My Summer Interning for Homeless Entrepreneur: Sam, Social Impact Intern from UC Santa Barbara

How I improved my professional skills while creating social change

by Sam Olds

Who Am I?

My name is Samuel Olds and I’m an incoming senior at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where I’m double majoring in History and Sociology. I am originally from Berkeley, California, but I moved to Barcelona this summer to intern through the University of California, Davis’ Business and Communication Summer Abroad program.

Why I Chose Homeless Entrepreneur

I chose to intern for the NGO Homeless Entrepreneur because the position offered me the chance to help others while simultaneously advancing my own personal and professional skills. My social impact is of significant concern to me because it represents the extent to which I’m using my privileges to create positive changes in the lives of people with less access to resources and opportunities for success. In addition, the organization appealed to me because they understand that true change goes beyond temporary solutions; it lies in providing individuals with the tools and support they need to rebuild their lives. Currently, society’s welfare-centric approach provides only temporary assistance for the homeless, while ultimately leaving their long-term employment and living conditions untouched. Among homeless individuals who gained access to conventional housing for at least 30 days, one study found that it took an average of just 56 days for the subjects to return to their homelessness. By contrast, professional development opportunities, such as the HELP Program offered by Homeless Entrepreneur, provide homeless people with mentorship and job training to reintegrate themselves into the workforce, and society as a whole.

My Experience

During my time with Homeless Entrepreneur, I assisted primarily in the development of a specific fundraising initiative, the Social Impact Room. Through a partnership with the Barcelona-based Eco Boutique Hostal Grau, the profits from a night of one guest per week’s stay are automatically allocated to poverty-reduction measures. As an innovative form of tourism with social impact, the initiative provides the opportunity for tourists to create social change by simply choosing to stay at Hostal Grau, with no further expenses in addition to their room’s rate. Over the initiative’s first year, Homeless Entrepreneur plans to use the proceeds to empower 60 people out of poverty. In the future, the organization intends to form a network of both eco-sustainable and five-star hotels throughout the continent to join the project. While developing the social impact room initiative alongside the owner of Hostal Grau’s son, Janpol Camp, I was responsible for curating the guest experience, forming a checkout survey to inform constant improvements, and writing a script for the video that informs social impact room guests of their contribution.

Photo from The Social Impact Room intro video: Watch video

Apply to Book the Social Impact Room!

Throughout the internship, I also received multiple opportunities to attend meetings and events that promoted my professional development while furthering my appreciation for the work of Homeless Entrepreneur. For example, during the second week of my internship, I had the great privilege of meeting David Sánchez, a participant in Homeless Entrepreneur’s HELP program, at his workshop in Barcelona.

Interns visit David Sanchez, Sandboard - Snowboard Repairer and Sandboard Shaper & Homeless Entrepreneur in Barcelona.

While there, David (Follow him on Instagram!) gave a group of my fellow interns and me a tour of his workspace, where he repairs snowboards and shapes sandboards while sharing his story. A week later, I represented Homeless Entrepreneur alongside its President, Andrew Funk, at ETHBarcelona, the largest Ethereum festival in Europe. While in attendance, I photographed and recorded key components of Andrew’s participation in a 45-minute expert panel on creating an inclusive, accessible online ecosystem.

As part of my internship, I also completed two online courses offered by IBM Skillsbuild, "Soft Skills for Work" and "Working in a Digital World: Professional Skills." These courses empowered me to communicate effectively, deliver impactful presentations, and improve my problem-solving and teamwork skills, all of which will benefit my future endeavors.

How You Can Help

Homeless Entrepreneur is a remarkable organization that not only empowers people out of poverty through professional development but also advocates for policies that reduce homelessness. By providing mentorship and job training, Homeless Entrepreneur equips individuals with the skills and confidence to reintegrate into the workforce and society. If you are able and willing to contribute, no matter how small the amount, you will be directly impacting the lives of those in need. Your support will provide crucial resources and opportunities for homeless individuals to regain their independence and dignity. Together, let's create a future where homelessness is just a memory. Join me in supporting Homeless Entrepreneur and their vital work. Your generosity will have a lasting impact, helping to transform lives and communities.

