Ep 08 Part 1: The Importance of Cross-Sector Collaboration to Solve Homelessness

Host Atticus LeBlanc, founder and CEO of PadSplit, interviews Beth Silverman, co-founder and executive director of the Lotus Campaign, about her cross-sector career in city planning, real estate, and public policy and how it led to tackling homelessness. Beth describes Lotus as a partnership model that connects landlords, developers, and social service organizations to place individuals and families experiencing or near homelessness into market-rate, mixed-income housing. Lotus began in Charlotte, expanded to Raleigh, and has housed nearly 800 people with a 91–95% renewal success rate, largely using philanthropic funding. She also highlights myth-busting work emphasizing homelessness as a housing problem and shares examples of impact and future expansion plans.

00:00 Welcome to the Show

00:24 Beth Silverman Introduction

01:33 Career Path Across Sectors

03:49 Origins of Lotus Campaign

08:16 What Lotus Does

12:31 Voucher Comparison and Myth Busting

14:11 Landlord Objections and Risk

18:56 Lease Ready Support Model

22:27 Scaling Results and Funding

26:00 Expansion Plans and Myths

30:52 Closing and Part Two Tease

One Room at a Time podcast: https://padsplit.com/podcast

Connect with Atticus LeBlanc on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/atticus-leblanc-3960466/

Connect with Beth Silverman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beth-silverman-7218a524/

References:

• Lotus Campaign: https://www.lotuscampaign.org
• Urban Land Institute: https://uli.org/
• Predictably Irrational, Revised and Expanded Edition: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions by Dan Ariely: https://a.co/d/0feG8L6g
• Housing Choice Vouchers: ​​https://www.usa.gov/housing-voucher-section-8
• Sharon Crossing Investment: https://www.lotuscampaign.org/first-impact-investment/
• Homelessness is a Housing Problem: How Structural Factors Explain U.S. Patterns by Gregg Colburn and Clayton Page Aldern: https://a.co/d/0ebb08hb