Section 8, Stigma, and the Woman Who’s Changing the Conversation

What if the key to solving homelessness isn’t just policy—but personal story? And what happens when someone who once needed shelter becomes the architect of housing solutions for thousands? The essence of resolving homelessness may reside not solely in policy reform, but also in the profound impact of personal narratives.

In this episode, we engage with Jenna Ghisolfo, a distinguished national speaker, housing consultant, and founder of Housing Consultants of America, who embodies this very principle. Having escaped an abusive relationship at the tender age of 18 with an infant in her care, Jenna's journey from vulnerability to empowerment exemplifies resilience, advocacy, and a commitment to uplifting communities.

With over 18 years of experience and her platform as Mrs. Arizona, she passionately advocates for sustainable housing solutions for those grappling with homelessness, veterans, and individuals with disabilities. Her story is an illuminating testament to the transformative power of personal experiences in fostering meaningful change, and we invite you to join us as we explore the intersection of lived experience and systemic solutions in the realm of housing.

Takeaways:

• The resolution of homelessness requires a deep understanding of individual narratives rather than merely relying on policy frameworks.
• Jenna's transformative journey from homelessness to becoming a national advocate showcases the power of resilience and purpose in combating housing instability.
• Effective solutions for homelessness must encompass comprehensive community support and a collective responsibility to address the root causes of housing insecurity.
• Misconceptions surrounding Section 8 housing often hinder public understanding, as many mistakenly associate it with crime and neglect rather than community revitalization.
• The pressing need for affordable housing is exacerbated by a lack of funding, necessitating creative approaches to development and resource allocation.
• Advocacy rooted in personal experiences can profoundly reshape societal attitudes and influence systemic change in addressing homelessness.

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Hey, one more thing before yougo. What if the key to solving homelessness
isn't just policy, butpersonal stories? What happens when
someone who needed shelterbecomes the architect of housing
solutions for thousands? We'regoing to answer these questions in
so many more. My guest haslived both sides of the struggle,
and now she's here to shareher resilience, her advocacy, and

(00:22):
her purpose that can transformlives and communities. Whether you
find yourself in that positionor want you to know how to help others
that are, I'm your host,Michael Hurst. Welcome to one more
thing before you go. Today Iam joined by Jenna Ghisolfo, national

(00:49):
speaker, housing consultant,and founder of Housing Consultants
of America. Her journey beganat 18, escaping an abusive relationship
with an infant in her arms andnowhere to go. A Section 8 dowager
became her lifeline and thefoundation for a career devoted to
helping others find safe,stable housing. Now, with over 18
years of experience in anational platform as Miss Arizona,

(01:11):
Jenna is using her voice toadvocate for lasting housing solutions
for those experiencinghomelessness, veterans and people
with disabilities. Her storyis one of grit, grace, and giving
back. And I'm honored towelcome you to the show.
Jenna, hello. Thank you forhaving me. I'm excited to be here.

(01:33):
Your life has taken. It's beena journey, right?
That is the best way to putit. And a journey it will continue
to be.
You know, I think, you know,we all are put on a journey in life.
We all seek purpose and we'lltalk about this as we go. We all
want purpose in life. And Ithink you have you found a purpose

(01:53):
that brings you passion andit's passion of yours. It gives you
opportunity to help others insuch a way that improves people's
lives and moves them forwardin a very positive way. And I'm grateful
for having you here.
Yeah, well, thank you. Andit's definitely something that fills
my cup as well. It's not justthe jobs that I have. It's a career.

(02:16):
It's a passion of mine. It'smy life story. So I'm able to put
so much more into, into reallythe, the movement is really what
it is to make people come up,become aware of not only the homelessness
that's in their communities,but how to prevent it or how to help
somebody who's currentlyexperiencing homelessness or might

(02:39):
be home becoming homeless in afew weeks. They might be getting
evicted or whatever it mightbe. Homeless could be right around
their doorstep. So it'ssomething that can hit anybody at
any time.
I agree with that. I Thinkthat this is an opportunity for us
to be able to hopefullyeducate some people, inspire some

