I’m Shalonda Battee, Representing SPA 1. I am currently a community ambassador with Mental Health America of Los Angeles. I strongly believe having shelter is an essential need for all. Advocating and helping to break the stigma related to homelessness and mental health is something I hope to help the community overcome. I am a certified Peer Support Specialist, and I am a part-time student majoring in drug and alcohol counseling. One of my mottos is "Tomorrow is another day and another opportunity to try again." I try to encourage others by telling my story and letting others know your past doesn’t define your future.

I also believe a smile a day and a hello could help the next persons day. I try to practice this every day. During my free time I like to do my own neighborhood outreaching by helping others in my community, giving out snack, hygiene kits, and warm meals monthly and helping to locate resources in the community.

Co-Founder of the Housing Justice LA Podcast in partnership with the Los Angeles Housing Justice Summit. CSH Speak UP! Renowned Advocate and Survivor of DV and homelessness advancing the operations of advisory boards and steering committees such as the Domestic Violence Homeless Services Coalition and the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, also brining the unique expertise of Lived Experience Consultant work to assist in housing solutions. I enjoy Public Speaking and artistic expression as a means of liberation and healing.

My name is Pamela Crenshaw. I am a volunteer advocate at the Los Angeles Homeless Service Authority (LAHSA) serving on the Lived Experience Advisory Board (LEAB). I am also an advocate with the Domestic Violence Homeless Service Coalition (DVHSC) at the Downtown Women’s Center in Los Angeles, California. I am a graduate of the Speak Up Program at Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH).

Certified in Human services I am in this fight with many service providers to end homelessness by lobbying at national, state and local levels.

A grandmother of seven I enjoy family time, picnics, deep sea fishing, creating my own line of body essentials, skin care and candle making along with various crafting. I am is currently taking classes on parenting and anger management to become certified by the state of California to teach court-mandated clients. Hopefully someday I will also finish my book, Housewife to Homeless, to give hope to those who have survived, or are experiencing domestic violence, drug addiction and homelessness in hope they too will make a choice to change their life.

Kia Dupclay is the program director at Restoration Diversion Services INC in Compton, CA. With almost 10 years of lived experience, Kia has become a dedicated advocate for other victims and survivors of human trafficking. She has lived experience with Victims/Survivors of Human Trafficking, Foster Care, Youth/Adult Homelessness, Domestic Violence, CSEC, LGBTQIA+, and the Juvenile/Adult Justice System. She sits on a number of boards, committees, and task forces and has done various consultations on subjects including best care practices, law enforcement, CDSS, language.

Currently studying electrical engineering, Kia hopes to teach other victims and survivors to work on motorcycles. Kia’s main goal is to see every victim and survivor have stable housing and access to skill development resources. Her dream is to finish her electrical engineering degree. She ultimately wants to open a motorcycle company and vocational school that will teach the most vulnerable populations how to work on motorcycles and become technicians while offering housing during the education process. Her biggest achievement so far is getting accepted into a university to study engineering and becoming a program director.

Kia enjoys chilling with her pup, going to the park, the beach, hiking or talking smack online playing madden football on the PlayStation. LA has a lot of dog friendly restaurants with puppy menus so we get to go on little mom and pup dates and be a straight foodie trying new food spots throughout LA. Kia hopes to bridge gaps and motivate with integrity and kindness. #SelfCareIsTheBestCare

Debra Gatlin. Bachelor of Arts, Sociology, California State University Northridge. Worked over 30 years as an Administrative Professional in a variety of industries for companies such as Boeing, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, Southern California Edison, Universal Oil Products Company and Transamerica Insurance Group.

A Southern California native, I traveled the United States and lived in Chicago, Illinois, Albany, New York, Lubbock, Texas and Las Vegas, Nevada.

Current residence in North Long Beach, California.

Works for the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health as a Mental Health Advocate and Case Manager.

