Unsheltered Conversations

Welcome to Unsheltered Conversations, the podcast from HomeAid America where we explore the human stories, partnerships, and solutions shaping the conversation around homelessness. This podcast is hosted by Scott Larson, CEO of HomeAid America.Today’s conversation is about something incredibly important and often overlooked in the conversation around homelessness: opportunity.We know that housing is foundational. But for long-term stability, people also need pathways to employment, purpose, and career growth. Because without income, long-term housing stability becomes incredibly difficult to sustain.That’s exactly what the HomeAid WORKS program is designed to do.HomeAid San Diego has built one of the most impactful versions of this program in the country, bringing together builders, employers, service providers, and community partners to create real career pathways in the construction industry.Since launching in 2022, the program has trained over 118 individuals with plans for 48 additional this year and continues to grow, helping participants gain skills, confidence, and access to meaningful employment opportunities.Episode Guests:John Peterson: Executive Director of HomeAid San DiegoStaci Reidinger: Board member and passionate advocate for the programDestiny Dubois: Graduate of the WORKS programLearn more about ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HomeAid⁠⁠⁠.

Welcome to Unsheltered Conversations, the podcast from HomeAid America where we explore the human stories, partnerships, and solutions shaping the conversation around homelessness. This podcast is hosted by Scott Larson, CEO of HomeAid America.Today’s conversation is with someone who has spent decades helping the public understand homelessness not just as a statistic, but as a deeply human story.Kevin Fagan is an award-winning journalist who spent many years reporting on homelessness for the San Francisco Chronicle. His reporting has taken him into encampments, shelters, hospitals, and city halls documenting the realities of life on the streets and the systems meant to respond to it.His book, The Lost and the Found, brings readers into the lives of individuals experiencing homelessness in a way that is honest, compassionate, and deeply revealing.At HomeAid, we recently featured Kevin’s book in our national newsletter and in the Recommended Reading section on our website, because it provides such a powerful lens into the human experience behind homelessness.Learn more about ⁠⁠⁠⁠HomeAid⁠⁠⁠.

Welcome to Unsheltered Conversations, the podcast from HomeAid America, where we explore real solutions, real partnerships, and real stories behind the work to build a future without homelessness. This podcast is hosted by Scott Larson, CEO of HomeAid America.Today’s episode takes us to Austin, Texas and to one of themost inspiring and innovative communities in the country: Community First! Village, created by Mobile Loaves & Fishes.Recently, we celebrated the ribbon cutting of two beautifulmicro homes built by Toll Brothers in partnership with HomeAid Austin. These homes represent more than shelter. They represent dignity, stability, and the opportunity for someone to begin again.HomeAid Austin has helped build nearly fifty homes withinthis incredible community over the years, and this latest project reflects both the continued commitment of our affiliate and the extraordinary leadership of our national builder partners like Toll Brothers.Joining me today are two people who helped make thispossible.Lynne Williams, Executive Director of HomeAid Austin, andBrandon Cooper from Toll Brothers.Learn more about ⁠⁠HomeAid⁠⁠.

In this special Black History Month episode, Scott sits down with Nancy Ackerman and Jackie Broxton to explore the extraordinary life of Biddy Mason. Born into slavery, she courageously secured her freedom, built generational wealth, and became a philanthropist whose legacy continues to inspire. The conversation explores how the partnership between HomeAid, the California Lutheran Homes Foundation, and Biddy Mason Charitable Foundation brought the Biddy Mason House to life, a space that honors that legacy by serving foster youth with dignity and opportunity.Guests:Nancy Ackerman — CEO, California Lutheran Homes FoundationJackie Broxton — Leader, Biddy Mason Charitable FoundationLearn more about HomeAid.

Welcome to Unsheltered Conversations, the podcast from HomeAid where we dig into the stories, ideas, and systems shaping how we support people experiencing homelessness across the United States.I’m Scott Larson, CEO of HomeAid America. Today we’re honored to be joined by two leaders whose work, in both storytelling and service, deepens our understanding of homelessness in America:Brian Goldstone, journalist and author of the critically acclaimed There Is No Place for Us: Working and Homeless in America, a book that has landed on multiple Best Books of the Year listsand reshapes how we think about who is counted and who is left out in America’s housing crisis. And Mandy Crater, Executive Director of HomeAid Georgia, whose leadership has helped catalyze multiple housing developments, community partnerships, and initiatives that make dignity and stability possible for families in the Atlanta region.