(03:00):
people, motivate some peopleand give them opportunity. I do like
to start at the beginningthough. Did you grow up here in Arizona?
Where'd you grow up?
Yes, I am. I'm a Phoenixnative, born and raised here in Phoenix,
Arizona. A graduate of Xavierand love Arizona. Moved back here.
I will probably forever be anArizona native. And really where

(03:21):
my story kind of started offwas after I graduated from high school.
I was in an abusiverelationship and I found myself with
a very low self esteem. I'munable to really thrive in life and
my only way out actually wasit came to me, as I like to say,

(03:42):
a guardian angel came to me inthe middle of Walmart, which, you
know, who would expect you getsome saving grace in Walmart. But
that's exactly what happenedto me. And I was in the grocery line
and a woman overheard myconversation on my phone and why
I had hung up. She said, itsounds like you're looking for housing.

(04:02):
Have you checked out thisplace across the street? I, I don't
know much about it, but I knowthey based your rents on your income.
That's really all she couldtell me. And so I said no, I didn't.
So I went over and I checkedout the place and it ended up being
Action 8 housing where theybased your rents based on your income.
So if you're not making thatmuch, you're not going to be paying

(04:24):
that much. It really is just amath calculation is all it is. And
in fact they had immediateavailability. And so I knew that
this was my time to get out ofthis abusive relationship that I
was in. I actually had aninfant at that time. And so I took
that opportunity to reallystart over, move into a place by

(04:46):
myself with my son and, andreally start over is the best, best
way to put it. I gave, gavemyself a second chance and went back
to college. Started in acareer that I knew with, with everything
that had happened to me andgetting into Section 8 housing, I
wanted to give back to thatsame community that a second opportunity.

(05:09):
So I immediately jumped intoworking for Section 8 Housing and
Public housing and reallynever left the industry. The stories.
And I'm sure, as you know,Michael, there are so many stories
we hear of people going fromhomelessness to housing and owning
their first home and there areso many success stories. That's what

(05:30):
really fills my cup and drivesme. And so I dedicated my career
to helping families that wereonce in the situation that I Was
in, get out of that and beable to start anew. And that comes
from everything from domesticviolence to homelessness to, you
name it, veterans on thestreet. We work with everyone right

(05:52):
now to get them off thestreets and into safe, secure housing.
Well, I mean, you're, well, 18years old. You have an infant in
your arms, you have nowhere togo. I mean, survival, plain survival
is, what do you do? How do youhandle this? Where do you go from

(06:12):
here? Especially when yourealize that I need a place to live.
Let's help people understandwhat Section 8 vouchers, what Section
8 housing is, if we can, please.
Yeah, absolutely. So whatSection 8 is, is it's basically a
housing assistance programthat cities or government entities

(06:34):
support part of your rent inexchange for you living there. And
so what ends up happening isbasically 30% of your income is what
becomes your rent. The rest isthen paid by the housing authority
or the city entity or thegovernment entity, whoever you're,
you're, you're partnering withfor your voucher. Most city and housing

(06:58):
authorities have some sort ofSection 8 program. You generally
just have to check out theirwebsites. But there's always a location
within your city or yourcounty that you can certainly research
or you could reach out to usand we're happy to connect you with
your local jurisdiction andpartners there. But basically it's

(07:18):
support for your rent. So youare not paying 100% of your rent,
that someone else iscontributing to a portion of it.
And that is a lifeline for,for people. It is an absolute lifeline.
Well, it, I mean, it obviouslychanged the trajectory of your own
life. It, you know, took it ina different direction because they
could have gone so, sodifferently in regard to that. I

(07:41):
mean, as you know, in mycommunity knows, I'm, I was a police
officer 17 years and you know,I dealt with homelessness from that
position. I saw people who,who had. No, no longer had a home
and, and from all differenteconomic levels, all different, it
didn't matter. Race, color,religion. It, there was no, there

(08:03):
is no definitive thing. Itonly happens to those people. It
only happens to those people.Doesn't happen to me. It can happen
to somebody at any time.
Correct.
One emotionally practicalchallenge is it help us understand
like what, at that time, whatemotional or practical challenges
did, did you find during thattime? If you went through this?

