Bring America Home Now

The National Coalition (NCH) has had a very eventual last three months.  NCH partnered with the Poor People Campaign during the launch of the March on Washington.  NCH helped to plan the community meal and the Memorial Service sponsored by the campaign.  Nch also held an all-night Vigil to raise awareness about the growing criminalization of people experiencing homelessness across the United States. NCH also held a very successful Congressional briefing which included multiple members of congress and several major national groups including the National Organization for Women (NOW) LULAC\, and The National Low-Income Housing Coalition among others. among others,

NCH completed planning for the  Lived Experience Training Academy (LETA) is a virtual (*fully online) and inclusive professional development program initiated by the National Coalition for the Homeless (, a national network of people who are currently experiencing or who have experienced homelessness, activists and advocates, community-based and faith-based service providers, and others committed to prevent and end homelessness while ensuring the immediate needs of those experiencing homelessness are met and their civil rights protected. The LETA program includes 12 hours of professional development, which leads to certification if successfully completed. It is created by People with Lived Experience and Expertise (PLEE) who have been unhoused in the United States. The mission of LETA is to: Equip people with lived experience of homelessness to embrace leadership roles and transform public policy to be more inclusive.” The development and implementation of the LETA program is led and directed by internationally renowned Professor and Endowed Chair of Social Justice Education at Stetson University and the Vice President of the National Coalition for the Homeless Dr. Rajni Shankar-Brown, and Attorney and the Founder of the Miami Coalition to Advance Racial Equity David Peery, along with oversight by the Executive Director of the NCH Donald Whitehead. Additionally, the LETA team includes 9 diverse steering committee members (PLEE). The LETA program includes a thoughtfully designed curriculum with six core themes and several interconnected themes that emerged through a series of focus group interviews conducted with people around the nation who are currently or formerly experiencing homelessness; the LETA focus groups were led by Dr. Shankar-Brown, the current U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Jeff Olivet, and the NCH Grants Manager Michelle Bush. Topics covered in the LETA program include, but are not limited to, the following: technology literacy, wellness and self-care, history of homelessness, public policy contextualization, communication, coalition building, conflict resolution, financial wellbeing, organizing and advocacy, and inclusive leadership. LETA builds on the knowledge and skills of diverse people with lived experience and focuses on systemic change to ensure housing is a human right

Links:

• http://www.bringAmericahomenow.org