Please consider making a small contribution to support The Social Impact Room by clicking the button below.

Chronicles of an Empowered Intern on a Mission to End Homelessness

Written by Cecilia Branson

Life as an Intern

This summer, I am virtually interning with Homeless Entrepreneur, an NGO headquartered in Barcelona, Spain. The primary objective of this organization is to combat homelessness in Europe through a range of initiatives, including the HELP program, which focuses on fostering independence through employment opportunities. 

I began my internship in early June, I assumed the role of a policy researcher. 

Over the past five weeks, my responsibilities have centered around the comprehensive EU report,  which encompasses 12 cities. Frankfurt, in particular, has been the focal point of my research, as I gather statistics and reports on homelessness. Collaborating with fellow interns (In-person and virtual), we are working on this report, which will ultimately be presented to the esteemed European Parliament. 

My internship has been both gratifying and empowering. I have actively engaged with professionals across Europe, including politicians, students, NGOs, and representatives from the European Commission. Establishing these connections will contribute to the European Union Report, supporting Homeless Entrepreneur's relentless pursuit of eradicating homelessness. 

New Skills I Acquired

Within the realm of my internship at Homeless Entrepreneur, I have had opportunities to amplify my research capabilities and make valuable connections. Part of this enriching experience has been my engagement in two skill courses offered by IBM SkillsBuild, "Professional Skills" and "Soft Skills for Work." Through these courses, I have embarked on profound personal and professional development. I have honed and expanded my skill set empowering me to navigate the professional world with confidence. The "Soft Skills for Work" course has enhanced my ability to collaborate with individuals from diverse backgrounds even further.

For example, when I will conduct my interviews in the coming weeks. In successful completion of these courses, I received a certificate. I shared my certificate via Linkedln, which did not go unnoticed, as I even received a message of support from IBM on LinkedIn. 

As I reflect upon this experience so far, I am thankful that Homeless Entrepreneur has provided me with invaluable skills and opened doors to a vast network of professionals, this internship has truly been a push for personal and professional growth. 

RESEARCH ON FRANKFURT, GERMANY

In the course of three months, I researched homelessness in Frankfurt, Germany. The research has deepened my understanding but also the factors that are affecting homelessness in Frankfurt. My findings resulted in three factors; social housing has decreased, affordable housing costs have increased, and an escalating number of immigrants. 

In 2022, there were roughly 263,000 homeless people in Frankfurt, Statistiches Bundesamt (Destatis) reported 178,000 homeless people were accommodated. It's crucial to acknowledge that a considerable number of foreign nationals remained unaccommodated. The matter lies in the fact that in Germany, there are more migrants than non-migrants. The causes of why people are becoming homeless can range from separation/divorce, relocation, and conflicts in their living environments. 

The housing market has made it increasingly harder for individuals or families to find affordable housing. 

This prompts the question, "What avenues exist for those offering a helping hand? The city of Frankfurt has many organizations, restaurants, and municipalities setting out to help the homeless population. These avenues encompass a wide range of assistance from providing access to medical care, job training, housing, and counseling. 

As a policy research intern, I noticed a trend that these programs are oriented towards assistance rather than empowerment. While these services are beneficial it is also crucial to empower homeless people. The goal is not to have temporary or emergency accommodation, but instead, permanent housing and needs-based support. The winters are Germany are terribly cold and many end up dying on the streets. In Germany, the municipalities bare all the costs of providing assistance for the homeless and accommodating persons and families without housing. 

Homeless Entrepreneur has incorporated a program "Housing Empowerment Program" which is designed to provide housing access and rental support. Access to housing can seem impossible to some since it requires a steady job, income, and stability. Homeless Entrepreneur works with each individual to access housing and become active, working citizens again. The Homeless Entrepreneur program reduced administration costs, reduced stress for municipalities, and shortens the waiting list for homeless families, persons, and facilities, which are funded by the local administration. 

