Alleviating Homelessness: Empowerment-Based Model vs. Assistance-Based Model

Written by Rebecca Mazur

Thumbnail Photos (Left) by Diego Sanchez (La Vanguardia) & (Right) by Santi Burgos (El País)

Empowerment Based Model

HELP Program

Homeless Entrepreneur’s 12-month HELP Program is a comprehensive system that empowers people experiencing homelessness and poverty to integrate into long-term, meaningful employment. With a structured response and sustainable revenue growth, Homeless Entrepreneur aims to serve homeless people and completely change the way we think about homeless services by adding value to society.

Spain’s current housing solution for the homeless is laid out in the National Housing Plan (2018-2021). This plan includes rental, eviction and youth assistance; only about 25% of homeless centers in Spain are owned by the state, the rest being owned by NGOs and religious organizations. Due to systematic causes and societies perception of homelessness, organizations like Homeless Entrepreneur and our corporate sponsorships, like IBM & IEBS, play a larger role in redefining what it means to be homeless. We believe that giving people structured tools and skills to empower themselves is a more sustainable way to fix homelessness in Spain and around the world.

According to the National Housing Plan, the two systematic causes that limit the effectiveness and suitability of Spain’s housing program are first, lack of sufficient and accessible housing for the homeless, and second, lack of personalized job offers for the homeless. Even within the literature of the Plan, the word “housing” is mentioned 30 times more than the word “work,” conveying the disconnect between housing and employment (or unemployment) in European policy. Homeless Entrepreneur’s HELP program seeks to change the dialogue by prioritizing empowerment, which connects valued-employment to dignified housing.

“Empowerment does not start with the government, working or even obtaining money. Empowerment ultimately comes down to an individual’s mindset and actions. People may be impoverished or “rich but not empowered”, so money is not necessarily the source of empowerment. According to Dr. Flügge, individuals and their community (neighbors, family, etc.) are the most important for support and empowerment. ”

— Barbara Flügge, author of Mobility Moves Minds

Example of Homeless Entrepreneur empowering its beneficiaries: Replacing a cardboard sign for a job contract.

Photo (left) by Homeless Entrepreneur and (right) by Diego Sanchez (La Vanguardia)

Housing Launchpad Program

Homeless Entrepreneur’s Housing Launchpad Program is designed to turn a liability in the housing sector into an asset for addressing homelessness. It takes individuals from being homeless to living in dignified housing while simultaneously increasing their possibility of becoming an active and working citizen. Once a person has dignified housing, they work very closely with Homeless Entrepreneur’s support network to advance in sector-specific job training and recognizing their true professional potential. They work with programs like IBM’s SkillsBuild, in order to learn the skills to provide value to current and future corporate needs.  

Take Homeless Entrepreneur, Antonio Tomasio, for example. Antonio is enrolled in the HELP Program and consecutively, the Housing Launchpad Program. Antonio is a well-educated individual, who has a Master of Business Administration, and a doctoral degree in tourism. He has traveled to over 60 countries; has started a bar-cafeteria; and is an author of many books (these books are for purchase on Amazon). However, due to COVID-19, his situation became complicated, and he could not sustain his small business, wich led him to becoming homeless. Throughout all of this, Antonio continued to write, and is currently working on a novel for Homeless Entrepreneur called “Hidden Stars”, to provide a framework and narration of what it means to be homeless. While the tourism industry declined due to the ongoing pandemic, Homeless Entrepreneur encouraged Antonio to switch career paths and with collaboration with IEBS, he is now studying his master’s in digital management. This sector is current and highly valued in employment prospects, where Antonio can explore content creation and digital growth hacking.

Assistance Based Models

Universal Basic Income (UBI) is not a recent debate, it is an idea that is more than 200 years old, originating in Thomas Paine and Thomas Spence’s in The Rights of Man (1791), Agrarian Justice (1795) and The Rights of Infants (1797). Universal Basic Income is income paid by the government in regular intervals and fixed amounts to every citizen. What does that look like in real life? Every citizen regardless of income, gender, marital status, disability, etc. will receive government issued payments. In theory, how the money that is spent is entirely up to the individual, however this is a topic of great debate. Countries that have experimented with Universal Basic Incomed utilized control groups to test who requirements to receive a basic universal income, such as loans that need to be repaid and or controlling how the money should be spent, such as on education or healthcare for families.

