Bibiana Leon Buchi Uzoma Morgan Giorvas Solmayra Gutierrez 1

Introduction Demographics Findings Community Needs Analysis Solutions: Community-Based Organizing Strategies 1

Laura- Love a child Missions 1

What causes homelessness? Why are the homeless still homeless? What can be done about it? 2

Surveyed 128 homeless people Survey Locations Homeless shelters West Oakland, Berkeley, Concord, Pittsburg and Antioch Ethnicity: 42% White 26% African-American 18% Latino 9% Asian 46 % women 53% men Typical age: years old 2

Educational Level Reached 1% Primary 8% Middle school 30% Some high school 27% High school diploma 26% Some college 9% College diploma 3

51% Lost Job 33% Addiction 30% Other 24% Family Crisis 16% Illness 7% PTSD 5% Dependents The main causes of homelessness are lost jobs and addiction 3

People abusing alcohol are homeless longer and tend to be male There is a need to help males who abuse alcohol 2

Many homeless people who want to return to school cannot due to lack of money Of these, many are also abusing alcohol 4

People who are seeking help from a church or other nonprofit are highly motivated by “jobs for the homeless” There is a need for “jobs for the homeless” 3

Males who abuse alcohol have been homeless for much longer than those who are not If they are helped with their alcohol problem then they have a better opportunity of reducing how long they are homeless for. 2

51% of people are homeless due to a lost job Education makes people more marketable 68% of homeless people surveyed want to attend school but cannot due to lack of money 4

About half of those surveyed are “actively seeking help from churches or other nonprofits to improve their living condition” They would be greatly motivated if there were jobs made specifically for homeless people Having jobs can help them improve their living condition 3

Strategy 1: Work with soup kitchens to stage interventions Focus on males with alcohol abuse problems Talk with kitchen staff to identify potential people Bring A.A. sponsors to the intervention Strategy 2: Have scholarships specifically for homeless students. AGS and well organized clubs, as well as the Student Senate, can add funds to this scholarship They can also appeal to the government and local organizations to set aside a certain percentage of their scholarships for those who are homeless. 2, 4

Strategy 3: Petition for a Job Corp in ECCC Provides a home, an allowance and food There are constraints so it is for people who really want it 3

Get back on track Become Independent Have a home Soup Kitchen Intervention X Scholarships X Job Corp in ECC X X X 1

Get back on track Become Independent Have a home Soup Kitchen Intervention X Scholarships X Job Corp in ECC X X X 1

Homelessness is a problem within our community which seems to be increasing day by day. In order to prevent homelessness we must all take action today. The most interesting finding we discovered was, that most homeless people who want to attend school also abuse alcohol. This is important because it shows that alcoholics also want to be successful. We learned that there are several factors that can lead to homelessness. Closing video 1