Check Out Giulianna LoMaglio’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Giulianna LoMaglio.

Giulianna, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I grew up in a Southern Italian household. My mother was born in Calabria, and my father’s family is Sicilian. Having that cultural identity gave me a strong sense of belonging, tradition, and pride. At the same time, my childhood was marked by significant trauma, including abuse and domestic violence. My siblings and I learned early what it meant to survive instability inside the place that was supposed to be safest.

At fifteen, I made the difficult decision to leave home and became emancipated. In doing so, I lost not only my family environment, but also my school, my friends, and the life I had known. Shortly afterward, I experienced homelessness for nearly two years. I spent time in interim housing for youth, where the next step was foster care. Hearing repeated stories of abuse from other young people, I made the decision to run away. At the time, it felt like the only way to protect myself.

During the time I was unhoused, survival required constant vigilance. In addition to the daily struggle for food, shelter, and safety, I had to navigate the ongoing threat of assault and predatory behavior. For many years, I was deeply embarrassed to talk about this part of my life, and I carried a great deal of shame around experiences that were never my fault. The reality of living without stable housing meant being continuously exposed to danger in ways that fundamentally alter how you move through the world.

I survived by lying about my age to secure work at a small Greek restaurant. The owner took me under his wing, treating me like a daughter when I had very little stability in my life. He taught me practical skills, how to save money, plan ahead, and believe that independence was possible. By seventeen, I was able to secure my own apartment. That kindness changed the trajectory of my life.

The years I spent unhoused were some of the most painful and formative of my life. Homelessness is a deeply traumatizing experience that cannot be fully understood unless you have lived it. The constant fear, dehumanization, and exposure to harm left lasting impacts. I was often treated with hostility simply for asking for help or trying to find work.

I would not be here today without the mentors, outreach workers, and therapy that helped me build a solid foundation of healing. No one overcomes homelessness alone, no matter how strong or determined they are. Once I had established that foundation, I made the decision to devote my time and energy to supporting others navigating similar circumstances.

I began working in emergency shelters during the COVID-19 pandemic and never left the field. Since then, I have approached this work as both a professional and a student, absorbing everything I can and committing myself to addressing the disparities and inequities that exist within healthcare and housing systems. My lived experience informs my work, grounding it in empathy, urgency, and accountability.

I remain deeply affected by the number of people living on the streets today, and I am committed to ensuring they are treated with dignity, care, and humanity. This work is not abstract to me, it is personal. I do it because I know what survival costs, and because I believe everyone deserves safety, stability, and the opportunity to heal.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The absence of stability shaped nearly every aspect of my early life and adulthood. Living through prolonged trauma left me with anxiety that, at times, was completely immobilizing. There were moments when simply functioning, like making decisions, trusting others, or imagining a future, felt impossible. Trauma doesn’t disappear once circumstances change; it lingers in the nervous system, showing up as fear, hypervigilance, and self-doubt long after the danger has passed.

Learning how to move forward while carrying that history has been one of my greatest challenges. Progress was rarely linear. There were periods where I felt frozen, unable to take the next step despite knowing what I wanted or needed to do. Healing required patience, support, and the willingness to confront experiences I had spent years trying to survive rather than process. Building stability while unlearning survival responses has been ongoing work, but it has also strengthened my ability to sit with discomfort, persevere, and remain grounded in high-stress environments.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My work is rooted in both lived experience and professional expertise. If you ask people I’ve worked alongside in homeless services, they’ll tell you I can get people housed, and that I’m relentless about it. I am deeply confident in my ability to work with individuals experiencing complex trauma because I understand how systems often fail them, and how easily people can fall through the cracks when services aren’t designed with humanity at the center.

I am a voracious reader and a lifelong student. Continued education is not optional for me; it’s how I stay sharp, informed, and prepared to navigate systems that are often rigid, punitive, and inaccessible to the people who need them most. I approach my work from a big-picture perspective, gathering data, listening closely, and using creativity to develop solutions that address root causes rather than temporary fixes.

As the Director of Street Outreach and Housing at Friends In Deed, I lead teams working directly with people experiencing homelessness and navigating some of the most complex barriers to housing. In this role, I focus on building pathways to stability that are practical, trauma-informed, and person-centered. My goal is always the same: to understand how the system works, where it breaks down, and how to make it work for people.

Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
I am not afraid to try, fail, and try again. I would rather take a risk than miss an opportunity because of fear or hesitation. Growth, innovation, and meaningful change require experimentation, and I don’t believe perfection is a prerequisite for progress.

At the same time, I am not easily convinced that something “can’t” be done. I ask questions, I look for evidence, and I want receipts. If a barrier exists, I want to understand why, and whether it’s truly immovable or simply unchallenged. That combination of persistence, curiosity, and accountability has shaped how I lead, how I problem-solve, and how I show up for the people I serve.

Image Credits
First photo is self portrait