It is my desire to make a difference in the lives of vulnerable, disenfranchised and often voiceless individuals and communities, and empower them to live independently with dignity.Desiring to help people with mental health challenges navigate services to help them live independent and autonomous lives, I volunteered as a Wellness Outreach Worker for the Department of Mental Health, which ultimately led to employment as a Mental Health Advocate.

I currently provide Case Management services assisting mental health consumers in accessing resources related to housing, benefits, food, clothing, employment and other needed supportive services. My caseload consists of people with mental health challenges who are also experiencing homelessness. Knowing the challenges associated with homelessness, I strive to assist, support and house consumers while providing intentional peer support. No matter our problems, situations or circumstances, everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. Just as we can't readily look at a person and see their mental health challenges, we shouldn't judge a person because they are homeless; we never know the situations that have brought us to this place.

2017 Peer Housing Specialist Certification, Pacific Clinics Training Institute.

2017 Lived Experience Advisory Board, Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority.

2016 Most Innovative Wellness Outreach Worker, County of Los Angeles Department of Mental Health.

2015 Peer Advocacy Certification, Pacific Clinics Training Institute.

2015 Microsoft Office Suite Programs Instructor Certification, Microsoft Virtual Academy.

My name is Eric Gray. I was born and raised in Milwaukee, WI. I came out to Los Angeles in the early 2000's working in the entertainment industry as a bodyguard. Shortly after my arrival I got linked up w/ a group called Central Mental Health at the time, but later to be known as Project 180. I spent over 9 years working w/ Project 180 directly on Skid Row trying to aid in the effort to fight Recidivism and Homelessness w/in our community.

After years down on the Row working in positions from Security to Operation Manager; I relocated to Palmdale and continued my work w/ Project 180 as a Housing Specialist / Case Manager for the program. Now, within my new role here @ LAHSA on their Lived Experience Advisory Board, I plan to advocate for the SPA 1 adult population as hard as I fought for each individual I served throughout my years in Skid Row and w/ Project 180. My ultimate goal is to help shape a community that is supportive and empathetic to everyone within. I work towards achieving this goal on a daily basis not just for my peers and individuals I support, but for my family, which is my biggest achievement to date. Being one of the many proud owners of the Green Bay Packers, I would like to end with a quote from the great Vincent Thomas Lombardi, "The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have."

My name is Martin Holguin, and I was born and raised in the San Gabriel Valley. Living here all my life has given me a unique opportunity, to experience the changes that Los Angeles has gone through over the years. It saddens me to see what we have let our city become. We ignore what should not be ignored. I feel that we all have a responsibility in making sure that others that are not as fortunate as us can live without hunger, somewhere to call home and medical assistants when needed. Therefore I have asked to be part of "LIVE EXPERIENCE ADVISORY BOARD" (LEAB).

According to my geographical location I represent SPA 3. SPA 3 covers from Diamond Bar to Pasadena and everything in between. According to the 2020 count there was 4555 people who was experiencing homelessness. With 3027 unsheltered, 3615 individuals, 940 family members, 283 families. I do not know what the 2022 count will be yet. My goal while in this position is to help these numbers reduce considerably.

How do I plan to accomplish this, by visiting the streets and listening to those who best know what is working and not? Finding out what is needed to help them get back into society and become a productive individual. Not giving excuses on why people have not received help, like the one I here too often, "they don’t want help." I find the ones that do not want help is because the system that supposed to help them has failed them. For those who are suffering from mental problems, find them help and not make them wait three to four months. Most of all, take the responsibility of my actions.

I have been blessed with a beautiful and caring wife, three wonderful and successful children. Spending time with my wife is all the pleasure I need in life. Watching my children grow into the fine ladies and gentlemen they have become is something that a parent hopes for

In closing, I would like to thank LASHA for this opportunity. I know that a great responsibility comes with accepting this position. I am looking forward in working with the other new members in accomplishing great things in the next two years. If you would like to know if you are in my spa just look on the LASHA website. Remember, it takes all of us to make a difference even in the smallest way.

