Professional Development Department

Professional development allows an individual, regardless of his or her housing status, to be an active, working citizen, who contributes to make her/himself, her/his environment, and those connected with it, better.

On our journey to ending homelessness and situational poverty, we focus on helping homeless people get and keep a sustainable job instead of being reinserted into the professional world in order to ensure they don’t get stuck in the category of ‘working poor,’ (having an income below 60% of the national median) which affected 8% of the European Union’s population in 2007, which curiously enough was almost identical to the Euro area level of unemployment: 7.8%.

Our department’s goal is for the homeless people, who go through our programs, to thrive instead of just survive.

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Key States & Activities

Professional development is learning to earn and maintain professional credentials that help one become an active, competitive member of the workforce and society as a whole.

Stage 1

Disengaged & Misinformed

Living in poverty generally disconnects people from her or his community and relevant sources and information to be an active member of it, which builds walls instead of bridges.

Homeless people in this state need to advance to the 2nd state as quickly as possible to prevent chronic homelessness.

Support

Communication Coach
Mentor
Informal Education
Attending Conferences & Workshops

Stage 2

Motivated but Lacking Network

As a homeless person starts to become more engaged with his or her community and starts receiving higher quality information, he or she becomes more motivated, but still needs the right network to continue developing personally and professionally.

Homeless people in this state need to advance to the 3rd state as quickly as possible to increase his or her possibility of becoming an active, working citizen.

Support

Motivational Coach
Networking
Mentor
In/formal Education
Attending Conferences & Workshops

Stage 3

Entering Workforce & Building Professional Skills

Once a homeless person starts growing a healthy, positive network, her or his professional opportunities start budding, which ultimately lead to entering the workforce and stronger professional skills due to being in the right environment.

People in this state need to advance to the 4th state as quickly as possible to increase his or her possibility of becoming an active, working citizen.

Support

Corporate Coach
Networking
Mentor
Formal Education
Attending Conferences & Workshops

Stage 4

Discovering True Professional Potential

Recognizing one’s strengths and weakenesses allows one to discover her or his true professional potential, which then permits her or him to optimize the effort, resources and time needed to be a happy, healthy business professional.

Once this stage has been reached, the objective is to maintain it and mitigate the risk of entering homelessness again.

Support

Volunteer Opportunities with #HomelessEntrepreneur
Become a Homeless Advocate to support people currently in a homeless situation, who want to improve his or her life.