DeBorah Gilbert White, PhD

DeBorah Gilbert White, PhD

DeBorah Gilbert White is a social psychologist, diversity and inclusion specialist, social justice and community advocate for people experiencing homelessness, at risk of homelessness, or formerly homeless.  She is founder of HerStory Ensemble LLC, an awareness, education, and advocacy community-based group focused on women and homelessness.  HerStory Ensemble was the first group comprised of people with the lived experience of homelessness to lead the fight for a homeless bill of rights for the state of Delaware. They continue to be in the forefront of that effort.

She serves as a member of the National Coalition for the Homeless Faces of Homelessness Speakers Bureau, where she shares her story and work connected to homelessness.  Through the National Coalition for the Homeless she provides technical assistance to HUD (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) in the transformation of homeless service provider systems across the United States utilizing the lens of racial equity.

HerStory Ensemble LLC is a member organization of the National Coalition for the Homeless, Delaware Continuum of Care (DE CoC), and the Delaware H.O.M.E.S. (Housing, Opportunity, Mobility, Equity, Stability) Campaign.  Dr. Gilbert White and her organization work as advocates locally and nationally for protective homeless policy and legislation. Her experience with shelter homelessness led to her advocacy work for homeless rights and housing justice., specifically working in community since 2012 toward a Delaware Bill of Rights for Individuals Experiencing Homelessness, and to dismantle stereotypes, myths, and misinformation about homelessness. Her work continues today to eliminate discrimination based on housing status, to stop the criminalization of homelessness, provide representation for individuals and families facing eviction, and to promote more low-income affordable housing.

Dr. Gilbert White is author of Beyond Charity: A Sojourner’s Reflections on Homelessness, Advocacy, Empowerment and Hope, a memoir released September 2021.