Otha Gaston currently serves as a Lived Experience Advocate on the Community Advisory Council for the Illinois Office to Prevent and End Homelessness. Otha also holds a seat at the at the Chicago Continuum of Care’s Lived Experience Commission. Otha serves on the Coordinated Entry System Workgroup and the Racial Equity Impact Team, with a goal of being intentional about who benefits, what is accomplished, what difference is made and how the team can better perform. Additionally, Otha serves on the Lived Experience Advisory Committee for the Flexible Housing Pool. He has been involved in SHPA's advocacy and Peer Activities for over nine years.
Recently, Otha Gaston has started outreach to the unsheltered population to ensure they have information about local resources, specifically the CES Call Center to access housing. He advocates for those with lived experience of homelessness and wants to continue his outreach efforts. He eventually wants to start a non-profit organization that will focus on service delivery and advocacy for increased funding to end homelessness. Otha Gaston’s passion for ending homelessness and restoring hope and dignity to persons without a home, stems from his own past experience of homelessness.