Empowerment forms a bridge to overcoming homelessness but cannot be done without assistance along the way. 

Inspiring Talks to Simulated Work Opportunities: Connecting Colombia, Spain & Nigeria

Written by Ben Cutler

My name is Ben Cutler and my ex-wife, Ana, and I founded Project Family in late 2022 with the intention of helping individuals and families in economic crisis, who need and want help. Our intention was to provide temporary housing and work assistance program for families experiencing homelessness. A lot has happened since then: My wife and I separated upon soft launching the idea.

We started Project Family thinking about a large project, but what has evolved is a bigger vision of many smaller (more manageable) projects and the organization is seeking to empower people in many ways. Project Family was started though self-funding and we haven’t requested any donations to date, but we have received a few donations and we’ll continue to put 100% of what we receive directly into these programs.

In January 2023, we partnered with the Homeless Entrepreneur organization with the goal of collaborating on opportunities to empower people out of poverty and to promote awareness around these them. I was recently invited to participate in an event called “Inspiring Talks”, which is organized by Homeless Entrepreneur. This was the second event of its kind and this program aims to introduce one member of the Homeless Entrepreneur HELP Program to other entrepreneurs and executives to share stories and conversation.

I was invited to speak with Gabriel O. (beneficiary of the HELP program) and he and I had many things in common. We’re both about 40 years old; we both have daughters; we’re both living in developing economies; we’ve both seen firsthand the challenges presented by extreme poverty; and we’ve both been crushed by family ruptures. Gabriel is a priest in his local community and aspiring to start a remote career in technology. I am just getting out of an intense remote career in technology, and I’m very passionate about helping people, both personally and professionally.

I offered to help Gabriel and I wasn’t sure exactly how I was going to do so, but I knew he was earning very little money as a Pastor and had accumulated about 6 months’ worth of earnings in debt. I knew money was a concern for him and so were his temporary living quarters. He was participating in the HELP Program with Homeless Entrepreneur, and he was working with a career coach towards starting a career in web development. I spoke with Andrew Funk at Homeless Entrepreneur, and we agreed to offer Gabriel simulated remote work opportunities, compensated at a fair rate, and designing the activities to benefit his learning and development process.

We decided to offer simulated client engagement opportunities representing simple market research tasks. Gabriel struggled a bit at first but once properly coordinated, Gabriel’s career coach (Sara Jurado) was able to help steer the process. After completing the first activity, Sara reported that she observed Gabriel with an improved attitude or outlook towards the development process. The goals of these simulated work opportunities were to help Gabriel to learn and to experience remote work in a “safe” environment, to challenge his mind and commitment, and to compensate him for his efforts. These tasks were designed to lift his spirits and to challenge his assumptions about his own perceived limitations.

The reader might be wondering, why do you need to challenge his own assumptions about his own perceived limitations? To that I would say that hope is powerful and so is information. Life is incredibly complex and people often need more “hand-holding” in life. People often need incentives to learn new things and tend to search for jobs in their profession (ex. customer service) but they don’t realize how many different ways they can search for jobs. They don’t realize how many different job seeking resources exist. They don’t realize that if they change keywords, they will get different results. They don’t realize that there are so many opportunities readily available to them! In Gabriel’s case, I think it was helpful for him to see a number things he’ll need to learn and practice, and that there are so many smaller steps that he can take along the way, to move closer to his goal.

Gabriel and I have spoken many times and it’s clear that he is facing hardships. It can be very difficult to have faith and to always be your best when facing such difficulties. After completing the tasks assigned to him, Gabriel communicated to me his desperation in such times, and his gratitude for these programs, and his renewed sense of strength, even if it was fleeting.

We’re very happy with the success of this program with Gabriel and we have started conversations with the Homeless Entrepreneur organization to provide additional opportunities to Gabriel and to others.

Please email info@projectfamily.info or funk@homeslessentrepreneur.org to learn how to get involved in a similar way.