that we can take together to make the experience of homelessness rare, brief, and nonrecurring. Every neighbor deserves to have a safe, stable place to call home.
We Are NeighborsFeb 21, 2023
When We Walk By
Listen to the first Hard Conversation of 2024! Housing Forward hosted Kevin F. Adler and Donald W. Burnes, co-authors of When We Walk By: Forgotten Humanity, Broken Systems, and the Role We Can Each Play in Ending Homelessness in America. When We Walk By takes an urgent look at homelessness in America, showing us what we lose—in ourselves and as a society—when we choose to walk past and ignore our neighbors in shelters, insecure housing, or on the streets.
Watch the Hard Conversation on YouTube or the We Are Neighbors Podcast!
Special Guest: Dr. Earl J. Edwards
Educator, researcher, and human rights activist Dr. Earl J. Edwards joined us to talk about the impact of race in creating and addressing homelessness.
The impact race has on the issue of homelessness has led to an overrepresentation of people of color in the unhoused population. A history of racial discrimination, including current-day policies and practices across various systems, continues to create disparate impacts along racial lines.
During this conversation, Joli Angel Robinson, Rebecca Hickom, and Dr. Earl J. Edwards discussed the role race and racism plays in creating and addressing homelessness and the importance of centering racial equity in the homeless response system.
Advocacy with Eric Samuels
In this episode of the We Are Neighbors podcast, Eric Samuels, President and CEO at the Texas Homeless Network, joined our hosts to talk about advocacy!
Advocacy can be a touchy subject for non-profits as there are rules and regulations about what they can/cannot do. However, there are ways non-profits and individuals can be intentional and drive change in their community. Eric Samuels dives into what the Texas Homeless Network does and what it takes to be successful. Learn about the THN's advocacy efforts here: https://www.thn.org/policy-advocacy/
Special Guest: Dr. Brandon Andrew Robinson
In this Hard Conversation, we spoke with Dr. Brandon Andrew Robinson, author of Coming Out to the Streets and the Chair and Associate Professor of Gender and Sexuality Studies at the University of California, Riverside.
Coming Out to the Streets looks into LGBTQ youth’s lives before they experience homelessness and when they navigate the streets. Through this documentation, Dr. Robinson shows how poverty and racial inequality shape the ways that LGBTQ youth negotiate their gender and sexuality before and while they are experiencing homelessness.
If you want to purchase the book, click here.
You can also watch the Hard Conversation on Youtube, here.
Special Guest: Ellen Magnis from Family Gateway
In this episode, we were joined by Ellen Magnis the President and CEO of Family Gateway.
Family Gateway is one of the service providers apart of the All Neighbors Coalition. Their mission is to provide stability and life-changing supportive services to children and families affected by homelessness. They also serve as the main access point for families with children for our community’s Coordinated Access System.
We spoke to Ellen about families experiencing homelessness, how Family Gateway provides support, and ways you can get involved.
Learn more about their work here: https://familygateway.org/get-involved/
Encampment Decommissioning: Part 2
Welcome Hannah Sims and Alonzo Grape to the We Are Neighbors podcast for a special two-part series about Encampment Decommissioning! In case you missed it, listen to Part 1 to learn more about what encampment decommissioning is and give you a better understanding of how we are helping our neighbors connect with permanent solutions to housing and supportive services to ensure a successful transition into housing. In this episode, we will dive in to discuss the results we are seeing, how many individuals have been housed, future plans, and how YOU can get involved to support this important work.
Encampment Decommissioning: Part 1
Welcome Hannah Sims and Alonzo Grape to the We Are Neighbors podcast for a special two-part series about Encampment Decommissioning! In this episode, we will dive deeper into what encampment decommissioning is, how it differs from the ways we have intervened with encampments in the past, and give you a better understanding of how we are helping our neighbors connect with permanent solutions to housing and supportive services to ensure a successful transition into housing.
Special Guest: Jeff Olivet
In this Hard Conversation, we spoke with Jeff Olivet, Executive Director of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH), about All In: The Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness which was developed by USICH.