(08:26):
You know, I would say besideshaving low self esteem, it was, it
was just, even, even havingthe confidence that I could even
start over again. I didn'tbelieve in myself. I was so Living
in a world of fear that Ididn't feel like I was worthy enough
to, to have the secondopportunity or the second chance

(08:48):
being given to me, I almosthad to force myself through was.
It was kind of like an out ofbody experience where I know I'm
doing the paperwork, but am Iactually really leaving this abusive
relationship? And this was abig, it's always a big deal, but
it's a mental game, a mentalchallenge that you have to overcome.

(09:10):
You really do.
Well, I know working domesticviolence for so many years, it also,
you have to, you have toconsider safety issues. I mean, you're
not just looking for a placeto live. You're not just looking
to change your life, notlooking to get a different job. You
still have to worry aboutsafety issues, especially in a violent
domestic situation. Safetyissues. What am I going to do here?

(09:33):
What am I going to do there?Am I always going to have to look
over my shoulder? I mean, so,you know, there's so many things
being thrown at you. Given anopportunity to be able to change
your life into a, a positiveway. I'm sure that was a relief.
I think then, you know, withlike you, you've walked this path.
Because you walk this path,you build bridges differently for

(09:55):
people to cross. And, and Ithink that's probably the focus of
what you came about with, withusing your lived experience as fuel
for your advocacy in thisregard, right?
Yes, absolutely. Absolutely.That's exactly what I've done. And,
and it, it allows me, like youmentioned, just a different mindset
to understand where some ofthese families are coming from or

(10:16):
these individuals are comingfrom. You just have a different level
of, best way I can put it, ispatience and understanding for them.
And you really just, you havea heart for them, you want to help
them, you want to see them besuccessful so that way they have
a better life because that'sultimately what we want for everyone.

(10:36):
I agree with that. I thinkit's your personal story that shaped
the way that you approachhousing strategy. I think it gives
you a more personalperspective because you have empathy
and you have compassion andyou have understanding because you
were placed in a position likethat. What kind of misconceptions
do people have about Section 8and public housing? Because I think

(10:59):
when I say this, it's asituation that I would say that majority
of individuals watch it on TV,they see people in Section 8 housing
and they may get amisconception about what they see.
Help us understand what thatarena is, please.
Yes, and that's a great Greatquestion. There is such a misconception

(11:22):
of what section 8 in publichousing is. And we typically think
of, when we say Section 8 orpublic housing, you think of dilapidated
old housing, you think ofdrugs, you think of crime activity.
And that is not what it is. Itis completely opposite of that. These
communities are clean.Sometimes they're brand new. They

(11:43):
are, they've been revitalized.They don't have criminal activity.
Because we screen ourresidents just like we would for
any other community that you'dbe living in. And they really actually
foster a sense of communitybecause everyone is there with the
same purpose of trying torebuild their lives. So it's interesting,

(12:04):
I've toured severalcommunities here in Arizona, from
shelters all the way up tosection 8 to regular tax credit housing.
There's multiple levels ofaffordable housing that we have.
And what's interesting isthere are no security gates around
these communities. There areno security guards. They're, they're,

(12:25):
they're not needed. It is,they're, they're staged communities.
These are, these areindividuals who want to build that
sense of community withintheir, their apartment complexes.
So I would say theredefinitely that misconception that
there's a lot of criminalactivity, there's drugs, there's,
you know, you don't see that.The other misconception that we really

(12:46):
see with section 8 in publichousing is what's called NIMBYism
and it stands for not in myBackyard. And basically it is communities
saying, we don't want Section8 or affordable housing in our communities.
You're going to lower ourproperty values, you're going to,
you know, lower economicvalue. All this lovely. Right. And

(13:08):
that is not the case. Whatit's actually shown is that when
you develop affordable housingin communities, you can actually
help rebuild that communityand sustain the community longer
because there's typicallymembers of that community that cannot
afford to live a higher costof living at the market rate, or

(13:29):
own their own home, thingslike that, have a mortgage, et cetera.
So providing these extraopportunities actually helps sustain
communities more so thanactually break them down, which is
a misunderstanding. So, yeah,there's a lot of misconceptions with
Section 8 in public housing.And I, I love kind of debunking some

(13:50):
of the myths.
Well, I think there's amisconception about homelessness
in totality. I believe that,you know, you've dealt it with it
personally. You've dealt withit on a regular basis with your business.
I dealt with it personallymyself as well, and I dealt with
it from A professionalperspective as a police officer.
And I think that, you know,people forget that they're people,

