Meet Kelli Poole, Director, Racial Equity in Homelessness Initiative
We are so thrilled to welcome the newest member of our team, Kelli Poole!
Kelli joins SVPLA as Director, Racial Equity in Homelessness Initiative, leading the vision and design of our new initiative to create systemic change within the homelessness response system. Kelli brings a wealth of experience across the nonprofit and public sectors in policy, grant-making, racial justice, homelessness, and health services and systems.
Centering racial equity, the Initiative takes a three-pronged approach to shifting the culture and workforce of the homeless response system, through recruitment of a diverse talent pool, equipping providers to lead through collective impact, and retaining top talent by creating an inclusive and equitable culture. We know that BIPOC folks make up a majority of the population of people experiencing homelessness and yet they hold a small portion of senior leadership positions across the sector. This lack of proximity to people with lived expertise and lack of representation has created a charity-based deficit model for the sector and the Initiative aims to change that.
We're excited to incubate this new initiative at SVPLA, in close alignment with our focus to invest our resources in, amplify the voices of, and shift power to systems change leaders most impacted by systemic injustice.
Read on for a Q&A with Kelli, and email her a celebratory welcome note!
Kelli, we’re so excited to welcome you to the SVPLA team. How do you like to celebrate or honor new beginnings?
With dessert or some other form of a processed-sugary treat :) I’m from the south and food accompanies most celebrations (and really any occasion!), so typically new beginnings are marked with a sweet treat to honor the occasion. For this new beginning Christine treated us to delectable treats from Southern Girl Desserts, soooo good!
We’re big fans of the Equity Meets Design Problem Statement framework - what’s the problem you’re tackling with the Racial Equity in Homelessness Initiative?
Lack of representation in the movement to end homelessness. We know that BIPOC folks make up a majority of the population of people experiencing homelessness and yet they hold a small portion of senior leadership positions across the sector. This lack of proximity to people with lived expertise and lack of representation has created a charity based deficit model for the sector and we’d like to change that
What brings you to this work?
I started my career on the frontlines as an Employment Specialist working with people experiencing homelessness and those returning to their communities post-incarceration and have worked in many positions since that time. I held roles creating policy, allocating funding, designing and running programs and one thing remains the same...heteronormative, white-dominant cultural standards dominate the movement to end homelessness and the workplaces of the organizations that make-up this sector. As a biracial, Black and white, person, I internalized that lack of representation to mean that something was wrong with me, that something was wrong with Black people because we were always clients and never C-suite leaders. Through many years of therapy and consistent work of undoing racism and untangling myself from the lies of white supremacy, I stand here today, ready to do this work across our entire system.
“...I bring to this work values of grace, mercy and forgiveness that have been handed down to me by my father and generations of African American ancestors who, in the face of terror, believed, and continue to believe, with all their heart that change was truly going to come.”
Who has been influential in shaping your values?
Most importantly, my dad, Clarence, has been such an important part of my life and shaping my values. We had the opportunity to visit the National Memorial for Peace and Justice and the Legacy Museum in Birmingham, Alabama, a few years ago. My dad is a 70 year old African-American male who came of age during the height of the civil rights era and attended the first desegregated high school in his rural southern town. We spent about 3 hours exploring the museum and taking in the heavy truths of the brutal history of slavery and its connection to the modern-day prison industrial complex. It was heavy, emotionally and visually disturbing. As we exited the museum, into the bright light of the day, my dad whispered very quietly, “Lord forgive them, for they know not what they’ve done”. I remember staring in astonishment at him, my millennial heart bursting with anger, my eyes filled with tears, outraged at the brutalities of history and present-day injustices. And in that moment, my father, as calm as can be, took a deep breath and walked forward in forgiveness.
He is such a strong, patient and kind human being and I bring to this work values of grace, mercy and forgiveness that have been handed down to me by my father and generations of African American ancestors who, in the face of terror, believed, and continue to believe, with all their heart that change was truly going to come.
Adrienne Maree Brown talks about organizing as science fiction; a way of “...shaping the future we long for”. What’s the future you long to make possible?
I envision a world in which everyone, regardless of race, gender, socioeconomic status, or any other variable, has everything they need to live a healthy, productive life, on their own terms. A world in which we opt-in to help our neighbors, in which we are grounded in a shared vision for liberation and that amid our differences we let that vision guide everything that we do. I imagine a world full of truth, transparency and justice for all.
Finding moments of rest and joy has never been more important. What’s bringing you joy, and how are you taking care of yourself?
During these moments of safer-at-home/quarantine I have found lots of moments of joy— I’ve cycled through the house plant and bread-baking phases, completely avoided downloading Tiktok or watching Tiger King, added quite a few trashy TV shows to my Netflix cue and of course have taken lots of naps, so many good naps! I should confess that I am single and childless and have been thriving in the blissful solitude of a quiet home—sending so much love to all of you with kids and partners :)
Kelli, we're so grateful that you bring your many gifts to lead this new initiative at SVP!
Team SVPLA