Briana, a lifelong Kalamazoo resident and mother, has spent the past two years contributing to the effort to end homelessness.
Through her work as a community consultant with United Way of South Central Michigan’s Kalamazoo County Continuum of Care, Housing Resources, Inc., and as a panelist at last fall’s Housing Forum, she’s using her own life experiences to help others.
“I feel grateful,” she said.
She had been seeking help with an eviction case, but when the court fines weren’t paid quickly enough, she received a 24-hour eviction notice from her apartment complex. Over the next six years - until 2024 - she struggled to find a place to live.
“I've been through being homeless and having to stay in my car, not really having nobody or no one to turn to,” she said.
That lived experience is what eventually brought her to United Way’s Kalamazoo County Continuum of Care (CoC) program, which works alongside partner organizations to coordinate and find solutions to the gaps, inequities and challenges of reducing homelessness. The CoC is in its second year of employing community consultants with lived experience of homelessness to help shape the work and inform solutions.
“The people closest to the problem are often closest to the solution, yet they are frequently the last to be heard and are too often not compensated for their expertise,” Patrese Griffin, Continuum of Care Director, said. “It has been inspiring to witness the growth of all our consultants, and I look forward to seeing their continued development. I have especially enjoyed watching Briana grow through this opportunity. We are proud of every consultant and deeply appreciate the knowledge, insight, and expertise they bring to this work."
Briana is currently one of six paid consultants working with the CoC.
She said through her role as a consultant, she has gained knowledge about the system that she didn’t have while trying to navigate it years ago from the other side. She noted the relationships she’s built along the way, and how empowering it has been to share her story and background in a way that helps others.
“I was once out there in the streets living, didn't know where to go, and now, thank God, I'm doing so much better,” she said. “So for me, it's just to give back whatever I can to the community.”
What she’s learned from her experience is something she’s eager to share with others.
“Never let no one tell you what you can't do,” she said. “Always keep going, even when times is hard and you just feel like the world is on your shoulders and the weight is crashing down. Don't give up. There’s hope. There’s sunlight at the end of that tunnel.”
Briana shares her experience as part of a panel of Community Consultants who spoke last September at the United Way of South Central Michigan's 2025 Housing Kalamazoo Forum.
