FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

What is Homeless Entrepreneur (HE)?

Homeless Entrepreneur (HE) is an NGO founded in 2015 that empowers people out of poverty by focusing on their personal and professional skills to help them create a new autonomous life.

What is HE's mission?

Homeless Entrepreneur’s mission is to promote economic empowerment and poverty reduction via work and active citizenship, so people living in social exclusion can improve their quality of life.

What are the three main social policy goals of HE?

1. Networking homeless individuals to available resources and bringing technology to them.

2. Supplementing housing-led initiatives with employment focused programs.

3. Expanding housing accessibility and protections.

   
   

What sets HE apart from similar initiatives? What's new about it?

HE aims to change the status quo of homeless people and those living in poverty (motivated people without resources) by helping them become the protagonist in their own change as they become an asset for both themselves and society.

Consequently, our model focuses on optimizing the strengths of the people experiencing homelessness and poverty as well as improving the more challenging aspects of their lives. Personal and economic empowerment is what allows them to become independent as they go from assistance-based solutions to those based on empowerment.

Both human and technological connectivity play an important role, as well as both public and private civic partnerships and complete transparency throughout the process.

Homeless people and those living in poverty can be a better version of themselves and look forward to a happier future based on a real, solid foundation.

What makes HE a unique initiative?

The fact that we focus on the strengths of people experiencing homelessness and poverty, which helps them value themselves and their effort more, so they can capitalize on the support they receive instead of just becoming more comfortable with receiving basic support. We provide hope, resources, tools and network, so that they can become the best version of themselves.

What solutions does HE currently provide to people experiencing homelessness and poverty?

The Homeless Helpline, which collects real-time data from and about homeless people or those about to become homeless and connects them to available resources, aims to prevent and reduce homelessness..

The Homeless Voices 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.

The HELP program provides a support pathway to independence through incentivizing employment opportunities and fostering entrepreneurial activities. It is a holistic one-year program that targets poverty, works in conjunction with the Homeless Hostels Work program or already existing housing programs in order to create sustainable change via active citizenship, community and life purpose..

The Housing Empowerment program is designed to provide greater housing access and rental support for the first month to address the challenge of becoming a renter as they enter the professional world again.

How can PPPs (public-private partnerships) solve the problem of homelessness?

Both the public and private sector must participate actively in order to end homelessness and reduce poverty. Joining forces brings the best out of each sector and creates and inspires innovative solutions through a larger, more complete framework. The public sector can create a new status quo through improved social policies and social action as well as specific government programs with local, regional, national and international funding; and the private sector can provide the necessary funds, CSR programs, mentoring, volunteering, products and services as well as market access and convening power to generate greater opportunities within a new framework and model of collaboration.

HE suggests a new concept it coined called 4Ps (public-private-people partnerships) because civil society is an untapped network that will ensure the coherency of the traditional PPPs as it becomes more professional.

How many homeless people has HE attended?

So far, HE has attended more than 3,000 people experiencing homelessness or at risk of becoming homeless.

Our HELP Program has significantly improved the lives of 396 people experiencing homelessness and led to 36 inspirational success stories. All of them have decided to continue being part of our community and actively help other people experiencing homelessness in our programs.

As a response to the COVID crisis, HE developed three new programs: the Homeless Helpline, Homeless Voices and the Launchpad Housing Program, which served as a stepping stone towards independent housing for more than 50 people during 2 years.

What selection criteria is used for our HELP program? What profile is HE best able to help?

The selection criteria and requirements are as follows:

The person is…

1. Homeless (under the ETHOS criteria).

2. Transparent and participative (willing and able to tell their stories to inspire others who are going through the same situation).

3. Active citizen and willing and able to work and keep his or her job.

4. Not currently addicted to substances and does not have severe mental health issues that impede him or her from getting and keeping a full-time job.

Potential Homeless Entrepreneurs are motivated individuals without resources.

How does HE select beneficiaries for its programs?

We mainly attract potential beneficiaries via Inbound Networking, be it via people experiencing homelessness we’ve attended, our HE community and partner network, press, social media and online search engines. Additionally, we identify homeless people who are already communicating in public and actively searching for help. All HELP candidates first go through our Homeless Helpline and Homeless Voices program. HE candidates also need personal and professional recommendations.

What are the first step for a person who enters Homeless Entrepreneur’s community and what makes it successful?

The success of our programs is largely due to the quality of the selection process. Being able to identify people who are prepared to make the most of our programs has a direct relationship with the success of everyone included. Potential Homeless Entrepreneur beneficiaries must take the first step and contact us directly via our Homeless Helpline or the Homeless Entrepreneur online application to start the process of entering our community. The second step is participating in our Homeless Voices program and then applying to our HELP program: Accountability and willingness to play an active role in ending his or her own state of homelessness for the long term is key to becoming an inspirational success story. Constant opportunities to improve the beneficiaries’ quality of life will present themselves and the decisions that are made determine by each Homeless Entrepreneur will ultimately define the outcome of their HELP program.

What steps does HE follow when a person enters our HELP program?

