As we conclude our series featuring reflections from members of the Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless Advocacy Fellowship, we’re honored to share one final perspective from this year’s cohort. Throughout the legislative session, these fellows brought their lived expertise to the Capitol, helping shape conversations around housing policy while strengthening their own leadership and advocacy skills.
In the reflection below, MCH Advocacy Fellow Vonn Grayson shares how the Fellowship deepened her understanding of advocacy, strengthened the power of community, and helped her recognize the value of her own lived experience in creating lasting change.
[VONN]: One of the most meaningful parts of my Fellowship experience this session was the fellowshipping we did together as a cohort. Being in community with other Fellows who carry their own lived experiences of homelessness and housing instability made me feel less alone and more understood. Our time together—sharing stories, checking in on each other, laughing, and processing hard moments—was just as powerful as any meeting with a lawmaker, because it reminded me that this work is rooted in real people and real relationships, not just policy language and bills.
I was surprised by how complex and slow the legislative process can be, and at the same time, how quickly things can move when there is momentum and relationships in place. I learned that advocacy is not just one hearing or one meeting, but lots of follow-up emails, check-ins, and staying ready to show up again and again. Seeing how much work happens behind the scenes helped me understand that our voices have to stay at the table long after the cameras and microphones are gone.
Writing and delivering testimony virtually was a huge growth area for me.
I used to feel like I had to shrink my story or apologize for needing help. This Fellowship taught me how to tell my story in a way that connects my personal experience to policy, data, and a concrete ask—even through a screen. Speaking about my issue online, and then hearing from people afterward that my words helped them understand FHPAP or think differently about homelessness, showed me that my voice is needed in these spaces.
This Fellowship has changed the way I think about advocacy and my own leadership. I no longer see myself as someone on the outside begging for help; I see myself as a partner in this work, with expertise that comes from lived experience and community. I understand now that my story, my questions, and my ideas belong in policy conversations, budget decisions, and legislative hearings—not just in case notes or service intakes.
Looking ahead, I’m excited to keep building on this foundation—continuing to speak up about housing, FHPAP, and the realities of living with disability while trying to stay housed.
I’m looking forward to mentoring other people with lived experience who want to step into advocacy, and to staying engaged with MCH as we push for stronger, more humane policies together. More than anything, I want our network to know that this Fellowship didn’t just change how I advocate; it helped me see my own worth and power in a new way, and I plan to keep using that power for my community.
Vonn’s reflection reminds us that advocacy is about more than policy; it’s about community, relationships, and recognizing the expertise that comes from lived experience. Through the Advocacy Fellowship, she found confidence in her voice, embraced her role as a leader, and demonstrated the impact that people with firsthand experience can have in shaping housing policy.
As we wrap up this reflection series, we want to thank Vonn Grayson, Randi Wickham, Ash Littles, and DaKota Morgan for sharing their experiences and leadership. Together, they have demonstrated the power of lived expertise in shaping housing policy, building relationships, and creating change. We are grateful for all they have contributed to the Advocacy Fellowship so far and look forward to supporting their continued leadership throughout the remainder of the Fellowship and beyond.
– MCH Team, and mostly Vonn Grayson, MCH Advocacy Fellow