All In sets an ambitious goal to reduce homelessness 25% by 2025 and encourages state and local governments to use the plan as a blueprint for developing their own strategic plans and for setting their own ambitious goals for 2025.
The plan is built around six pillars: three foundations—equity, data and evidence, and collaboration—and three solutions—housing and supports, crisis response, and prevention. Within each pillar are strategies and actions that lay the groundwork for a future when no one experiences homelessness—not even for one night. The plan can be found at https://www.usich.gov/all-in.
2023 State of Homelessness Address
Housing Forward hosted the annual State of Homelessness Address on April 13th.
The State of Homelessness Address is an insightful event that had contributions from renowned experts in the field and impactful stories of success within the homeless response system. This pivotal moment unites us as a community and renews our commitment to ending homelessness by promoting effective solutions and improving the homeless response system. Together, we can make homelessness rare, brief, and non-recurring in Dallas and Collin Counties.
You can watch the livestream and view the data on our website under the 'Track Our Progress' tab.
Special Guest: Ashley Flores
In this episode, Joli Angel Robinson sat down with Ashley Flores, Senior Director at the Child Poverty Action Lab or CPAL, to talk about a new report CPAL will be published in the coming weeks.
CPAL's new report will focus on affordable housing, specifically in the local renters market. The lack of affordable housing is one of the main reasons someone may experience homelessness. Ashley provides insight into why housing affordability matters, gaps in the market, the use of vouchers, homeownership affordability in Dallas and the gaps we observe by race and ethnicity, what kind of solutions are out there to make our housing market better and so much more!
Special Guest: Dr. Jenny Schuetz
On this month's episode, hosts Joli Angel Robinson and Rebecca Hickom are joined by Dr. Jenny Schuetz, author of Fixer-Upper: How to Repair America’s Broken Housing Systems.
In 'Fixer-Upper,' Dr. Schuetz proposes practical solutions to make housing more affordable and accessible for all. We discussed housing solutions, understanding how housing policies impact not only people but also communities, and way more. Tune in now!
What is the Point-in-Time (PIT) count?
Housing Forward has scheduled the annual Point-in-Time (PIT) count for the night of January 26th. In honor of this, we sat down with Joy Moses, Vice President of Research and Evidence, from the National Alliance to End Homelessness. Learn more about why the PIT count is important and how it informs and shapes the homeless response system.
How to give back during the holidays
Housing Forward sat down with some special guests from The Samaritan Inn, Metrocrest Service, and Downtown Dallas Inc. They are change makers in our local rehousing space who are helping us explore the most effective way we can put our generous holidays feelings into action in a way that helps our unhoused neighbors in the best way and doesn’t unintentionally set our neighbors back on their pathway to obtaining housing.
Special Guest: Steve Berg
We sat down with Steve Berg, the Chief of Policy at National Alliance to End Homelessness, to discuss who our unhoused neighbors are, public opinion, and more.
Amplifying Our Neighbors' Voices
Our neighbors with lived experience shared information about the issue of homelessness, their experience engaging with the homeless response system, and more. As a system we need the voices of our neighbors with lived experience at the table when making decisions for how to best serve our unhoused neighbors. Watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNwCRbq-ZpY&feature=youtu.be
Introducing the WE ARE NEIGHBORS PODCAST!
Welcome to the We Are Neighbors podcast hosted by President and CEO of Housing Forward, Joli Angel Robinson, and Director of CAS, Rebecca Hickom. Join us every month as we continue to explore the issue of homelessness, support advocacy, and move us all to make the experience of homelessness rare, brief, and nonrecurring. The We Are Neighbors podcast is a space for us to center the experiences and voice of those with lived experience and talk to experts on the entire topic of homelessness - the who, how, what, and dig into policies and practices that will help us end homelessness.
Every neighbor deserves to have a safe, stable place to call home - We are ALL neighbors joining in the work to secure that basic human right. To learn more about how to stay informed, visit www.HousingForwardNTX.org.