(14:14):
they're human beings. And, youknow, the circumstances that put
them on the street aren'talways drugs or alcohol or, you know,
some kind of a, you know, adark road or put them out there.
Sometimes it's circumstancesthat put there the cost of living
has increased dramatically.Unemployment, it goes up. I mean,

(14:38):
the. The aspect that life canchange in an instant, including your
own. With regard to housing,how am I going to pay my rent? How
am I going to pay my mortgage?How am I going to pay my car payment?
How am I going to. How am Igoing to eat? Can't go away. Those
questions can pop at you atany minute now.
Absolutely no one is immune to it.

(14:59):
Well, I think, you know, amission born from experience becomes
a movement built on purpose.
Yeah. Perfect way to put it.
Your. Yours in itself did it.You know, my childhood, as I grew
up, that was what inspired meto get into law enforcement and allowed
me to help people from adifferent perspective. So I appreciate

(15:19):
that. From your nationalperspective. I did it from a professional
and personal. You did it froma personal perspective. How would
you describe the current stateof housing across the. Across the
usa?
So that. That's a toughquestion. You know, we're definitely.
There's definitely a need, andwe can't build affordable housing

(15:39):
quick enough. That. That's ourcurrent problem, to be quite honest.
And then you also tie in thelack of funding that we're seeing
or the loss of funding thatalso plays into a part of it. So,
you know, we're kind ofgetting hit in 2 Avenue. But definitely
it's simply just the need. Wecan't build housing fast enough to

(16:02):
be able to house everyone thatneeds it. I mean, honestly, what
we are. We're having to do iswe're getting creative. Is the best
way to put it in ourdevelopment process where we're converting
hotels or, you know, formerschools, anything we can think of
to convert them into housingunits. Because sometimes we don't

(16:24):
have the land to be able todevelop from ground up. We have to
get creative.
Well, and I think it's,Travis, today's day and age that
they're in some regions, insome areas, they're outlawing homelessness.
You know, like it's a crime.And it's not a crime. That's a situation.
It's. It's a circumstance. Youknow, people don't choose to be homeless.

(16:46):
It's something that happens.
Yeah.
Which obviously there are Waysto fight that or to be an advocate
for that as well, Because Ithink that's in injustice and humanity
are there. In helping us tobetter understand this. Are there
regions where homelessness orhousing insecurities, like especially

(17:06):
severe or misunderstood. Iknow you work here in Arizona. Do
you work outside of Arizona?
Yep, we work nationally. Sowe're helping management companies,
housing authorities, sheltersall across the nation. I'd say a
majority of our clients arekind of clustered either east coast
or in California, where youtend to see a majority of homelessness

(17:32):
issues tends to be in yourlarger cities. That's where we see
a plethora of it. You don'ttechnically see too much in your
rural areas. It's definitelymore prevalent in our larger cities.
Yeah, small towns. I mean,small towns can be affected by the
same as a large city or, youknow, foodie or, or Buckeye. I mean,

(17:56):
Buckeye I think has grownquite a bit. But something along
that line. Obviously that'swhat led you to launch, you know,
Housing Consultants ofAmerica. But can you help us understand.
I mean, we've talked about it.We, we know said a little bit of
what you guys do. What's yourcore mission today based upon. Let

(18:17):
me rephrase this, please.What's your core mission based on?
The circumstances today in therising atmosphere of homelessness?
Because it is. Seems like it'sexploding now that the cost of living
has gone up. The cost of howto get a homes gust has gone up.

(18:38):
Rents have increased likeimmensely. Our daughter's rent jumped
from thirteen hundred dollarsa month and nineteen hundred dollars
a month without, you know,without any kind of like, hey, we're
going to do this or nothing.It was like, you want to renew your
lease? Well, now it's nineteenhundred dollars. And that's a huge
impact on a young persontrying to make a. Trying to make

(19:00):
a living and trying to, to live.
Absolutely. And, and she stuckprobably because she said nowhere
else to go. If you're, you'rekind of in that situation of, well,
if I can't find anythingcheaper, I'm. I'm pretty much stuck
living here. So yeah, that's atough situation to be in. It's very
difficult. And you know, whatwe're finding is that even on a national

