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They call it an "abatement policy." City hall frames it with sanitized, bureaucratic words like public safety, sanitation, and neighborhood revitalization. But if you want to know what Oakland’s Encampment Abatement Policy (EAP) actually feels like, you have to look at it through the eyes of the people whose lives it disrupts, dismantles, and shatters. Elected officials are supposed to protect all members of this community. But somewhere along the way, "the community" stopped

Stepping into the world as a lived experience consultant or speaker is one of the most powerful ways to drive systemic change. Your story isn't just something you survived; it is data, insight, and expertise that organizations, policymakers, and institutions desperately need to bridge the gap between theory and reality. If you are ready to transform your personal journey into a respected professional practice, here is everything you need to know about setting up your platform

There is an unspoken, jarring hypocrisy woven into the fabric of California policy. Watch the machinery of the state move when an animal facility faces crisis. Statewide oversight boards are proposed, multi-agency task forces mobilize, public funds are unlocked, and leaders rightfully demand accountability, tracking, and protection. Yet, human beings, our neighbors, our classmates, our families, are systematically pushed off public blocks, cited, swept, and treated as a publi

"Why are spaces for unhoused advocacy so rare? It’s time to shift from survival mode to thriving. Discover how lived experience is key to housing justice."

You do not need a college degree, political connections, or years of advocacy experience to make a difference. If you've experienced homelessness, housing insecurity, poverty, foster care, addiction, incarceration, or another systemic challenge, your lived experience is valuable. In fact, many organizations are actively working to include people with lived experience because they understand that better policies begin with listening to the people most affected. For too long, d

If you've ever heard someone say, "Everyone should be treated the same," you've heard an argument for equality. At first, it sounds fair. If everyone receives the same opportunities, resources, or treatment, then everyone has an equal chance to succeed, right? Not necessarily. One of the biggest misconceptions in public policy is that equality and equity mean the same thing. They don't. Understanding the difference is essential because it shapes everything from education and

For a long time, I believed that because I had experienced homelessness, addiction, poverty, and countless barriers, my voice didn't belong in the rooms where decisions were being made. I assumed policy was something created by lawyers, politicians, researchers, and people with degrees hanging on their walls. I thought I had nothing to contribute. I couldn't have been more wrong. What I've learned over the past few years is that there are organizations across the country act

Yesterday I attended a webinar featuring Regina Cannon, and one quote has stayed with me ever since: "Equity is best defined as just and fair inclusion into a society in which all can participate, prosper, and reach their full potential." That definition challenged me to think differently about policy. Too often we think of policy as a document too complicated to understand, written in government buildings by people we'll never meet. In reality, policy touches every part of o