Branden Lewis is a Management Analyst for Mecklenburg County Community Support Services, serving as staff support for the Continuum of Care (CoC).
Having been a part of Charlotte-Mecklenburg County’s Built for Zero work since 2015, she now works closely with the Veterans Workgroup (Housing our Heroes). Lewis has recently focused on utilizing Emergency Housing Vouchers in Charlotte-Mecklenburg County.
“These vouchers from the Housing Authority were huge for our community and provided housing solutions for persons experiencing homelessness and those who might have never received a housing voucher. It was important to our CoC that we target those vouchers to those who were most vulnerable in our community,” Lewis said.
“Today, we have leased almost all the vouchers that were awarded to our community!”
Read on to learn more about Lewis’ perspective on improving racial equity in her community’s homeless response system.
How is your community working to make your homeless response system more racially equitable?
Our community has worked very hard to make our homeless response system more racially equitable. We developed a supplemental tool to accompany the VI-SPDAT that addresses the racial equity issues present.
We also look to make sure the leadership within the CoC is diverse. When filling vacant CoC governing board or committee seats, the required application now includes questions to ensure all populations and demographics are represented and that we are intentionally recruiting those who represent who we serve.
What is a specific insight you’ve gained in your journey that has shaped your approach to solving homelessness and promoting racial equity?
Including individuals who have experienced or are currently experiencing homelessness has shown to be a crucial piece to my approach to solving homelessness and promoting racial equity. Without these voices, we cannot effectively create a system that is meeting the needs of those we serve.
How do you ensure a diverse and empowered team within your organization?
We encourage individuals to seek training opportunities that can help them advance in their careers. With the use of CoC planning grant funds, we are able to support those in our community who are interested in attending trainings and/or conferences.
“My vision for the future of homeless response systems is that no disparities exist, everyone has equal access to housing opportunities, and we will live in a world where homelessness is rare, brief, and nonrecurring.“
branden lewis
What is your vision for the future of homeless response systems, particularly in terms of racial equity?
My vision for the future of homeless response systems is that no disparities exist, everyone has equal access to housing opportunities, and we will live in a world where homelessness is rare, brief, and nonrecurring. Our community continues to include the voices of those with lived experience of homelessness, which I believe is a significant step in working toward this vision.
Is there anything else you would like to share?
I strongly believe that everyone deserves a place to live. We are doing great work here in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, and I am very fortunate to be a part of a community that wants to end and prevent homelessness for all.