(19:23):
level with our company, we goin and we support anyone who needs
our assistance. Any clientsthat reaches out to us, we'll go
into any city. We're certainlynot by it. But what we're finding
is that a lot of nonprofit andshelters are really starting to Say,

(19:43):
you know what? We need toexpand our resources, and we need
to partner with organizationslike our company to help us house
our residents a little bitquicker or our program clients is
another way to put it. And sowe're really partnering with a lot
of nonprofit shelters,community partners, to really expand

(20:06):
their. Expand their resources,because sometimes they're limited
as well. And so we just stepin and we help them find that connection,
whether it's a vacantproperty, a voucher, whatever it
might be. And sometimes we goin and we've got an entire apartment
complex of vacants, and wejust walk right into a shelter and
say, give us 50 residents,give us 50 applicants so we can process

(20:30):
these individuals and try andget them out. So it kind of goes
both ways, which is whatpeople. Beautiful. Because sometimes
we can be able to help massquantities at one time. And that
becomes so rewarding becauseyou get to hear the stories of people
living in shelters for, youknow, years upon years, or who have
not had their own apartmentkeys since they were teenagers, and

(20:53):
this is their first set ofkeys they've had in a long time.
So it. It provides storiesthat really drive and fuel not only
me, but I know my teammembers. Wow.
As well. I know that. And it'sa great mission, obviously, because,
you know, everything that ishappening in. In this world, people
need people like you.Individuals need people like you

(21:15):
and what you do for them. Youknow, given those regional disparities
in the misconceptions abouthomelessness or housing insecurity.
I like. I like the wordhousing insecurity. I've been introduced
to that recently, and I thinkthat's a nice way of putting it.
How do those misunderstandingsaffect the way communities respond?

(21:36):
Do you think communities havea larger responsibility? Because
what I'm seeing, at least whatI'm seeing and I'm hearing is, like
I mentioned a few minutes agothat they're starting to outlaw homelessness,
and I think that's the wrong response.
I would absolutely agree withyou. I think it's the wrong response.
I feel like it should be moreof. If there is obviously an uptick

(22:02):
in homelessness in yourcommunity, there should be some additional
resources then that arebrought into because there's now
a need in your community forthose resources. And your community
needs change year after year.They're never going to stay the same.
They're always going to change.
Yeah, it is. Again, I have toreflect on my personal experience

(22:23):
and have a reflect on myprofessional experience. You know,
everybody that I ran into, Iwould say 98% of the people that
I ran into that werehomelessness or dealt with who were
homeless or living in a car orliving in a van, in parking, in parking
lots. And we wore a lot ofthose where somebody would call us,

(22:44):
we go to call. They think Isaid, hey, there's somebody parking
my parking lot. You know,there was Safeway parking lot. They're
in a Kmart parking lot. Well,Kmart's not here anymore. But I just
hated myself again. But youget the idea. And, you know, we get
there and they're living intheir car, they're living in their
van because they can't affordto go anywhere else else. Like in

(23:11):
any situation that I dealtwith, how do you balance it? Because
I know there has to be somecompliance. There has to be that
we have laws, we haveregulations, we have, you know, things
that have to be complied with.There's how the apartments themselves
have to comply with certainthings. However you balance compliance
and compassion and communityand all that. Is it an easy task

(23:34):
to try to mix all that together?
No, no, that, that is probablyone of our biggest challenges that
we face. Because when you tiein, obviously compliance, that comes
with government funding, whichthere always is. There's always,
there's always that chain thatcomes with government funding, and
it then becomes a little bitmore of a challenge. So to give you

(23:55):
an example, when we're dealingwith government funding, sometimes
we have to request documentssuch as case birth certificates,
Social Security cards. Someindividuals might not have those
documents anymore. They mightnot even have a driver's license
on them. So really what we'refinding is sometimes the immediate

(24:16):
need isn't getting themhousing, it's getting on these documents
so then they can get intohousing. Because without some of
these critical documents,they're. They're kind of stuff for
even getting any type ofsupportive services, whether it's
food stamp, voucherassistance, whatever it might be.
So sometimes we have to modifyour approach when it comes to homeless

