Amplifying Voices: The Vital Role of Lived Experience Committees in Homelessness Solutions

LIVED EXPERIENCE COMMITTEES

A Lived Experience Committee (LEC), is a group or advisory board comprised of individuals who have personally experienced homelessness. Members of the committee draw upon their lived experience and knowledge of homelessness to offer valuable input to service providers, policymakers, and organizations working to combat homelessness.

The main functions and goals of a Lived Experience Committee typically include:

Policy Advocacy: Members advocate for policies and initiatives to prevent and end homelessness that are informed by their personal experiences.

Service Improvement: They provide feedback and recommendations on the design and delivery of services to ensure services are effective and responsive to the needs of people experiencing homelessness.

Program Development: LECs may participate in the development and evaluation of programs that are intended to assist homeless individuals, drawing from their personal experiences to improve the effectiveness of these programs.

Public Awareness: LEC members may participate in public awareness campaigns and share their stories to reduce stigma and humanize the issue of homelessness.

Peer Support: A LEC committee often acts as a support network for individuals currently experiencing homelessness, offering mentorship and guidance based on shared experiences.

Training and Education: Some LECs may be involved in training service providers, government officials, and community members to better understand the experiences and needs of homeless individuals.

CHARLOTTE-MECKLENBURG LIVED EXPERIENCE COMMITTEE

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Lived Experience Committee (LEC) is a standing committee of the Continuum of Care (CoC). The committee is responsible for providing their perspectives to CoC committees, workgroups and the Board. They do this by sharing personal experiences with homelessness and by gathering and sharing the viewpoints and experiences of others who have experienced homelessness so that the CoC can make informed decisions about how to allocate resources and meet needs.

In addition, the LEC identifies strategies and programs that appear to be working well, and those that do not and suggest improvements. Members of the LEC also share information with people who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness about available resources, system navigation, and the work of the CoC.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg LEC has been and continues to be changemakers in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg community. Race equity and identity inclusion are their guiding principles in the work to address and support the effort to end homelessness in the community. Below are some of the many ways they have and continue to influence system improvement.

• Through participation in the Coordinated Entry Oversight Committee, the LEC elevated concerns about the community’s current process to access the Coordinated Entry System (CES) and the need for system navigation. This resulted in a move to remove the initial phone screening that was part of the CES process and the community applied for Emergency Solutions Grant funding to support system navigation. Members of LEC also shared their knowledge and experience with staff who support the CE process so that they could better recommend resources.
• By participating in conferences and bringing knowledge back to the community and by presenting and speaking at conferences and sharing the efforts of Charlotte-Mecklenburg on local and national stage.
• By serving on local and national non-profit boards doing work to end homelessness.
• By individually engaging in work and advocacy that leverages their personal expertise and has a broader community impact.
• By co-creating the data collection approach that will be used to evaluate the local prioritization tool.

There are two CoC Board positions designated for persons with lived experience. In addition, to the extent feasible, persons with lived experience are members of all CoC committees including the Membership and Nominating Committee, Coordinated Entry Oversight Committee, Ranking Committee, and Equity and Inclusion Committee.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Lived Experience Committee meets the third Friday of each month from 2:30PM-3:30PM. If you have lived or living experience of homelessness and are interested in participating, please reach out to charmeckcoc@mecknc.gov

WHY DOES THIS MATTER?

Lived Experience Committees are essential to the effort to address homelessness because they ensure that the voices and experiences of those directly affected by homelessness are incorporated into the decision-making processes and policies. These committees can and should play a critical role in local efforts to make homelessness services more responsive, effective, accessible and inclusive, and compassionate.