People with lived experience of homelessness have firsthand knowledge of the barriers they faced and the solutions that helped them attain housing. Our Speak Up! program pairs supportive housing tenants with experienced coaches over several months with the goal of guiding them in crafting their stories for advocacy. Supportive housing tenants explore their stories in a healing framework and learn to become advocates for themselves and their peers. As Speak Up! advocates, people with lived experience work with our partners, community organizations, and local and state government agencies. They also meet with policymakers to advance housing justice, expose injustices and barriers to housing, and center people closest to the issue as agents in designing solutions.
About Speak Up!
Our Speak Up! Program currently operates in Los Angeles, CA and Indianapolis, IN to support advocates in exploring their stories in a healing framework and developing activism skills. Our curriculum, crafted in collaboration with people with lived experience, combines educational workshops taught by local experts on storytelling and change-making with individual coaching to help participants develop community activism skills. By providing a space for people to learn and grow in their experience with an eye toward advocacy, we support authentic and sustainable change.
The Impact
Speak Up! graduates are leading change locally and nationally – challenging sector leaders and decision-makers to address the root causes of homelessness, speaking to the benefits of living in supportive housing, and centering voices of lived experience in homeless response. After completing Speak Up!, advocates have chosen to share their stories at housing conferences, advocated at the state and national level, and acted as consultants for programs and policies. Speak Up! advocates are challenging the status quo and demanding that those closest to the issue of homelessness drive the solutions.
Get Involved with Speak Up!
Become a Volunteer Story Coach
We are looking for storytellers in the creative space, including writers, actors, poets, artists or anyone with experience in advocacy, coaching, and public speaking to serve as volunteer coaches to our advocates. Coaches should be able to commit to volunteering at least 10 hours per month, in person, generally between the hours of 9AM-5PM.
Become a Speak Up! Advocate
Advocates have lived experience of homelessness and a desire to explore how to craft their stories as part of their advocacy. Advocates are not required to have prior advocacy or storytelling experience, but they should be currently housed, connected to a service provider support team, and able to commit at least 10 hours a month to regular in-person workshops. Complete the form below if you are interested in becoming a Speak Up! advocate, or if you are inquiring on behalf of your supportive housing organization.
Support a Speak Up! Program
Our Speak Up! Program is made possible through philanthropic support. When you support Speak Up!, you join advocates in their journey to become community leaders and create change. Your donation goes directly to supporting Speak Up! advocacy initiatives. To support Speak Up!, please complete the form below and indicate Speak Up! as the program you would like to support.