Ending Homelessness Advisory Council

Korrin B.

May 29, 2011 - 7:30 PM

Throughout my time in Eugene, I have had the pleasure of meeting some very inspirational people. In particular, I have met many people who work in my field of interest, homelessness policy and programming. On Friday, one of these people invited me to come with her to Salem for the Ending Homelessness Advisory Council (EHAC) meeting. EHAC is the state-level version of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness. It seeks to promote collaboration amongst state partners to end homelessness in Oregon.

Our drive up to Salem was filled with wonderful conversation. I was able to pick her brain a bit about homelessness issues locally and we had great discussions on where we see homelessness programming going in the future. It is always nice to be in the company of like-minded people who believe in compassionate work to end social wrongs!

It was all very exciting when we finally did arrive in Salem, as well. Although Salem isn't as large as some of the other U.S. capitals, it still has that vibrant energy of a change center. I think capital cities are neat in that way. There is always something going on. Our meeting included representatives from nonprofits and government from around the state. Many were physically there, but others were also there through video conferencing. It was all quite technologically fancy.

The meeting touched on many topics. First, there was a speaker there from the Veteran's Administration to talk about homeless Veterans and the upcoming programs for that population. Later, there was also discussion on the One Night Homeless Counts that had taken place throughout the state during January. The final numbers are finally starting to come out. Finally, there was also discussion on how to do proper advocacy for homelessness issues. This involves changing public perception on how homeless people are viewed. The speaker on this topic shared that a recent study showed that the same part of the brain was activated in a person when they were looking at a picture of a homeless person as when they were looking at a pile of trash. It is becoming more and more important for organizations to show community members that homeless people are, in fact, people and not just a number during a one-night count. In mid-June, I will be attending a workshop in Eugene on this same topic.

Overall, the meeting was a great experience. It helped me to further understand some of the policy and planning issues surrounding homelessness. I can't wait to graduate and become an actual member of this work.