(24:39):
individuals to really meettheir needs first and then get them
housing or additionalresources or support that they need.
But that is such a great piecethat you mentioned is that compliance
aspect of it, because we dohave paperwork that we have to complete
for the government, obviously,to ensure that the person that we're
putting into a low income unitisn't trying to scam the system and

(25:03):
making millions. Right. So wedo have to do some additional paperwork,
which can be time consumingand tedious, but it's part of the
process. It's one of thosethings that Egypt, you Take it hand
in hand. It's kind of gettingyour rent covered, but having to
do some extra paperwork, youtake it with a grain of salt. And
we walk individuals throughthe paperwork, so it's not like they're

(25:27):
just being tossed a stack ofcoursework to do and saying, here
you go, try and figure it out.We walk them through. We certainly
do.
Which. And obviously, eitheryou have compassion for this or you
wouldn't be doing what you'redoing, because it's, you know, you
have to have empathy, apassion when you deal with individuals
that are placed in a positionthat they didn't have a choice to
be placed into.

(25:48):
Correct. Correct. Andsometimes impossible for them to
give the documents due totheir situation if they're in a domestic
violence situation. Sosometimes we have to get very creative
and work with law enforcementor. Or other agencies to really help
them out. But, you know, you.You've got resources for a reason.
Sometimes it just kind oftakes some coordination of all those

(26:09):
resources.
And sometimes, I mean, peopledon't think about that. Sometimes
they forget that. Well, theytake it for granted. I have a driver's
license. I've got a birthcertificate. I've got this, I've
got that. And when you're putinto a position where you lost everything
and you have nothing, how do Iget those replaced when I have nothing?
Absolutely. And how do youeven start over? How. I mean, those

(26:33):
are basic needs that you thinkabout. You can't do much without
a driver's license.
No. Or an id. A driver licenseor an ID Ad or id.
You're right. Yep. Exactly.Exactly. So it. It becomes an essential
knee said, you know, we. Wework with them to get that taken
care of, then we get themhousing, and then it becomes, you
know, what else can we getyou? Do you need food stamp? Do you

(26:55):
need. Do you just help youfind a job? Do you need clothing?
You know, what are your otherneeds? So we can. We can then, you
know, what we'd like to callit, provide wraparound services.
So we're really supportingthem from all angles.
Now, I just. Out of curiosity,are you nonprofit? You're. Are you
profit or nonprofit?

(27:15):
No, we're. We're for profit.We're not a nonprofit.
For profit. Okay. Well, Imean, we'll talk about how to get
in touch with you here in alittle bit, but I think that. That
you still have an opportunityfor individuals who are seeking that
help that may not necessarilyhave the funds to help, I'm assuming.
Yes, absolutely. Absolutely.There are several resources out There

(27:40):
that have vouchers availableor have assistance programs that
somebody could definitely tapinto and utilize, or there's waitlist
that we can certainly get themon. So. So that way, they're affirming
this in mind. Absolutely.
Well, you haven't. You have avery unique opportunity as Mrs. Arizona.
I do, Yes, I do. You know,just add something else onto my journey

(28:04):
and play.
Hey, that. Congratulations onthat. Obvious, by the way, but sometimes
the crown isn't always aboutrecognition. It's about representation.
Right. It gives you the. It'sa platform for advocacy, I think,
and, you know, it allows youto be able to utilize that role,
I think. As Mrs. Mrs. Arizona,do you think that it's helped elevate

(28:27):
your mission and your messageabout homelessness and the importance
of helping to resolve this issue?
Yeah, I absolutely do. Iabsolutely do. And I feel like, you
know, homelessness is not asexy topic. Nobody likes to really
talk about it. It kind of getsswept underneath the rug. It's not

(28:49):
a headline stopper in thenews, but it really is a topic that
affects communities. And soit's something that I feel very strongly
about. And then I've kind ofincorporated into the pageant. And
I've noticed that by openingup these conversations with individuals,
it's making individuals becomemore aware of homelessness in their

(29:11):
communities and wanting to besupported, supportive of either movements,
funding, you know, laws,whatever it might be. They're more
proactive in their communitieswhen it comes to responding to homelessness.
So I do feel like I've beenable to make an impact, at least
in the Phoenix area, hopefullyon a national level.

