Meet Our Founder

Ash Uss, Executive Director

Originally from Amityville, New York, Ash’s experience working in homelessness began in Boston, Massachusetts. In 2017, Ash joined the Core Staff at Andre House of Hospitality, a faith-based organization that provides basic needs to people experiencing homelessness. In 2018, she took on a new role at Andre House as the Advocacy & Partnerships Coordinator where she worked with a team of service providers and community leaders to advocate for an increase in shelter beds in downtown Phoenix.

Heavily influenced by her time in direct service, Ash works diligently to elevate the voices of people with lived experience. She was the principal investigator on a mixed-methods study with 100 unsheltered individuals in downtown Phoenix. The study, called “Unsheltered Perspectives” was featured in the Arizona Republic for its success in debunking some of the myths surrounding service-resistance. She has presented this research at the ASU Center for Applied Behavioral Health Policy’s statewide conference (2019), Arizona Housing Coalition’s statewide conference (2019) and the National Alliance to End Homelessness’ annual conference for single adults experiencing homelessness (2019). More important than any press or public attention, this study provided space for individuals with lived experience to share their perspectives on unsheltered homelessness.

She is passionate about disrupting structural, institutional and cultural practices which criminalize homelessness and poverty. She also participates in a variety of regional efforts to end homelessness. She is a member of the Governor’s Goal Council on Ending Homelessness, now called the Arizona State Mental Health, Housing and Homelessness Workgroup. She is also a member of the City of Phoenix’s Strategies to Address Homelessness Task Force.

As someone who once benefited from St. Vincent de Paul’s services, Ash has a unique ability to relate to many of the individuals she works with. In her new role as the Executive Director of From the Ground Up, she is excited to leverage the depth of her community relationships to collaborate with individuals and organizations to propose, design and implement compassionate responses to homelessness from the ground up.