Gloria Johnson is a passionate homeless services expert in advocacy for the most vulnerable populations not limited to the developmentally delayed, elderly, substance abuse, mentally ill, DV, and re-entry.

As one of the Co-Chairs from LAHSA Lived Experience Advisory Board since 2017, Gloria is also a member of the CES policy council where she provided imperative feedback that shaped policies, and or program design. Gloria is a proud graduate from CSUDH with a Bachelors's in Sociology with a minor in Communications. Gloria is a family survivor of homelessness and now work in the homeless system as a Housing Case Manager. She has more than 14 years of experience providing client-centered services and in the last couple of years, she has assisted in securing permanent housing for more than 130 clients, with a 95%  housing retention beyond 1 or more years.

Gloria is a State Assembly 2018 Impact Award recipient.

In Gloria's spare time she enjoys learning about new innovative ways to end homelessness while blending the outlook from a client, and a service provider perspective.

Apolonio "Apple" E. Muñoz III CPSS (He/They) is a disabled US Army Combat Veteran with one tour in Baghdad, Iraq in 2003. Apple joined the Lived Experience Advisory Board (LEAB) at the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) in September 2017, when he was a participant in the HUD-VASH Program. Through LEAB he has the ear of the policymakers, sharing first-hand experience and knowledge on what it is like to be homeless in Los Angeles. Apple is proud to represent the SPA 6 & 7 communities, as well as the LGBT & Veteran subpopulations throughout Los Angeles. He believes that these particular subpopulations have a unique voice that is seldom heard, especially those in the LGBT community, and by being able to serve on LEAB he can make sure those voices are heard loud and proud!

Apple is also proud to provide valuable insight to LAHSA and local elected officials by also serving on LAHSA’s Homeless Count Advisory Board (HCAB) since 2019 and USC’s Coordinated Entry System Triage Tool Research & Refinement Project (CESTTRR) since 2020. On the HCAB Apple uses his seat at the table to leverage guidance to LAHSA’s leadership on the planning and execution of the largest homeless count in the country, which is a point-in-time census of Los Angeles’ homeless population. Apple uses his experiences of being homeless in LA to offer guidance to the researchers at USC who are tasked with taking a hard look at the assessment tools used on the ground and build a tool that is geared to better assist in ending homelessness in the largest homeless population in the country.

In his day job, Apple is a licensed life & health insurance agent with several major carriers. Apple is a Certified Veteran Peer Support Specialist, ASIST Certified Suicide Prevention Specialist, Certified VA Community Integration Specialist, and is also certified in Mental Health First Aid. He has also received numerous recognitions from local non-profits, the State of California, LA County, and the US Congress for his advocacy and work with the LGBT & Veteran Communities. But that’s not all: he’s a volunteer, advisor and board member with several local, regional, and national LGBT and Veteran non-profits.

A biography is pending

Mr. Shawn Eric Pleasants is an independent advocate for unhoused people in Los Angeles. A former banker and entrepreneur with an economics degree from Yale, he himself lived unhoused in Los Angeles for ten years. He has been housed since June 2020.

Mr. Pleasants serves on a number of boards and advisory committees, including: Lafayette - A Bridge Home Advisory Council; St. James Episcopal Church Soup Kitchen Dreaming Council; Ktown For All; the Legal Needs Assessment for People Living With HIV-AIDS Community Advisory Committee; and LA Older Adults System Modeling Stakeholders Group.

He has been a part of the United Way of Greater Los Angeles’ Shelter Improvement Initiative and their online program "Everyone In – Stories from the Frontline."

Since completing the Careers for a Cause intensive training program at LA Southwest Community College, he has been a sought after speaker and interview subject, offering insight and advice, and sharing his first-hand experiences, in an effort to effectuate meaningful, sustainable policy changes for the unhoused and the housing-insecure residents of Los Angeles County. He has been featured in news stories by CNN and the Los Angeles Times, and has been interviewed on KCRW, KCCP, LAist, RadioJustice.org and Arizona State University’s Zocalo speaker series.

