Influential Woman · Social Work

Kayla Knier

Director of Regional Coordination, Kansas Statewide Homeless Coalition

Garden City, KS

Certifications · Degrees · Memberships

Degree Garden City Community College Member National Alliance (National Homelessness Alliance) - coalition member Member Garden City Housing Authority - board member Member Suits the Hope - board member

Her Story

About Kayla

I've been in social work for about 10 years, and my path into this field came from my own lived experience of the systems I'm currently working in. I started as a recipient of services, particularly around domestic violence, which then led me to homeless services. I don't have a degree in social work - I went to Garden City Community College and took classes but didn't finish. Most of my experience has been on the job, and I think that's what projected me to where I'm at today. I started in a women's substance abuse facility, and working with them, I realized that most of them had experienced sexual trauma. That led me to ask how I can get to the root cause, so I found myself managing a domestic violence shelter. Once I got there, I realized these women have nowhere to go once they need to leave and find safety. My career has just progressed from seeing gaps in the system and moving into positions where I can make a better difference to help everybody involved. Now, as Director of Regional Coordination at the Kansas Statewide Homeless Coalition, I supervise a team of regional coordinators who break up 101 counties into regions. We do all things coordination, working with HUD-funded and non-funded programs to address homelessness in their communities - collaboration, regulations, action plans, and analyzing data for people experiencing homelessness so we can better understand it.

Her Interview

Ten minutes with Kayla

01What do you attribute your success to?

I have a strong drive because of trauma, because of homelessness that I've experienced. I've been there, and so working on the other side of the system, it's easy for me to speak up for them, and for myself, basically. I just have a strong passion for it and making sure that everybody's voices are heard. My lived experience of being a recipient of services and systems gives me a unique perspective and motivation to advocate for those who are currently experiencing what I once went through.

02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?

This is hard work. This is not the career path you choose if you want to get rich. This is something that you have to have compassion for, and so I would say, the strong women that you see in the field, connect with them, learn from them. We can be stronger together. Find mentors and build relationships with other women in the field who can support you and help you grow.

03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?

I think the biggest challenge in solving homelessness or getting people into safe housing is that the different funding streams always have different sets of goals, metrics, or eligibility criteria. When those funding sources are working in silos, there's a large gap of people that aren't either eligible for services or the funds don't fit that situation. So there's a large gap of individuals and families that don't qualify for services that actually do need it. This makes it harder on the homeless response system trying to navigate how we can help everybody with what we have, with the situation, with the funds that we have right now. It requires a lot of problem solving and getting creative. Our homeless response service providers just do not get enough credit for all the work that they do - they're nothing short of amazing.

04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?

Compassion, understanding, and deep flexibility are most important to me. We're in a constant state of change, and there's a lot of pivoting happening. I love when people take a stance for things and have a very strong voice about something, but I've also learned you want to stay flexible and open-minded and hear from everybody, from different angles of a situation. I've come to realize you can change your mind many times, and especially in today's world, with everything shifting so quickly and more information coming out about certain things, you always want to keep an open mind and not shut the door on something that might be your path forward.

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