Press Release: One Degree Launches in San Mateo County
East Palo Alto, CA (August 17, 2016) — One Degree (www.1deg.org), a technology-driven nonprofit organization that makes it easy for low-income and at-risk people to access social services, launched in San Mateo County this month. Accessible on computers, tablets and smartphones, anyone can research and review over 1,000 currently available resources within San Mateo County in English and Spanish, plus manage, save and track their findings. Users can add ratings and reviews just like in Yelp — the restaurant and service search platform — and share the information with friends and family by email and text message.
Rey Faustino, CEO and founder of One Degree, started this online service in 2012 to help families overcome poverty. A Filipino immigrant growing up in Los Angeles with limited means, he wished his family had a way to access immigration and legal help, as well as after school care and health services. “One Degree empowers people to quickly and easily find the best and most relevant life-saving resources for them. It has been a demonstrated model in San Francisco, Alameda, and Contra Costa counties. Now over 91,000 households across San Mateo County will benefit from having 24-hour access to services in San Mateo County.”
For the past five months, the One Degree team has been getting to know the San Mateo community by working with Ravenswood Family Health Center in East Palo Alto, the San Mateo County Family Health Division and other community organizations. Attending health fairs, farmers markets and other neighborhood events in East Palo Alto, Menlo Park, San Mateo, Burlingame, Pacifica, Half Moon Bay, and Pescadero, One Degree has been listening to residents’ needs, understanding the gaps in service areas, meeting the social service agencies, and tailoring its free web platform to best serve families in San Mateo County.
San Mateo County was high on One Degree’s expansion plan because of the need in cities like East Palo Alto, where 45 percent of its 30,000 residents live below the federal poverty line. By creating a modern online search platform and robust eligibility engine, One Degree reduces the time it takes to research, find, and travel to multiple agencies to get the services residents need such as affordable housing, employment opportunities, health clinics, child care, and more. Each program listed on One Degree has a clear “next step” for people to follow if they want to access it.
One Degree is pursuing plans to grow its San Francisco Bay Area presence and will complete its expansion into the North and the South Bay by year end.
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About One Degree:
One Degree is a nonprofit technology-driven organization that is revolutionizing the way families striving to improve their lives — and the people who support them — access community resources. One Degree’s platform, available on Web and mobile devices, makes it easy for people to access, manage, and review nonprofit and government services. Thousands of people in the Bay Area rely on One Degree’s core product (www.1deg.org) to access health care, food banks, employment services, and much more. Through OneHomeBayArea.org, One Degree is working to ensure every family has a safe and stable home by making it easy to find and apply for affordable housing. One Degree is supported by Tipping Point Foundation, Westly Foundation and other organizations across the Bay Area. Learn more at www.1deg.org.
CONTACT: Rey Faustino, CEO & Founder, One Degree, 888–799–7273
