A Yearly Review of Homeless Entrepreneur in 2022 in 10 Pictures & 7 Videos
Some say pictures speak louder than words, so I've decided to put that to the test, so everyone can see how we've sped up the process of creating sustainable work and dignified housing for and with homeless people in our program once again in 2022 thanks to our growing international community.
January
After becoming an ally of the Spanish Government’s High Commissioner’s Office of Entrepreneurship at the end of 2022, we participated in the week of Education and Entrepreneurship by holding a webinar called “Entrepreneurial Education & PPPPs (Public-Private-Prople Partnerships),“ which included the CSR Director of IBM Spain, Belen Perales.
February
To empower Homeless Entrepreneurs in our HELP program and educate our community i.e. students and professors from the Erasmus+ program, which can be seen in the photo below, our interactive conferences shed light on 3 main aspects of Homeless Entrepreneur’s empowerment-based model (knowledge, recognition and change) through the voice of our beneficiaries.
March
Preventing homelessness is just as important as ending it. We launched a successful campaign with Jorge Branger to prevent Juan Jose, a Homeless Entrepreneur in our HELP program, from entering the streets of Boadilla del Monte, Spain due to an eviction. Not only did this campaign inspire our community to support him via active citizenship, it also led to two new jobs!
April
Our Internship Program has grown tremendously this year! More than 60 interns from around the world have helped us do research, raise funds, create awareness and develop projects with us!
We’d like to thank all of the student abroad organizations that we collaborate with!
May
It wasn’t -20ºC this time at our 4th World Economic Forum sleepout, but it was cold and rainy! That being said, we started our endeavor to give homeless people more than a voice in Davos: a presence!
Thanks to two amazing sculptors, Edwin and Veronica Dam de Nogales, we came up with a concept that quickly turned into a model that would eventually become a life-size bronze and stainless steel sculpture; and thanks to an elderly couple we met with while having coffee at Coop Supermarkt, who suggested that we presented our idea to Mayor Philipp Wilhelm, we were lucky enough to be received the following day.
June
Giving people experiencing homelessness is important, which is why we wanted to collaborate with musicians. The result was a beautiful song called “Homeless Pride,” which was composed by Samuel Miranda and sung by Jean Blazer.
July
Our founding president, Andrew Funk, participates on panels around the world to share our knowledge and help others understand how they can participate in speeding up the process of ending homelessness with us through Public-Private Partnerships.
The videos below were recorded during a CryptoPhilanthropy panel at ETHBarcelona.
August
Our Homeless Voices program provides insight into the lives of homeless individuals to connect them with their community along with housing and employment opportunities, so they can grow their income and build their assets.
Stories like the one below of Samuel, who became an orphan in Maiduguri, Nigeria due to Boko Haram and is currently homeless and looking for work and a place to call home, are just one of many.
As our community grows, so does our reach and the opportunities for those who participate to help empower them out of poverty.
September
Homeless Entrepreneur created its European Homeless Entrepreneur Report and started doing research by visiting Brussels, Belgium.
The objective is to present an exhaustive report to the European Parliament at the end of 2023. By highlighting how 12 selected cities in Europe are applying assistance and empowerment-based solutions, we will be able to provide a clear proposal with specific programs and a European model that embraces both public and private civic partnerships.
Our ultimate goal is to strike the correct balance between assistance and empowerment to end homelessness as we know it and reduce poverty in Europe.
October
Thanks to the incorporation of Blanca Bravo, our HE liaison, we’ve been able to improve the quality of our relationship with our current and potential beneficiaries of our main programs: Homeless Helpline, Homeless Voices, HELP program and our Housing Empowerment program.
November
To celebrate the International Day for Female Entrepreneurs with Spain’s High Commissioner’s Office of Entrepreneurship, we created a new initiative called “Inspiring Chats,” which allowed Maria Teresa, a female Homeless Entrepreneur, to have an inspiring, intimate zoom conference with 6 inspiring women: This activity marked a before and after in Maria Teresa’s life.
December
Working side by side with Jose Sanabria, our Photographer director, we innovated our Homeless Voices program and developed Homeless Support to shed light on the amazing people participating in our community.
Summary
Thanks to everyone who has been involved, we've currently helped create sustainable work and dignified housing for and with 40 #HomelessEntrepreneurs in 2022 and hope to end homelessness for 100 people in our program in 2022.
Special Thanks to our Partners
We’d like to thank all of our partners, who have placed their trust and support in our work because it wouldn’t be possible without them!
We need your support for 2023!
If you appreciate our work and would like to help support us, please do.
A donation that comes from your heart, which is coherent with your interest and possibilities is the difference between more or less homeless people becoming empowered out of poverty.
A huge hug,
Andrew Funk
President of Homeless Entrepreneur