(29:32):
Well, I. I would think so. Imean, you know, the message is clear.
And the message is that, youknow, anybody that's homeless, there's.
They're human beings. I goback to that earlier. You know, it.
It's. Even when I was a policeofficer, you know, it. It was interesting
because you see. You seepeople at their worst. You see the

(29:53):
best people at their worst.And you. You see that grit. You.
You walk it, You. You live it.Every day. You have conversations
with people that are incircumstances like losing their home,
losing their car, losingeverything. They have domestic violence
situations where they had toimmediately get moved from that environment

(30:15):
in a safe manner, who had noidea how they were going to restart
their lives, no idea how theywere going to get where they need
to go and what they need todo. And I prided myself in knowing
that every contact that I had,no matter what it was, that it was,
everyone is a human Being andthat you have to treat people with

(30:38):
humanity and compassion andunderstanding and walk a mile in
their shoes, so to speak. Youknow, I'm grateful I got a thank
you card from a felon, acouple of felons who said thank you
for treating me like a personinstead of just a felon. So, you
know, we as human beings in acommunity, we have to remember that

(31:01):
is that it could be, you know,we all have mothers, we have fathers,
we have grandparents, we havekids, we have brothers, we have sisters,
we have husbands, wives,stepbrothers, stepsisters. You know,
at any time, that could happento any one of them.
Absolutely. And it could be.It could be anybody related to us
at any moment time.Homelessness is not biased. It can

(31:23):
affect anyone at any time.It's something that, like I said,
it's just not talked about. Itkind of swept under the rug and.
And people just kind of figurethat it's the city's problem or the
government's problem andsomeone else will take care of it
when it really isn't an issuewhere if we all come together, we
can absolutely come up with solutions.

(31:45):
I agree with that. What youhope to achieve on the national stage,
like, how do you. How do youuse pageantry as that platform for
change? I mean, I know you sayyou talk about it, you give. It gives
you an opportunity, but doesit give you. Does it give you a better
opportunity to be able to dothat, do you think, on a national
level?
I absolutely do. I absolutelydo. I think it's bringing a voice

(32:05):
to a topic that, you know,people just don't want to talk about
right now. And it's bringingmore awareness in which that. That
to me is. Is huge. And I thinkit kind of makes me a little bit
unique in the fact that I'mnot going into a pageant system talking
about cancer or, you know,kind of the typical platforms. I
am bringing aw to an issuethat is applicable to every community

(32:31):
in every nation. We see itacross the world. And so it's something
that we need to work togetheras communities to really resolve
and come up with solutions.
I agree with that. And we allwant to leave a legacy, but I think
it's important to know that itisn't just about what we leave behind.
It's about what we build intoother people. You know, I think that

(32:55):
your mission in life is tohelp others have the. Build the self
esteem, build the confidence,build the opportunity, build the.
The enabling to know thatthey. You empower them. I think you
have systematic change youhelp to create the opportunity for
people to move forward in a.In a very, a very good way. So what

(33:20):
advice would you have? Someonethat's currently facing like a housing
insecurity or homelessness?
You know, I would say just notto give up. Don't lose hope, don't
lose face. It is. There areresources and solutions that are
out there. It is not the endsof the world. And so I would definitely

(33:40):
say, you know, either reachout to our organization and we can
get you tapped into localresources or reach out to your local
housing authority or cityofficials to see what resources are
available, because there aresolutions out there and sometimes
you just have to get a littlecreative in finding those solutions.
But, you know, I woulddefinitely say don't lose hope or

(34:04):
faith. There is a solution.There are people who care. There
are organizations who want tosee you and your family do better.
And so it's something justnever, never lose lose sight of the
end goal.
And I am assuming that youhelp both single individuals as well
as families, not just, notjust every. But you help anybody
that's in this.

(34:24):
Situation, anybody who needs,anybody who needs the help, we're
happy to help them.
What systematic changes do youbelieve are most urgent in solving
homelessness? I know we talkedearlier mentioned the fact that there
are some communities that areoutlawing homelessness, which I again
adamantly going to be an injustice.
Yeah, yeah. You know, I wouldsay right now the biggest issue besides

(34:47):
city laws being changed and,and that obviously is a hindrance.
You know, it's the lack offunding. We're. We're losing so much
funding to help us supportbuilding some of these projects that
need to be built or evenrevitalizing some projects that need
to be revitalized. And becauseof that lack of funding, we're struggling.

