Stetson’s Institute for Catalyzing Equity, Justice and Social Change will host the 2025 Ending Poverty and Homelessness Conference and Movement on Friday, May 23, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Carlton Union Building on Stetson’s DeLand campus. (Registration and breakfast open at 7:30 a.m., and the program begins promptly at 8:30 a.m.)

The multigenerational event is a collaborative effort among Stetson University, Volusia County Schools, the National Coalition for the Homeless, the National Organization for Women, the Center for Sustainable Communities, the Florida Education Association and Volusia United Educators.

This year’s theme, “New Horizons: Rising Together for Housing Justice and Educational Excellence,” reflects the conference’s commitment to collective action, equity and sustainable change. The event will convene a diverse group of participants, including PreK–12 and higher education professionals, counselors, social workers, policymakers, nonprofit leaders, faith organizations, artists, activists, community partners, and high school and college students.

Attendees will participate in workshops, panel discussions and presentations on a range of interconnected topics. A central focus of this year’s conference is the growing link between homelessness and human trafficking, a crisis impacting communities across the United States, particularly in states such as Florida. The conference also will address the rising criminalization of homelessness.

The conference and broader movement are led by Rajni Shankar-Brown, PhD, professor and Jessie Ball duPont Distinguished Chair of Social Justice Education at Stetson. She is the founder of the Institute for Catalyzing Equity, Justice and Social Change, as well as past-president of the National Coalition for the Homeless. Currently, serves as the coalition’s education chair and racial equity chair.

“Poverty and homelessness significantly heighten vulnerability to human trafficking, and our youth are disproportionately experiencing homelessness,” Shankar-Brown said. “Understanding and addressing this connection through education and prevention, organizing and mobilizing communities to stop trafficking, and having trauma-informed and healing-centered approaches are crucial for meaningful social change.”

She added: “The EPHC is a grassroots conference and movement that brings together people from diverse fields to learn and build more inclusive schools and communities. It’s a space for connection; learning and taking action toward preventing and ending poverty and homelessness; and fostering a more compassionate, equitable, loving world for all — especially our children and youth.”

The keynote speaker for the 2025 conference is Tomas Lares, founder and president of United Abolitionists, a nonprofit organization working to end human trafficking. With more than 34 years of experience in human services, Lares will deliver an address titled “Nowhere to Go: How Homelessness Fuels Human Trafficking,” focusing on community-based strategies to prevent exploitation and support survivors.

In addition to the keynote address, workshops and panels, the conference will include a plant-based, farm-to-table community lunch and live performances. Artists include internationally acclaimed vocalist and Stetson alumna Maria Olivia Bryant; Jewrell Rivers, PhD, professor and director of the African American Male Initiative at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College; and professional musician Rick de Yampert, performing a sitar set as part of the musical duo Wandering Spiral.

The event will be held in the Warren and Barbara Carr Stetson Room and is open to the public, with registration ranging from $100 to $125. Volusia County Schools employees may qualify for a registration scholarship and should contact Lori Miller at [email protected] for details. All other attendees are encouraged to register at this site.