Dave Anctil dreamed of seeing the California Redwoods, and was on his way to do just that, using the money from his stimulus check.
He jumped in his truck and began the trip, but his truck broke down here in Lancaster, beginning three years of street homelessness.
In November, Dave and the rest of Lancaster's Homeless Advocacy Board got to see the Redwoods in a way that would not have happened if Dave hadn’t ended up on the streets.
I am a licensed social worker and the pastor at the Moravian Center of Lancaster. In the fall of 2023 I began gathering folks together who were either currently unhoused or recently unhoused to take part in a research study for my doctoral work at Lancaster Theological Seminary. The goal was to get nonprofit entities that serve unhoused people to bring someone with lived or living experience of homelessness onto their boards.
This group formed the Homeless Advocacy Board (HAB). It has been working hard in the Lancaster community to educate others about what homelessness is, how to help those who are experiencing it, and reducing the stigmas that go along with it. They’ve done this in a bunch of different ways.
Leading a training session for the Office of the Lancaster County Homelessness Coalition opened the door to this amazing trip to California that we returned from last month.
Someone who heard the group speak was so impressed by their work that they suggested we submit a proposal to speak at the National Lived Experience Leadership Conference. The event is hosted by Destination Home, based in of San Jose, California, and the National Coalition for the Homeless, based in Washington D.C.
The HAB members were excited about the possibility, but did not get their hopes up, so we were overjoyed when the acceptance of our proposal arrived. We jumped into high gear raising funds and making travel arrangements. Even our unusually early departure time — 3:30 a.m. Monday, Nov. 11 — couldn’t dampen the mood. We were going to San Jose!
The HAB representatives who made the trip were myself (HAB Advisor and conference speaker), Joshua Colon (transportation coordinator), Marjorie Shaffer (HAB Advisor), and HAB members Angelina Hernandez (conference speaker), David Nagel (conference speaker), Dave Anctil and Rodney Moore.
Although no one had ever been to a conference like this, they were eager to jump in, attending the keynote addresses and seven breakout sessions.
Photos
(Photos courtesy of the Rev. Mandy Mastros | Homeless Advocacy Board)
We arrived along with about 350 others, most of whom have had a lived experience of homelessness. The purpose of the conference was to emphasize the importance of using our experiences, gifts, skills and resources to be leaders and advocates for those who are unhoused.
Topics included what specific communities have done to address homelessness, developing specific leadership skills, understanding policies and laws, self-care, the relationship between incarceration and homelessness, and effective advocacy.
There was an art show with works done by individuals who have lived experiences of homelessness, which spawned an idea for the HAB to host a similar show here in Lancaster.
Marjorie bought one of the works on display to remember the event.
Two HAB members attended a session featuring a documentary about one community’s efforts to end homelessness. We talked about the possibility of hosting a viewing party and discussion here that might bring some outside-the-box ideas of what we might try.
Angelina Hernandez and David Nagel rocked it when they joined representatives from Maine and California to present a session on the work of Lived Experience Advocacy Boards. I was privileged enough to have front row seats to this session as the moderator.
The group focused on compensation for the contributions of those with lived experience on boards, collaboration between lived experience groups and community constituencies, and understanding the rights of unhoused people and the stigmas that threaten those rights. The session can be viewed here.
The conference was incredible, but you know what they say about all work and no play! Within 30 minutes of the last speaker, we were on the road to the Big Basin State Park to See the Redwoods, then to Alice’s Diner for a tasty meal. A few of us went to San Francisco to see the Golden Gate Bridge before calling it a day.
With only a few hours left of our trip, several of us went to Santa Cruz to dip our toes in the Pacific Ocean, or to keep our shoes securely on our feet as we walked along the beach and the pier where we were enamored by the sea lions. It was a whirlwind adventure before the long trip home to be sure, but the memories will last a lifetime!
Stay tuned for how we might use what we saw, learned, and experienced in San Jose in our work over the next year, and thanks so much for all of those who supported us and helped us to have this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