(35:07):
And then being able to buildand release more units, which then
helps, you know, hinders usfrom getting people off the street.
So I would definitely say, youknow, that the funding is tricky.
A lot of developers have hadto get creative in their funding

(35:27):
sacking and programs justbecause, you know, in order to make
deals go through, we've got tocome up with alternative funding
solutions now. And it.Sometimes that's just what we have
to do. Right. If we need thehousing, we're going to come up with
as many solutions as we can asbest we can.
Well, I agree, and I thinkthat systematically, I think the

(35:48):
communities themselves reallyneed to take a hard look at helping
to support this effort inplacing people. They're part of your
community, whether you Wantthem to be or not, they're a part
of your community or they'refrom your community, they lived here,
they were they originally partof your community. And all of a sudden

(36:09):
the point, it's like, youknow, you don't. If you're your brother,
your sister, your son, yourdaughter, your grandparents, your
mom, your dad, if they getthrown out on the street, what do
you do? You open your door.
Exactly, exactly.
You know, here you are, I'vegot a place for you to live, a place
for you to stay. So I thinkcommunities overall, I think need
to take a better proactive.From my own opinion, I think that

(36:32):
they need to take a proactiveapproach on helping to solve this
problem because they are partof this community. They are human
beings that function here andthey need help. That's what, you
know, that's what we shoulddo. Take care of each other. That
Govitt, that's like an old guyright back.

(36:52):
Love it, love it. Yeah. If atthe end of the day it's about dignity
and respect and that's whatwe're here to ensure that we provide
because we. That's whateverybody did there.
Exactly. Dignity and respect.I like that. What's next for you?
How can we find you? What doyou provide and how can our audience
support you?
Yes, so the audience can findus. On housing consultants of america.com

(37:13):
we basically do everythingfrom supporting individuals, finding
housing to ensuring ongoingcompliance or Section 8 or public
housing property. So if thereare is a property out there that's
looking for some services, wecertainly can jump on board. And
then we also provide trainingto the staff members so they know
how to pre screen applicants,ensure qualification, screening is

(37:39):
done properly, etc. So weprovide a plethora of training and
happy to provide additionalresources or training materials to
anyone who reaches out.
And I'll make sure that allthat is in the show notes so that
people have an easy way tofind you. They just let the click
and it'll take you right tothe webpage and you know, you'll
find some answers, find some help.

(38:00):
There you go.
Love, it has been a wonderfulconversation. I really appreciate
you bringing awareness to aproblem that needs awareness. But
this is one more thing beforeyou go, before we go, do you have
any words of wisdom you could share?
Yeah, I would say my words ofwisdom are our communities need our

(38:27):
support and it is worth it forus to invest in our communities.
So whether that's volunteeringyour time, whether that's, you know,
even just picking up the phonecall and voicing your opinion. Your
communities need your voice.They need your support in order to
become better, whether we'retalking about homelessness or any

(38:47):
other issues. So I would justsay use your void. The better your
community. That would be mywords of wisdom.
Those are brilliant words ofwisdom voice. We all have one. We
should use it. Use it, use it.
Yes, we should.
So, Jenna, thank you very muchfor coming. Being part of one more
thing before you go say Ireally appreciate you and what you

(39:08):
bring to the world.
Thank you. I appreciate it.Been a pleasure.
Jenna reminds us that housingisn't just a structure, it's a lifeline.
That resilience isn't justsurviving, it's rebuilding, leading
and lifting others. And thatadvocacy rooted in lived experiences
can reshape entire systems.We, her and I, are examples of this.

(39:30):
If this conversation movesyou, please share it. It inspires
you. Act on it and use yourvoice. And if you're somebody's ever
felt unseen, unheard orunworthy, know that your story matters.
So until next time, staycurious, stay compassionate, and
remember, the most powerfulsolutions often begin with the most
personal story. Thank you fortuning in. And one more thing before

(39:52):
you go. Have a great week.
Thanks for listening to thisepisode of One more thing before
you go. Check out [e-mail] youm
can find us as well assubscribe to the program and rate
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