The Collective Heart

Rev. Charlotte Cramer, MDiv, founder of Temple of the Forgotten, is an Interfaith Minister and Street Chaplain based in Portland, OR. She is a social-spiritual innovator, an educator on homelessness and spiritual care, and an active provider of spiritual support in her local community. Rev. Charlotte brings extensive chaplaincy and spiritual care training, years of advocacy for this work, and a bold approach to systemic change rooted in spirituality and the values of the younger generations.

She began her work in Marin County, CA, and now continues in Portland, OR. Through her outreach, she has built meaningful relationships and supported hundreds of individuals living on the streets, in jail and in treatment.

She has also led non-denominational spiritual programs in county jail and facilitated memorials and other services. Rev. Charlotte is a frequent guest speaker on street chaplaincy in congregations across the West Coast, and is often holding workshops and trainings on spiritual care for the unhoused.

Sparrow Etter Carlson (she/her) has spent 22 years alongside her unhoused neighbors. She is the Founder and Co-Executive Director of Sacred Streets, Prior to that, she Co-founded Aurora Commons, The Safe, Healthy, Empowered (SHE) Clinic, worked in Homeless Policy and Planning and Co-Founded the Green Bean Coffeehouse (a non-profit cafe). All of these models of care have been birthed in community and tended to lovingly as a direct response to the social death and isolation that our unhoused neighbors must live and survive in.

Sparrow is not okay with the precious people whom she loves and feels love in return, being treated as ex-humans in our society. She believes that the vital, yet often considered secondary ingredients of attention, hospitality, reciprocity, meaning-making, beauty and belonging should no longer be labeled, "radical" but rather- considered THE foundational way of seeing, being and animating care that is woven through every encounter, system or service along the homeless care continuum.

She believes all of us here can co-create constellations of care and belonging with our unhoused neighbors in our individual communities and that, if we do, we will strengthen the fabric of our communal flourishing.

Michael Rowe, Ph.D. is a sociologist and emeritus professor of psychiatry at Yale University. He has studied homelessness and mental health outreach work, peers as staff in mental health services, and developed a framework of social citizenship (access to the 5 RSs of rights, responsibilities, roles, resources, and relationships, and a sense of belonging that is validated by others)  for people who are homeless and/or those with behavioral health disorders .

Dr. Rowe is the former Co-Director of the Yale Program for Recovery and Community Health (PRCH), former Director of the Citizens Community Collaborative at Yale, and co-founder and former Chair of the International Recovery and Citizenship Collaborative.

In addition to 250-+peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and other publications, Dr. Rowe is the author of Crossing the Border: Encounters Between Homeless People and Outreach Workers and Citizenship and Mental Health.

The Chaplaincy Innovation Lab (CIL) brings together chaplains, educators, and social scientists to explore and advance the field of spiritual care. Launched in 2018, the CIL works to create practical innovations that help chaplains adapt to a changing religious landscape, nurture the spirits of those they serve, and reduce human suffering.

Grounded in four core commitments, the CIL fosters an inclusive, research-driven community that values learning together. It champions a collaborative approach to spiritual care that respects differences and welcomes all people, regardless of their background or beliefs. The CIL aims to improve the delivery of care by gathering and sharing academic research and insights from practitioners, educators, and clients.