Reflections from the front lines during a super unseasonably warm Phoenix ‘winter,’ a reprieve in San Diego, feeling grateful for teamwork and continuous learning.
Phoenix had record breaking high temperature days in February. Phoenix Winter has never felt awful to this Wisconsin-born human who had to wait for the school bus in snowbanks and negative- degree-wind-chill weather. In second grade I learned what frost bite meant to hands that forgot their mittens at home. In comparison, the Phoenix winters with lows occasionally in the 30s felt mild. Now those low temperatures seem to be forgotten with “winters” in Phoenix feeling balmy. Ninety-degree weather this early in the year concerns me that Summer will become a nine- or ten-month season.
Fortunately for me on Sunday I drove to San Diego for the National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH) Leadership Summit. I watched the temperature climb to 98 in the trek across Arizona toward California. I expected it might hit 100 and just in time the elevation in the mountains started to bring the temperatures down. Today the high in the 60s felt chilly with a wind off the bay.
This is the only job in my career that has put the focus of weather squarely in my day-to-day. We plan for cold weather relief, and we plan for hot weather relief. The launch of Thirst Aid, the annual campaign for water and heat relief items launches in April. Climate impacts the lives of those who are unhoused in ways those of us with homes never have to consider.
Over the last 48 hours in my hotel room, I’ve had the luxury of adjusting the thermostat to cool the room down and tonight warm it up. People living outdoors have no such luxury.
It’s not lost on me that I am writing this next to the San Diego marina, the wealth of boats moored here is a drastic change from the view on Madison Street in Phoenix. There we have warehouse buildings and a railroad track, pedestrian traffic and frequent ambulances. Relative wealth far from boat ownership.
Yet here we are, in San Diego building our leadership muscle and strategizing with peers from across the country. NAEH changed things up this “conference” and built an eight-track program, so that people at various levels of leadership and working in a variety of sectors are able to build on learning sessions day to day. At the end of Day 1, I saw a true value in this structure and am optimistic I will leave with more learning and connection than from more traditional conferences.
Day 1 highlights include:
- Thanks to Iaian De Jong of Org Code, a new behavior to watch out for, the nostalgia loop. As Iaian describes, it is easy and common to respond to rising pressure (from demand for services, politics, complexity) by falling back on familiarity which masquerades as strategy. I saw the visual and heard the description, and thought “ohhhhh, that happens all the time.” In homelessness, pressure increases when homelessness goes up, especially unsheltered homelessness, and we all get more uncomfortable. We reach for solutions we know and are familiar with and recommit to those solutions and methods. Unsurprisingly we end up at the same place, we see no improvement in outcomes, and the pressure continues to build.
Breaking this loop requires mission-driven leadership interrupting the old habits.
- San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria. WOW This guy is the real deal. Down to earth, mission driven, and he connects environmental justice to housing justice. He challenged the city to review housing-related permits and requests within 30 days. The are now completing those processes in nine days! I am envious.
- Fred Karnas. For those who don’t know Fred, his bio is extensive and impressive with roots in Phoenix and a long-term commitment to ending homelessness. As a keynote speaker, he brought the room to tears with his authentic storytelling and his reminders of leadership. In his words, leadership is: hope, courage, speaking to power, adapting not surrendering to the political environment, listening to those closest to the problem, being humble, cultivating community, and working toward collective action. I’m grateful that NAEH brought him to the stage and to hear his story shared with the 1,000+ attendees.
Day 2 highlights include:
- The concept of “working in the margins” thanks to Michele Williams. I appreciate the new framework of how to think about the work of Keys to Change. As Michele describes, the margins are about position, not about deficiency. Power and control are not in the margins. Yet the margins are where we see the truth. At Keys to Change, we see the truth of homelessness. And when we lead from the margins there are costs. I feel these costs regularly. They show up as political exposure, weighing the risks of speaking up, feeling the emotional weight, knowing that credibility may be challenged. And I learned that in the margins, we also find real innovation, spot failing models, and expose hidden harm.
And leading from this proximity to homelessness is not a liability, it is leadership intelligence.
Thank you, Michele.
- Civic Assembly (or Citizens Assembly). I learned about this common approach used outside of the U.S.A. that some communities in the States are beginning to use. And I am intrigued. To the best of my understanding after a 90-minute session, the Civic Assembly brings people from an affected community together to solve an identified problem. The type of problem that needs some level of government to hear recommendations and make policy changes to implement solutions. For example, if a city identified the lack of housing as a problem, citizens would be invited to apply to be a delegate to an assembly. Once people apply, a lottery is used to select participants using a system that applies an algorithm to match the representation of that community by demographics. Participants are then gathered by a third-party facilitator who brings them information and education; they have time to learn and deliberate. They create recommendations with a super majority of the assembly in agreement to finalize recommendations. The ultimate recommendations are then presented to the city.
Imagine how problems might be solved with a logic of representativeness versus campaigning and politicking, divisiveness and public arguing. What if civic assembly created the language of ballot initiatives rather than ballot initiatives launched to become elections? Dare to dream.
Yes, I am nerding out. And there is half a day left! With my drive back to Phoenix, my mind will be processing and brainstorming. Warning to my team, I am going to challenge us in new ways!
And I am going to give thanks and acknowledgment to that team for holding things down and leading.
Being out of office for more than a day or two can be stressful. I take the responsibility for Keys to Change and Key Campus seriously. Stepping away requires trust and confidence in the leadership team. This trip has shown me that the team is strong and skilled. Having an escalation protocol, crisis communications plan, and shared values means that I can be out of office and trust that emergency situations are handled as if I were present.
An incident on Monday was addressed appropriately and timely. The communication with me was concise and calm, delivered in a more than reasonable timeframe. And the work kept moving. Mission-focused leadership in action.
I am proud of our team.
I’ll be leaving San Diego refreshed thanks to the weather and the views, the faint scent of ocean tides, and new imprints of ocean sunsets in my brain. And I will leave with an amped-up commitment to the Keys to Change mission, increased optimism I have for the Arizona Shelter Network to disrupt and break old patterns, and new knowledge.
Grateful. Humble. Inspired.
