Lived Expertise Action and Research Network Survey Research

Introduction

In the fall of 2024, the Alliance’s Homelessness Research Institute (HRI) partnered with six people who work in the homeless response system and also have experienced homelessness. HRI also partnered with one local homeless services leader who has not experienced homelessness but leads his community’s work with people who have experienced homelessness (PWLE). These seven experts comprise the Alliance’s 2024-2025 Lived Expertise Research Team and are part of a broader effort to build a Lived Experience Action and Research Network (LEARN) at the Alliance.  

The LEARN project is exploring how PWLE are working within the homeless response system, the challenges that they face in their work and how their work impacts efforts to end homelessness. Many previous studies, guidance documents and reflective essays suggest that PWLE have important impacts on local projects and programs. Existing research also provides organizations with tools to employ PWLE workers in a more authentic and meaningful way. While multiple researchers have conducted smaller surveys about the peer behavioral health and social service workforce more broadly – especially at the state or local level, the Alliance’s research team is not aware of national efforts to explore the experiences of direct services workers who have experienced homelessness and how these experiences specifically contribute to improving the homeless response system. 

To help address this research gap, the Alliance’s LEARN team designed two national surveys and invited communities across the United States to complete them. The team sent one survey to current and former workers in the homeless response system who are experiencing or have experienced homelessness. As the essays point out, some of these workers are paid and others are in volunteer roles. The team also sent a separate survey to the leaders of organizations and Continuums of Care (CoCs) who hire and partner with PWLE in their work. These leaders may or may not be people who have experienced homelessness. 

The team wanted to identify trends in how homeless response systems across the United States engage with PWLE workers and the ways that they contribute to ending homelessness, including through leadership. Because six of the team members have experienced homelessness, they also knew that PWLE face challenges in their work that are unique from the rest of the workforce. In the surveys, they prioritized asking about these challenges. Their goal was to begin identifying opportunities for the response system to create more effective and meaningful work environments for PWLE.  

What Did We Find Out?  

In the following briefs, the LEARN team reflects on their own experiences in relation to the nearly 1,300 survey responses. These include hundreds of open-ended responses. In addition, the LEARN team is hosting in-depth conversations with some respondents to develop a more nuanced understanding of the survey data. Their initial analysis indicates that despite structural challenges like low pay, a lack of professional development opportunities, and stigma, PWLE make significant and irreplaceable contributions to the goal of ending homelessness. The LEARN team also identifies the need for more robust funding and support for homeless services to address these challenges and build a more effective response system.  

Some of the themes the LEARN team identify echo the Alliance’s previous research, namely that low pay, inadequate benefits, and too few resources to fully serve people in need contribute to widespread stress, burnout, and turnover. This results in a response system that is less effective than it needs to be. Robust federal and state funding for homelessness programs would undoubtedly help to ensure that the entire workforce has the resources they need to do this work successfully and sustainably.  

The surveys also indicate that PWLE face specific challenges that are not reflective of the entire workforce. They may have fewer social networks and financial safety nets. Some PWLE also experience stigma and face barriers moving into leadership roles. These challenges make it more difficult for PWLE to contribute fully to the goal of ending homelessness. 

At the same time, many PWLE shared stories of resilience and determination, sacrificing their own well-being to help end homelessness. Without robust funding and resources, these workers do not and will not have what they need to end homelessness. Every day, they make the choice to relive their own experiences of homelessness during their interactions with clients to provide holistic support to those currently in need. Organization leaders were extraordinarily clear that these efforts have an impact: PWLE workers help identify more people in need, connect more people with housing, and prevent more people from entering homelessness. However, to sustain this impact, workers need access to funding and support. This could ensure that PWLE workers receive resources that are fundamental to any successful workforce. At a minimum, this would include: 

1. Professional development and training to continue learning and improvement.  

2. Fair pay, healthcare, and other benefits that allow them to focus on the work – not on their paychecks.  

These basic supports are often difficult for organizations to provide due to insufficient funding from federal and state governments. With more resources, organizations could provide this support and take strides toward addressing the concerns that PWLE expressed in the surveys. This could ensure that PWLE workers: 

1. Feel are valued for their contributions to ending homelessness, not tokenized and stigmatized for what they have been through; and 

2. can access leadership roles and make decisions about how their communities end homelessness. 

Robust funding would help build these opportunities for PWLE to contribute fully to the homeless response system. These surveys and analyses demonstrate that we must support the homeless services workforce – and especially those workers who have overcome tremendous challenges in the past – with what they need to do their work well if we are to reach the goals of ending homelessness and building communities where safe, stable housing is accessible to everyone.