Showing Up, Speaking Out: LEA at the San Diego City Budget Hearing

On May 20, 2025, Lived Experience Advisors (LEA) stood before the San Diego City Council to make one message clear: funding and visibility for people with disabilities who are experiencing homelessness must be a priority in the city’s upcoming budget.

Raising Our Voices for a Forgotten Population

The budget hearing was a crucial opportunity for community organizations, advocates, and residents to weigh in on how the city allocates resources for the upcoming fiscal year. LEA showed up to ensure that the voices of people with lived experience of homelessness and disability were not just heard—but centered.

Wilderness Harris, alongside other LEA members, delivered powerful testimony about the urgent need for more inclusive services and targeted funding that reflects the realities of San Diego’s unhoused disabled population.

“Too often, we are invisible in the data and the decision-making,” Harris said. “Disability and homelessness are deeply intertwined, and the city’s budget must reflect that intersection.”

The Data We Can’t Ignore

LEA’s testimony emphasized that a significant percentage of San Diego’s unhoused population lives with one or more disabilities—ranging from mobility issues to cognitive and mental health conditions. However, these individuals face systemic barriers that prevent access to services, shelter, and permanent housing that meets their needs.

“Without accessible housing, adequate healthcare, and trauma-informed services, people with disabilities remain stuck in cycles of survival,” one LEA advisor testified. “Budget decisions are life-and-death decisions for our community.”

Calling for Equity, Not Just Awareness

LEA’s recommendations to the City Council included:

• Increased dedicated funding for accessible shelter and permanent supportive housing.
• Enhanced training for city-funded outreach workers on disability inclusion and trauma-informed care.
• Greater transparency in how the city tracks data on homelessness and disability.
• Support for peer-led initiatives that provide direct services and advocacy for unhoused people with disabilities.

This wasn’t just about demanding a budget line—it was about shifting how the city values people with lived experience and the intersectional challenges they face.

Continuing the Fight

While the hearing was only one step in the budget process, it was a vital one. LEA’s presence sent a strong message: we will not be sidelined, and we will continue to fight for equity, dignity, and visibility for those too often left out of public policy conversations.

As the budget process continues, LEA will remain engaged—watching, advocating, and pushing for the resources and recognition our community deserves.

Stay tuned for ways to support our work and raise your voice with us. Because everyone deserves to be seen.