Arguments for and against Universal Basic Income have been rigorously experimented and scholars and policy makers now have now have sustainable evidence to support the implementation of a Basic Universal Income within their country. However, not all agree with this policy, like Barbara Flügge, who feels that the policy is “too much weight on a society that is not ready.” Instead, society should focus on the urbanization framework, where federal governments give the rights to cities to decide appropriate income assistance for their citizens.

While Universal Basic Income is a well-known, widely debated policy, there has been other models in literature that deserve attention in the attempt to remedy and prevent homelessness. The Staircase Model and Housing First Model have been adopted in Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden), which all have extensive social-democratic welfare systems. These policies aim to alleviate the issue of homelessness by providing housing either conditionally, or unconditionally to people experiencing homelessness. These policies are aimed towards individuals coping with addiction and mental health issues, however in less extensive welfare states, it is used to address a wider group of poor people who face homelessness due to affordability or who are temporarily homeless.

Staircase Model

The staircase model requires that the person must adhere to prerequisites in order to receive their own apartment. These steps offer accommodations in a stage, with independent living the ultimate goal they are working towards. This gradual approach is to ensure the ability of the individual to complete rehabilitation, or act in accordance with targets laid out for them.

José Carlos, a homeless person, living in a house managed by Asociación Realidades, within their Housing First program.

Photo by Santi Burgos (El País)

Housing First Model

The Housing First model founded by Sam Tsemberis is an alternative remedy for homelessness and does not require prerequisites in order for the individual to receive housing. They are provided with housing first, then care and support are provided second. Housing First originated as a response to the primary, staircase model, and has now been experimented in large- scale homelessness programs in Denmark, Finland, Canada, and France. The key components of this program are early stabilization, independent housing, flexible support and intervention methods. However, this method is subject to structural barriers, such as shortages of affordable housing for low income groups, especially in North American and European cities, according to the European Journal of Homelessness.

Why should you support the HELP program?

Homeless Entrepreneur’s HELP Program has already empowered 27 of people out of homelessness and poverty, and into stable employment and housing. Over a 12-month period, 7 stages must be completed in order to apply an encompassing and holistic approach to end homelessness for each individual. This ecosystem contains one coordinator and nine managers that will cover all aspects including: housing, health, professional development, training, finances, legal, communication, sales and general assistance: Homeless Entrepreneur knows that just giving someone a check every month is not enough to turn them into a successful and independent active citizen.

According to Homeless Entrepreneur’s founding president, Andrew Funk, “an important goal for HE is to inspire civic and institutional change in the status quo of how we end homelessness. By providing housing and job training we can change people’s lives, but ultimately, we hope to inspire a new framework of addressing homelessness. Our network of Homeless Entrepreneurs is constantly growing, which is why we focus on sustainable revenue growth streams that are initially supported by donors and partners.

‘Positive, forward-thinking contributions are extremely important in order to add sustainable value to society.’”

About the Author

Hello readers and supporters of Homeless Entrepreneur!

I am Rebecca Mazur, a social policy intern with Homeless Entrepreneur and I will be focusing on important topics relating to poverty, homelessness, and social policy in Spain. I am currently based in Barcelona, Spain for a Study Abroad program, however I attend The College of New Jersey as a political science major. I have experience working with diverse and differently abled groups and assisting in housing and food programs for people who are struggling. My passion is helping others through social policy and programs that empower people to live meaningful, independent, and active lives. I am excited to be working with Homeless Entrepreneur and discussing important topics in upcoming articles.

Please donate, join the conversation and leave comments and feedback below!

A Yearly Review of #HomelessEntrepreneur in 2020 in 11 Pictures & 1 Video

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 thanks to our growing international community.

January

Homeless Entrepreneur represented homeless people who want to be active, working citizens in the World Economic Forum (WEF) for the third straight year, while building our relationships with the local and international WEF community.

“Homelessness means losing almost everything, except for the possibility of a stranger caring.” #HomelessEntrepreneur #WEF20
A special thanks to the @worldeconomicforum for giving us the opportunity to have a voice in Davos this year!

