The Lived Experience Training Academy (LETA) is a virtual (fully online) and inclusive professional development program initiated by the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH).
Created by people who have experienced homelessness, LETA is designed to address your specific needs. The program offers 12 to 16 hours of professional development that will have you certified and so much more!
LETA is a vehicle to help the growing silenced, unhoused population seeking justice, equality, and freedom. We equip you with the tools and resources you need to make your voice the centerpiece of strategy and advocacy.
Email Leta@nationalhomeless.org to request information.
Our Mission: Equip people with lived experience of homelessness to embrace leadership roles and transform public policy to be more inclusive.
LETA Overview Presentation
Curriculum:
LETA builds on the knowledge and skills of diverse people with lived experience and focuses on systemic change to ensure housing is a human right. The program includes a thoughtfully designed curriculum with six core themes and several interconnected themes that emerged through a series of focus group interviews conducted with people around the nation who are currently or formerly experiencing homelessness.
Topics covered in the LETA program include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Technology Literacy
- Wellness & Self-Care
- History of Homelessness
- Public Policy Contextualization
- Communication
- Coalition Building
- Conflict Resolution
- Financial Wellbeing
- Organizing & Advocacy, and
- Inclusive leadership
LETA formation and oversight is led by the Executive Director of NCH Donald Whitehead, who holds more than twenty years of experience serving and advocating for persons experiencing homelessness. The creative development and implementation is led and directed by LETA co-visionary, Dr. Rajni Shankar-Brown, an internationally renowned Professor and Distinguished Chair of Social Justice Education at Stetson University and the President of the National Coalition for the Homeless Board. LETA logistical support is led by the Attorney and the Founder of the Miami Coalition to Advance Racial Equity, David Peery.
The National Coalition for the Homeless is an inclusive membership-led organization. We don’t just work for people who have lived experience but work alongside them on every level. We offer platforms that allow unhoused individuals to share their stories, so they may become the centerpiece of advocacy, policy, and strategy to ending homelessness.
Register for the Course
Are you ready to get started? Click here to register and pay for the LETA Course!
