Today Dr. Rajni Shankar-Brown is among the most prominent scholars in social justice in the United States and around the world. Her life’s work has taken her around the globe, where she presents on the most imminent issues impacting the lives of the homeless and facilitates learning to help advance equity in communities and schools. A far cry from being an ivory tower academic, Dr. Shankar-Brown is a civically engaged teacher-scholar working at a grassroots level to administer to the needs of the homeless—that is a place where she is most comfortable—doing the daily work to be among the communities she partners with and serves. She embodies the words of Dorothy Day who once said, “Love casts out fear, but we have to get over the fear in order to get close enough to love them.”
Dr. Shankar-Brown has been with the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH) for over a decade. The NCH is one of the oldest grassroots organizations to end and prevent homelessness in the nation. Aside from addressing homelessness and the root causes of poverty, the racial equity lens has also always been part of the conversation. The NCH also amplifies the experience of those with real life homeless experience to be part of their work. For the longest time, Shankar-Brown has been trying to get HUD to include people who have life experience with having been homeless in visioning, planning, and decision-making processes. Finally, this is coming to fruition. The NCH also has a speakers’ bureau, a mentorship program to help people find work and staff members who have had experience with having been homeless. Currently, Dr. Shankar-Brown and colleagues are also developing a homelessness peer support program as a national model.
In addition, the Poverty and Homelessness Conference, which Shankar-Brown founded, works with states and municipalities and different communities, including local museums, schools, non-profit organizations and faith-based communities. By bringing everyone together, action plans are created to provide support and resources. Dr. Shankar-Brown has helped former low-income students who have experienced homelessness gain access and financial support to college and career training. Many of these students are a part of the projects Shankar-Brown facilitates and even serve on the leadership team of the Poverty and Homelessness Conference, which she founded. “Many of our student leaders have experienced poverty and homelessness,” she said. “We don’t want the youth to only see themselves as being served. We give them the opportunity to serve so they can develop leadership skills.”
Shattering some of the stereotypes, myths and misunderstandings around homelessness is part of what drives Dr. Rajni Shankar-Brown. Homelessness and poverty are huge problems. There is no one-size-fits-all solution. One sweeping policy for everyone does not work and can cause further marginalization. Recent opportunities have opened for the NCH to be part of a few meetings with President Biden’s team. The NCH is giving recommendations to the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, the Department of Education and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Many different organizations need to be on board to implement concerted action that can make a difference. “Much work still needs to be done,” Dr. Shankar-Brown said. “You can see the goodness that can be planted and grown when people come together and that kindles my work—that keeps me marching for justice.”
Student Daliyah Hammoud
Student Anissa Sutton presents her justice manifesto shield online through a virtual platform.