February

As the Brexit’s transition period started, Homeless Entrepreneur unknowingly participated in its last monthly sleepout with the amazing support of Sir Marco Robinson, who leads FreedomX, which is a charity social enterprise program using blockchain technology.

Our monthly sleepouts called Everyone Sleeping in the Street had been held consistently for over 3 and a half years.

Sleeping out in Manchester for the first night was full of more conversations than actual sleep. Another homeless man named Les, who makes money playing the tambourine in the street, joined us. I missed the 2 hour conversation and singing between him and Marco because sleep got the best of me.
We were kindly woken up by security and their video camera at 7h57.
Then we started our day by having a conversation with a homeless guy who had already set up shop in front of a coffee shop.
If you’re in Manchester and want to speak with me, please reach out!

March

As Homeless Entrepreneur prepared for our 5th monthly sleepout at the Mobile World Congress, COVID19 swept the planet and we responded promptly by creating 4 new programs: General COVID emergency assistance, Homeless Helpline, Homeless Voices & Homeless Hostels Work.

Línea de ayuda para personas sin hogar

Si estás en situación sin hogar o conoces a alguien en situación sin hogar, contáctanos por favor. Haremos todo dentro de nuestros recursos para ayudar.

Contáctanos:
Llámanos o envíanos un mensaje por WhatsApp +34 697 877 089

#coronavirus #personassinhogar #homeless #HomelessEntrepreneur

April

Homeless Entrepreneur’s programs provide international support during COVID19 pandemic.

Explaining the situation of homeless people in Barcelona and the opportunities #HomelessEntrepreneur is providing them.
#HomelessHelpline #HomelessHostelsWork
#i24news

May

Thanks to the support of our Photography Director, Jose Sanabria, the Homeless Entrepreneurs are able to focus on improving their professional image to speed up the process of getting work.

Mil gracias a nuestro director de fotografía @josesanabriafoto por realizar la primera sesión de fotografía en nuestro programa de vivienda #HomelessHostelsWork para ayudarles con su imagen profesional en la búsqueda de trabajo!
#HomelessEntrepreneur

June

50% of the homeless people who have participated in our Homeless Voices program are connecting with resources they are looking for.

A special thanks to Ivan Medina for making this program possible!

#HomelessVoices Juan busca ayuda literaria para acabar su libro. ¿Le ayudas?
#escritores #sinhogar #autores #libros #coach #HomelessEntrepreneur

July

Thanks to an invitation to participate by Volt Europa, Homeless Entrepreneur was able to explain our programs in front of the European Parliament’s PETI commission.

“I'm thankful to have had the opportunity to present #HomelessEntrepreneur’s programs and social policy recommendations in front of the European Parliament’s PETI commission.” Andrew Funk, President of Homeless Entrepreneur

August

Thanks to Nuria Pendas, the Homeless Entrepreneurs have been given the opportunity to tell their stories in the HE profiles series. These videos have been included in their personal page to provide greater value and transparency to their experience.

Estrenamos una serie de entrevistas de #PerfilesHE gracias a @nuricoco!

September

Homeless Entrepreneurs keep advancing thanks to their focus! 5 people in the program have gotten jobs during COVID and Edson can be seen training for a certificate, so he can clean tall buildings.

Orgulloso de Edson, un #HomelessEntrepreneur, realizando un curso de 100 horas que se llama “técnico de trabajos en altura y plataformas elevadoras móviles” para salir de su situación sin hogar gracias al trabajo y la ciudadanía activa!
#alturas #Barcelona

October

As stage 1 of our Homeless Hostels Work program, which was focused on solidarity finished, we entered stage 2, which is defined by sustainability. We were invited to share our experience of turning a liability in the tourism sector into an asset for addressing homelessness by the Union for the Mediterranean.

November

Our community keeps growing and the bonds between the Homeless Entrepreneurs and our volunteers become stronger. We are grateful to have more than 250 volunteers from around the world supporting our programs.

Bob started teaching his first English student to improve her conversation skills and speed up the process of ending his state of homelessness via work and active citizenship!

✅Contact us if you’d like to have conversation classes, too!

#HomelessEntrepreneur #EnglishClass #Conversation #Barcelona #homelessness

December

Our relationship with amazing partners like Coca-Cola and IBM strengthen as we grow and our 2021 solidarity calendar starts getting sold to our amazing community.

