155 Ways You Can Help Alleviate Poverty in the Bay Area
Much work is being done in the Bay Area to address the underlying causes of poverty as well as the resulting homelessness. Yet again we’re spending cycles condemning a tech dude for penning an insensitive diatribe. However, very little of the uproar turns towards solutions.
I spent about 30 minutes researching, and collected the following—albeit incomplete — list of organizations working to support families and individuals who are at or on the brink of poverty.
Larkin Street Youth Larkin Street Youth is a “robust continuum of programs and services delivered across San Francisco to over 3,000 young people annually. We give them the tools they need — through housing, medical care, education, and job training — to permanently reclaim their lives.”
Community Housing Partnership CHP believes that by offering “high quality housing and delivering comprehensive services we can empower formerly homeless individuals and families to rebuild their lives.”
Homeless Prenatal Program Homeless Prenatal has “evolved from focusing solely on prenatal care for mothers into a Family Resource Center with a broader, more holistic mission — breaking the cycle of childhood poverty.”
HandUp HandUp lets you donate directly to a homeless neighbor in need. Donations provide “funds for basic needs like food, medical care, shelter, and technology.”
Taking It To The Streets Taking It To The Streets “exists to empower homeless and at risk youth to live lives of their own design by providing opportunities through housing, employment, and mentorship programs.”
LifeMoves LifeMoves is the “largest and most effective nonprofit committed to ending the cycle of homelessness for families and individuals in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties.”
CompassSF Compass Family Services helps “homeless families and families at imminent risk for homelessness to achieve housing stability, family well-being, and self-sufficiency.”
First Place for Youth FPFY provides “housing, education, employment and healthy living support for teens leaving foster care.”
Glide Memorial Glide does it all: shelter reservations, free meals (nearly 800k each year), rental and transit support, training, hygiene kits, mentorship, goal setting, and more.
St. Anthony’s St. Anthony’s does it all too: 3k free meals/day, clothing, advocacy, training, a medical clinic, and a tech lab.
Volunteer Match Volunteer Match currently has 145 opportunities to help address homelessness, including remote volunteering, mentoring, on-site work, driving, data entry and more. There are more than 2,200 total SF volunteer opportunities in their database.
Tipping Point Community TPC is an umbrella fundraising organization offering grants to programs tackling homelessness, education and health in the Bay Area. They spend 100 hours vetting each organization they give to.
I urge anyone feeling outrage to learn more about one of the organizations listed above. Find out where they need the most support and offer the time, resources, advocacy, skills or money you are able to give.
We all benefit from the unmatched environment and culture the Bay Area has to offer. It is on us to give back.
Please *recommend* this post so it gets to as many eyeballs as possible!