Normally, potential beneficiaries contact us through our web page, social media, our Homeless Helpline or through a community member of our organization or our partner network.

The next step is participating in our Homeless Voices program. Approximately 50% of the people who participate in this program connect with resources that lead to the opportunity to improving their lives.

Then, the potential beneficiary has an interview with the HE Liaison and a health department manager to determine the viability of his or her potential program participation.

Once these steps have been completed successfully, the person is invited to enter our HELP Program.

The commitment to follow the beneficiary’s personalized roadmap during his or her participation in the HELP Program and the quality of the monitoring process is what ensures the success of the Homeless Entrepreneur and, consequently, our organization. There is a direct relationship between the participant's commitment and ending his or her state of homelessness. Homeless people who are willing and able to work and be active citizens always have another chance.

When does the person finish participating in our programs? What happens next?

HE has four main programs, and each has its own timing.

Homeless Helpline (HH): An open and continuous 24/7 conversation all year long. People experiencing homelessness or at risk of becoming homeless can use this program whenever they want to for an unlimited time.

Homeless Voices (HV): This program lasts one year. It ends when the beneficiary has successfully completed 16 videos, or when he or she has achieved the set objectives.

HELP Program (HELP): This program consists of three phases. The first two stages last one year each and the third one is when the beneficiary becomes part of our everyday community like other support network.

Housing Empowerment Program (HEP): This program provides greater housing access and payment support for renters during their first month once the Homeless Entrepreneur attains his or her first job. Some of the bigget obstacles to renting a room or apartment, which this program aims to address, are 1) credibility 2) enough capital to pay for a 2 month deposit as well as their first month’s payment.

Our Housing Empowerment Program represents a stamp of quality and credibility for the future landlords and allows the Homeless Entrepreneur the economic cushion needed to enter a home before receiving his or her first pay check.

Do beneficiaries have to make any payments in HE programs?

No.

Thanks to both our public and private civic partnerships, we are able to ensure that all of the beneficiaries in our programs are able to participate for free.

How is HE funded?

Given the importance of both public-private civic partnerships to achieve the objective of empowering people out of poverty, HE has focused on building sustainable relationships with corporations, government entities and private citizens under a model of collaboration.

Our financial objective is self-sustainability by focusing on creating real and perceived value to our stakeholders through our programs. The contributions we receive are used to design the necessary structure and opportunities leading to self-sustainability, which is strengthened by the creation, development, execution and promotion of programs, projects, products and services with our partner network.

What transparency rules does HE follow?

Like every legal entity, HE follows government regulations, pays taxes and registers its accounts annually.

In addition, we use a system of traceability and transparency backed by blockchain by IBM Cloud to monitor specific programs and projects. This allows us to monitor funds and donations received as well as the actions used to carry them out.

What companies collaborate with HE?

• See Our Partners page.

Does HE collaborate with public entities?

Yes, we regularly collaborate with city councils and other public entities via programs and training.

We have also presented our empowerment-based model and programs to the Parliament of Catalonia and in the PETI Committee of the European Parliament. In July 2021, we spoke in front of the Spanish Senate to explain our vision of how to address homelessness based on our community’s insight.

How can the private sector end homelessness and reduce poverty with HE?

Corporations and private entities can collaborate with us in the following ways:

•  Funding programs and projects

• Market access

• CSR programs

• Convening power

• Contributing products and services

• Volunteering and mentoring

• Social action campaigns

• Social impact projects

• Providing job interviews and hiring people in our HELP program

How can a volunteer collaborate with HE?

The first step a potential volunteer should take is thinking about what he or she does best and how it can be applied to help our organization. Then, he or she should contact us to set up an interview with our volunteer coordinator to find out where and how he or she can make the greatest impact as a volunteer, either on the organization or directly with one of the people experiencing homelessness and poverty in our programs.

We also invite all of our volunteers to make monthly donations to strengthen our volunteer department and to offer the best training, resources and network to all of the volunteers involved in our community.

How does HE plan on growing by 2025?

As well as consolidating our model in Spain, ​​we are helping people experiencing homelessness around the world through our Homeless Helpline and Homeless Voices program.

Our HELP program is currently empowering people out of poverty in Nigeria, Spain, Switerzland, and the United States and our plan is to consolidate our HELP program in over 20 major cities around the world by 2025.

Who works with HE? (collaborators, volunteers, etc.)

We have more than 250 volunteers in 27 countries.

• See Our Team page.

• See Our Partners page.

How does HE guarantee that donations are used well?

Transparency is one of our main values.

For large contributions, we use blockchain technology upon request, and all donors can track our daily progress through social networks. We also arrange official visits to learn more about our work by participating in the process.

Do I get a receipt after making a donation?

When a donation is made, the same document issued by the platform or bank already serves as a receipt. Additionally, we issue a legal donation certificate for all donors every year be it an individual or entity that has donated and provide us with the necessary data to send it.

Are donations to HE tax deductible?

We are currently in the process of transforming our association into a foundation, which will allow donors to receive tax deducations.