Support Transitional Housing Facility in USA
Downtown Streets Team empowers the homeless population of Palo Alto through a work-first model that provides job opportunities and one-on-one assistance to the homeless. You can support a new transitional housing facility for team members who are looking to get off the streets permanently.
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The Need
Since 2001, the unemployment rate in Santa Clara County rose from 1.7% to 7.5%. Higher unemployment rates lead to more poverty and homelessness. Moreover, the biggest shelter in Santa Clara County recently reduced its capacity to less than half. The other biggest emergency services provider is anticipating a huge cut in services due to tightening budgets. The cold weather shelters, run out of army barracks, will likely be closed by next winter. Lastly, another large shelter provider in Cupertino/Saratoga folded about 2 months ago. In a time when all other service providers are closing their doors and reducing their services, DST is expanding and planning to open a new location for a transitional housing facility to serve the growing unemployed and homeless population.
About Downtown Streets Team (DST)
Partner since November, 2010
Downtown Streets Team (DST) is a non-profit organization serving the Palo Alto area in Northern California that brings businesses, communities, and homeless people together to create and maintain a clean, safe downtown district. Since its inception in 2005, DST has found 155 jobs or housing units for formerly homeless men and women in Santa Clara County. Participants clean downtown Palo Alto area wearing bright yellow shirts in exchange for food/shelter vouchers. In addition, this innovative model provides low-cost janitorial/maintenance/kitchen services to local government and partnered non-profits. DST team members work part-time and attend a weekly meeting run in a board meeting format to discuss employment opportunities, work circumstances, and award participants of the week. The distinguishing characteristic is the combination of enthusiasm, clapping and support that inspires real change. DST utilizes community volunteers and partnered non-profits to provide job preparedness training, job search skills meetings (resume building, mock interviews, etc.), vocational training, housing placement, case management, bus passes, individual mentors from the community, free medical care, dental services, and other essential services.