Welcome to Unsheltered Conversations, HomeAid America’s podcast where we explore stories of homelessness, hope, and the change we can build together.This special episode revisits HomeAid’s origins in 1989, its national expansion in the 1990s, the personal and professional journeys of its early leaders, and how those foundations shaped the HomeAid of today. The conversation also looks ahead to 2026 and beyond: expansion, evolving needs, and the future of national impact.Featuring:• Scott Larson, CEO, HomeAid America• Mike Lennon, Founding Executive Director of HomeAid Orange County (1989) and CEO of HomeAid America (1995–2006)• Gina Cunningham, Executive Director, HomeAid Orange County | Los Angeles

Welcome to Unsheltered Conversations, HomeAid America’s podcast where we explore stories of homelessness, hope, and the change we can build together.In this episode, Amber Celmer shares an extraordinary personal and professional journey: growing up in foster care, surviving trauma and instability, rising into leadership in the building/housing industry, and now directing HomeAid Sacramento toward projects like The Grove cabin community for youth exiting foster care. Listeners will hear how personal experience drives her commitment to dignified housing and gain insight into how building‐industry resources can be marshaled to deliver life-changing results for transitional youth.

Welcome to Unsheltered Conversations, HomeAid America’s podcast where we explore stories of homelessness, hope, and the change we can build together.As we enter Homelessness Awareness Month, we’re leaning into this year’s theme: Someone You Know. Because the truth is, homelessness isn’t just about strangers on the street, it often touches closer than we realize. It’s about our neighbors, our coworkers, our friends, and yes, sometimes even our own families.Hosted by Scott Larson, today's episode features Carole Brady, Executive Director of HomeAid Houston. Before leading HomeAid, Carole spent nearly 20 years with Family Promise, walking alongside families experiencing homelessness. But this episode isn’t just about her professional journey. Carole is a survivor of domestic violence, and she’s also a mother who has walked the heartbreaking road of having a son who battled addiction and lived on and off the streets.It’s a story that’s courageous, raw, and painfully real but also one filled with love, resilience, and hope.

Welcome to Unsheltered Conversations, the podcastfrom HomeAid America where we take a deeper look at the human stories, systemic issues, and bold solutions shaping our response to homelessness. I’m your host, Scott Larson, CEO of HomeAid America.Today, we’re joined by Dr. Gregg Colburn, Associate Professor at the University of Washington and co-author of Homelessness Is a Housing Problem: How Structural Factors Explain U.S. Patterns. His groundbreaking research shows that the biggest driver of homelessness isn’t addiction, mental illness, or even poverty, it’s the simple fact of not enough affordable housing.Gregg’s work has reframed how advocates, policymakers, and nonprofits like HomeAid think about homelessness. We’ll talk about what the data reveals, what myths we need to leave behind, and where the solutions lie.

Welcome to Unsheltered Conversations, a podcast from HomeAid America. Hosted by Scott Larson we're joined by Cindy Bell, the Executive Director of Homemade Colorado, and Laura McKenna, the Executive Director of Tall Tales Ranch.In this episode, we talk about a pioneering project in Colorado Tall Tales Ranch, a shared housing community for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, also known as IDD, built in partnership with HomeAid Colorado. This conversation is about design, disability, dignity, and truly a longterm local partnership.

Welcome to Unsheltered Conversations, a podcast from HomeAid America where we take an honest look at homelessness and the people, policies, and partnerships working to end it. I'm your host Scott Larson, CEO of HomeAid. Today for our very first episode, I'm joined by someone whose voice has shaped so much of how HomeAid shows up in the world, our Chief Marketing Communications Officer, Monique Waddington. We're talking about why this podcast exists, what it means to give a voice to those who are unsheltered and the role storytelling plays in helping all of us build a more compassionate response to homelessness.