A special thanks to @cocacolaep_es for ordering 50 of our 2021 solidarity calendars for their employees to speed up the process of ending homelessness in Spain thanks to work and active citizenship!
Every calendar has a special surprise, which shows our gratitude to each and every employee in #CocaCola, who make it such a wonderful company!
#HomelessEntrepreneur #socialimpact

Summary

Thanks to everyone who has been involved, we've currently helped create sustainable work and dignified housing for and with 20 #HomelessEntrepreneurs and hope to end homelessness for 100 people in our program in 2021.

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!

• IEBS

• Invoice Ninja

• FreedomX

• IBM

• SOSmatic

• Fundación Pro Bono

• Coca Cola

• Windsor Patania

• Digital Value Creators

• Fundación Telefonica

• Rocket ROI

• COMGO

• Jose Sanabria Photography

• Crearte

• Barcelona Metropolitan

• Dinners that Matter

• AHOA

• Optica Roig

• Guebs

• IDATIS

We need your support for 2021

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 active citizens again.

A huge hug,

Andrew Funk

President of Homeless Entrepreneur

The Importance of CSR in the Fight Against Homelessness

Written by Charles Klempay

Corporate Social Responsibility. A term that has become synonymous with giving back to our communities, protecting the environment, and promoting the making of moral and ethical choices on a company-wide scale. Regardless of whether it stems from the decree of some higher authority stating that a company must comply with new regulations, or simply increasing societal pressures and influences that are transforming the beliefs European companies have, CSR has been a steadily increasing factor in European companies over the past two decades. It has demonstrated a marked interest in protecting the factors that allowed these companies to start and thrive in the first place. The European Commission reported in 2017, that 112.9 million people, or roughly 22.5% of the then-EU population, were at-risk of poverty or social exclusion. This figure has been decreasing since its peak in 2012 following the 2008 economic recession. Some of the symptoms of this could include poverty, severe material deprivation, or very low work intensity, all factors that can eventually lead to homelessness. Despite the European Commission regarding Corporate Social Responsibility as a “voluntary” concept back in its 2011-2014 “A Renewed EU Strategy for Corporate Social Responsibility”, it has since taken a much stricter approach towards the role companies play in society, today deeming it a “responsibility” rather than a marketing or risk management tactic.

            Since CSR Europe’s founding in 1996 by former European Commission President Jacques Delors, membership from companies involved in the Environmental Management and Audit Scheme, the Business Social Compliance Initiative, and those reporting sustainability reports according to the guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative have risen drastically. Acting as a platform to connect companies, innovate new projects between businesses and stakeholders, and shape the modern-day business and political agenda on sustainability and competitiveness, CSR Europe works to promote a future with every member of the EU as the gold standard for other nations to emulate. While voluntary in nature, the increased membership of these groups represents the growing desire for socially responsible companies that respect not only their employees and customers but those which their products, services, and activities interact with. The attention paid towards CSR is also demonstrated in the “Towards a Sustainable Europe by 2030” Reflection paper, written by the European Commission in 2019. The paper focuses on the need for the EU to work as a whole to tackle a host of what they term “sustainable development goals”, or SDG’s. These goals have been monitored over a number of years to determine how and where each member-state is putting its efforts. On average, the most-improved upon goal of all in 2019 was poverty reduction. While current levels of unemployment have not dropped below 2008 levels – sitting at roughly 8.6% - the attention that has been given to the needs of people at-risk of income poverty has stifled what would otherwise be an epidemic of economic dis-empowerment.

            In Spain, a new initiative called Competitive Social Transformation highlights the importance of promoting economic activity from a sustainable perspective without renouncing profitability. Jose Maria Torres, the Executive President of Numintec and Volunteer Director of UNICEF in Spain, has this to say regarding the role of CSR in Spain and what it would take to fulfill the 2030 agenda.

“Through Competitive Social Transformation we can measure the positive impact we generate, because what we measure, we can always improve with processes, tools and metrics that we have to incorporate into our companies to successfully face this evolution. Together we must be able to promote new jobs and business models, with creativity, innovation of social value as a source of competitive advantage, and social aspects being the greatest guarantee of continuity of any business activity.”