My name is Genesis Romero, and I am a Community Health Worker at the Center for Living and Learning in Van Nuys. We mainly work with SPA 2. I am all about women empowerment, mothers that are going through Domestic Violence, SUD, Mental Health, DCFS, justice impacted. My goal is to help guide people out of homelessness, provide resources to my community, as well as be a voice for single mothers experiencing homelessness with their children, helping people break cycles and letting them know there is hope for them.

Becoming a community health worker is definitely one of my achievements and gives me the opportunity to help my community the way I was helped. I was at Hope Gardens for three years, a DV shelter with my son who was three years old at the time. I took advantage of every opportunity they offered me. I did experience a relapse while there. I picked myself up and never looked back. Now, I rent an apartment and have the opportunity to be a member of the Lived Experience Advisory Board (LEAB). Quirky fact about myself: I choose superheroes over princesses anytime! I love staying active participating in any activity outdoors.

Reba Stevens is dedicated to using her lived experience as a homeless individual for 21 years to advocate for lasting solutions to homelessness and represent the voice of lived expertise in many forums. Her relentless focus on the magnitude of mental health and substance abuse amongst people experiencing homelessness is founded in her own experience. A diagnosis of her mental health condition was the lynchpin to her successful road to recovery and journey out of homelessness. As a result, she possesses a unique understanding of the mental health, criminal justice and substance abuse treatment systems in Los Angeles County. Her goal is to ensure that mental health and substance abuse screenings and treatment are funded, accessible and embedded in all the facets of service delivery for people experiencing homelessness as well as those who are now housed after being homeless.

Reba’s activism and profound knowledge is demonstrated in numerous cross-departmental appointments to strategic and major bodies that drive policy and practice in homelessness, mental health, criminal justice and substance abuse areas. She currently sits on the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, Homeless Advisory Board, the Los Angeles Regional Homeless Advisory Council, the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, Service Area, 6 Advisory Committee, the Los Angeles City & County Office of Diversion and Reentry Prop 47 Steering Committee, the LAHSA Ad Hoc Committee on Black People Experiencing Homelessness, the Los Angeles County, Department of Mental Health Commission, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, Continuum of Care Board, the LGBT South Community Advisory Board and the SPA 6 Homeless Coalition.

Her unabashed voice for equality and humility in serving our homeless and formerly homeless neighbors is largely documented in print and broadcast media such as the Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Daily News, NBC Universal, Free Your Mind Projects Radio Show, KABC-AM (AM790), Hope on The Horizon MHSOAC News Publication, Making Sense of Measure H: Dr. Mitch Katz and Reba Stevens with Pat Prescott (94.7 The Wave), Unsheltered… New Possibilities TEDx Crenshaw (Ted Talk), and Strategic Concepts in Organizing & Policy Education (SCOPE).

Reba is a mother of four the owner of two lovely Boston Terriers, and a Los Angeles native.

I am A E6 Peer Specialist Employed at Homeless Healthcare Los Angeles representing SPA 4. I am an advocate for homeless single adults to whom may need harm reduction regarding Substance Use, Mental Health and or Physical Health Needs.

My ultimate goal is to break stigmas that will facilitate a closer knit Community for all Cultures. One of my biggest achievements was relocating from Chicago to Los Angeles to recalibrate my Life and to pursue my love for art and social work.

A quirky fact about me is that I am a self-taught roller skater. I am an abstract sand and glitter artist and I love to facilitate group meditation, cook, sing, and write poetry.

Zue has 20 years lived experience in homelessness and navigation of services. This includes five-year experience as a SPA 7 services provider.

Knowledgable in areas of domestic violence, substance abuse, TAY, DCFS, DPSS, Legal Aid, just to name a few. She is also familiar with HMIS and CES, housing navigation, and the process to obtain services.

Zue is here to be a voice for those who have experienced and are currently experiencing homelessness.