We have the answers, you have the power. Let’s come together and fix this

We recently hosted an event bringing together experts by experience (people who have experienced housing problems or homelessness) with service providers, politicians and other key decision makers. Our goal was to talk about how we can involve experts by experience in the decisions that affect them.

We took advantage of so much knowledge in one room and turned notes from facilitated discussions into a report with views and insights from participants. The report discusses how and why we should involve experts by experience in the design and development of services and policies for people affected by poor housing and homelessness.

What we learned

The report includes the benefits of including experts by experience, where it’s worked, and what policy and decision makers can do to improve their efforts. A few things stood out to us.

We must involve experts by experience in decisions because they have insights we don’t. It gives them a unique view on what needs to happen to fix things. As one participant said, ‘it’s a no brainer!’

Experts by experience face challenges and barriers to being heard. They face stigmas, are scared of what may happen if they speak up and are tired of being the ‘token’ expert. They’re asked to share, but then no one listens and nothing changes.

There’s motivation and energy to change things. When experts by experience are properly involved, we make better decisions. It builds relationships, skills and a sense of belonging from working together to create change. As one expert said, ‘We have the answers, you have the power, let’s come together and fix this.’

At Housing Rights, we’ve seen first-hand through our prison peer advisers and our Renters’ Voice members, just how valuable it is to involve experts by experience in our services and policy work. The decisions we make are better when we bring all our combined expertise to the table.

Our next steps

During the event (called ‘Participation; putting the ME in hoME and the US in hoUSing’), Involve shared findings from a report we commissioned on this topic. The full report will be available in early 2023. If you you’d like to know more or get involved in our work, send an email to Kerry