— Jose Maria Torres, Executive President of Numintec and Volunteer Director of UNICEF in Spain

            It has long been considered that CSR was a privilege that only large companies could afford – after all, it has traditionally been considered an expense and not a need. Most companies in Spain, as Torres puts it, are “micro-SMEs with less than 10 employees, with little financial muscle”. However, this does not decrease their desire to use CSR to strengthen their competitiveness. They are increasingly understanding that “sustainability and CSR are a differential factor, a guarantee of good management that can serve to distinguish themselves from competitors”.

Some companies have been quicker on the draw than others. We at Homeless Entrepreneur have partnered with a variety of forward-thinking companies who share our passion for ending homelessness by supporting our programs, thus allowing our Homeless Entrepreneurs to realize their dreams while giving their own employees a chance to volunteer on a personal basis. One example of this is Fundacion Telefonica, who provide their volunteer program for us. As an example, one of their volunteers is managing the Twitter account for our Homeless Helpline program, @HEhelpline. Their support improves the goal of the program, which is to collect real-time data from and about homeless people, or those about to become homeless, and connect them to available resources. IBM is another prominent example using their program SkillsBuild, which connects adult learners with a curated path of job-focused learning, supported by organizations that address their specific needs. The program’s online learning platform is further supported by in-person work through NGO partners such as Homeless Entrepreneur. Invoice Ninja, which was built to serve freelancers and business owners with a complete suite of invoicing & payment tools, as well as IEBS Business School, the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Business School, sponsor our HELP Program, while IEBS Business School offers additional training and full scholarships for our Homeless Entrepreneurs to promote entrepreneurship and innovation.

            Despite increased awareness for the need for CSR in Europe and its rising popularity among younger generations, there is still far more to be done. That’s where NGOs like Homeless Entrepreneur have come in to do the work that many larger corporations have yet to contribute resources towards in earnest. For example, Mayte Miro, head of Professional Development at Homeless Entrepreneur, describes her past experience working with companies related to their perspective on CSR.

“The vision of companies regarding CSR has been changing over the years, going from just being entities to generate benefits to understanding the importance of sustainability and social action and, therefore, incorporating it naturally. ”

— Mayte Miro - Head of Professional Development at Homeless Entrepreneur

This change in social attitudes has been slow, and in Mayte’s opinion Homeless Entrepreneur and other NGO’s are “essential in a world that has become depersonalized and bureaucratized…solutions to social exclusion are more palliative than decisive”. This has left many to rely on NGO’s for support while corporations and governments shift gears and prepare larger, nationwide policy changes. Bob Grant, one of our organization’s Homeless Entrepreneurs, recalls his experiences while living in the streets of Barcelona.

“It was more comfortable than it might have been thanks to my friends. Without kindness, it is a horrible experience. ”

— Bob Grant, member of Homeless Hostels Work Program and HELP Program

As a member of each program, Bob is focused on creating a more sustainable life for himself as an artist and as an active citizen.

            Sandra Martinez Plaza is a human resource specialist with more than 15 years of experience in international companies supporting business to create environments of productive relations at all levels of the organization. Her goals, including CSR and sustainable business practices, have led her to speak at a multitude of events such as HR Disrupt Madrid, Workday, and Pearls of Wisdom. I asked her opinion of CSR and how it has changed in the minds of companies throughout her career. “The concept of CSR”, she states, “is much more popular, and both society and employees relate it to the purpose of the company. Externally, it generates reputation, and internally, CSR corresponds to acting in an ethical and coherent manner”. Previous studies have shown the rise in today’s youth in working for corporations that have an expressed interest in CSR initiatives. Corporations will have to pay close attention to these young adults as they enter the workforce, choosing to work for those companies who have placed more emphasis on CSR as a part of their identity.

“Agenda 2030 provides a coherent framework for all companies to fit their CSR, so there really are no more excuses.”

— Sandra Martinez Plaza, Human Resource and CSR Expert

              Corporate social responsibility in Europe is on the rise, as demonstrated by the many companies able and willing to support our programs. However, while countries and companies take necessary time to shift their resources towards a more sustainable future, Homeless Entrepreneur and many other NGOs will continue to act as the backbone for supporting Europe’s homeless and socially excluded population.

Marcus (left) and myself (right) in Oakland, Pittsburgh. Marcus has been homeless since 2013.