An Interview with HSC Director of Public Policy Lee Mason on his recent advocacy training workshop with homeless women fulfilling HSC's commitment to make advocacy accessible to all:

HSC:  Please tell us, first, about the grant from the Washington Area Women's Foundation that made this work possible.

Lee: "The HSC received the WAWF grant was as part of their Stepping Stone initiative. The focus of the grant is to:
 

a. Educate policy decision makers, the media and the public about issues related to affordable housing and homelessness for the Stepping Stones target population in Prince George's County;
 

b. Advocate for policies to increase affordable housing and decrease homelessness in Prince George's County for the Stepping Stones target population; and
 

c. Develop advocacy leadership skills of women in the Stepping Stones target population to advocate on affordable housing and homelessness issues on behalf of themselves and their families."

 
HSC: Were these homelessness initiatives the first time HSC had worked with the WAWF?  And if so, has it proved to be a good fit in terms of their philosophy and HSCs own?

Lee: "No actually HSC received a grant in 2009 that funded advocacy efforts targeting public policies that hinder organizations that support single women-headed households that have children under 18 and incomes under $40,000 to have optimum advantages with creating opportunities for financial success."

 
HSC: Could you talk a little bit about the opportunity you recently had to hear the experiences of some local women currently being impacted by homelessness?

Lee: "The meeting was held at Shepherd's Cove shelter, a program managed by United Communities Against Poverty (UCAP). I asked their Executive Director, Gwen Ferguson, if it was possible for me to meet with the residents and talk with them about the power of advocacy. I said to the women 'we're not going to get hung up on this word -- advocacy.' In a nutshell, it's about using your voice or telling your story to make a change. It can be a policy change or just a change in your home. But advocacy is just about making some change. And, she graciously allowed me to attend one of their regular monthly meetings. Thirty women and their children were there. I was absolutely stunned. The age range was from the elderly to the teenaged mom. It was just incredibly powerful to see." 

 HSC: Can you share any specifics about the training itself?

Lee: "Well, first I felt I needed to personalize it. I didn't want it to feel like I was some kind of 'expert' coming in there to 'teach' them something. So, I started with my own story. The challenges I've had being a human being and living in this world. And, then I moved from sharing 'my' story to saying we all have stories-very powerful stories. How would you feel if you could use 'your' story to impact a change? This is kind of two-fold: that change could be made personally and that change can be made to help others. One of the outcomes for having this training was to look at forming a Homeless Advisory Committee made up of residents who are currently in one of the homeless programs or who have successfully left one of the programs. They could help newly homeless women navigate this very different world they are entering and those that leave the system, helping them navigate that transition. We also want them to be representatives in the HSP. So, not only is becoming an advocate a way of making a very personal change, it is a way of impacting the very system they are within. The second goal was really about showing these women ways of using their stories to help them educate policy makers about the real issues underlying homelessness so those legislators could then make policy change.

 
HSC: Was there one person, story, image that embodies the understanding or awareness you hope our readers take away from this article now knowing that this work is going on?

Lee: "For this session, I intentionally stayed away from going too deeply into their personal experiences. However, I did sit in on the case managers monthly meeting (the team who work to support these homeless women and their families) - and, THEY have the stories. There is the woman living with the returning citizen who is now stable and gainfully employed but, because he's required to take off work two days a week to meet with his probation officer, loses his job and can't pay the rent. Then, there's the Haitian immigrant who has lived here since 1988. She was hospitalized to have an operation and was paralyzed during the procedure. She has no family, and she's not a legal citizen. She's been in the hospital for a year. Now, the hospital wants her to leave and, although the case manager can't find any housing for her because she's paralyzed, the hospital is threatening to put her on the street. This is real life - right here in Prince George's County -- today. And if we don't help the citizenry understand the power that they have through the experiences that they've lived then who else will? I think it's the highest responsibility of any nonprofit to be able to advocate on behalf of citizens. If it's not providing direct service and it's not advocating on behalf of those who need the service, then what is that nonprofit doing?" 

To learn more about HSC Public Policy initiatives and to help make them happen, visit us at www.hscofpgc.org.