Taking the Lead Giving a voice to the voiceless is the mission of those who’ve experienced homelessness. By Pam Marino T im Heavin knows what it is like to be without a home and to feel like you have no voice. He spent time in an approved encampment during the pandemic on the former Fort Ord until officials ended it in 2021, telling its residents they had to move on. “They were making decisions about us without us,” Heavin says. “I didn’t think that was right.” The experience motivated him to start attending meetings where homelessness was being discussed, and soon he was appointed to the lived-experience seat on the Lead Me Home Leadership Council through the nonprofit Coalition of Homelessness Service Providers. Feeling like his single voice wasn’t enough, in 2022 he founded LEAD, the Lived-Experience Advisory Directive, under CHSP. Today he is a leader locally and statewide, using his experiences to educate others about the needs of those experiencing homelessness. LEAD recruits people with lived experience to join the committee and find ways to speak up for others in the community experiencing homelessness. LEAD members created the Monitoring and Evaluations Committee to provide oversight to homelessness programs and have advocated for people in shelters and other programs when there’s friction with those in charge who may not understand the full impact of well-meaning policies. “We try to bring that practical perspective,” Heavin says. “You’ve got to look at it through the eyes of people staying there, too.” For MCGives!, the Coalition’s Big Idea is to increase LEAD’s funding, so it can expand its reach. Members of LEAD are paid a stipend to participate, but currently there’s only enough funding for the committee to meet once a month. Heavin and his co-chair Caroline Carroll say they want to form multiple committees to tackle different initiatives, so they can multiply their impact. They also want to train more people with lived experience—a “train the trainers” approach, says Carroll—to give more people experiencing homelessness an idea of what’s beyond. “At the same time [as] being a voice for the voiceless, we also want to rebuild these people, to build people up to be able to be advanced in their life and careers,” Heavin says. “We need to have more opportunities like that for folks.” Caroline Carroll and Tim Heavin both know firsthand what it means to be unhoused. They use that experience to help others by serving as co-chairs of the LivedExperience Advisory Directive at Coalition of Homeless Service Providers. DANIEL DREIFUSS SPOTLIGHT alandfriends.org A sincere expression of thanks goes out to all the supporters, donors, volunteers, and guests that keep this inspiring nonprofit going strong! For over a decade, Al and his team have been uplifting our communities’ most vulnerable citizens with chef prepared meals every Sunday, rain or shine, no questions asked. Everyone is invited to come down and experience the magic at 8:30am - 9:30am at Window on the Bay, Monterey Beach. Whether you could use a square meal, or want to get involved in something wonderful that inspires humanity, join us! A sincere expression of thanks goes out to all the supporters, donors, volunteers, and guests that keep this inspiring nonprofit going strong! For over a decade, Al and his team have been uplifting our communities’ most vulnerable citizens with chef prepared meals every Sunday, rain or shine, no questions asked. Everyone is invited to come down and experience the magic at 8:30am - 9:30am at “Window on the Bay” Monterey Bay Park. Whether you could use a square meal, or want to get involved in something wonderful that inspires humanity, join us! is honored to be in its seventh year of 60 Monterey County GIVES! 2026 mcgives.com
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