Just three months after being awarded $25,000, the United Effort Organization (UEO) is bringing its project to life by setting up the program’s first client with stable housing.
In May of this year, the Los Altos Mountain View Community Foundation (LAMVCF) hosted the “Live where you work” competition, which awarded money to local nonprofits focused on addressing housing insecurity.
“We wanted to use this as an opportunity to shift that conversation to really be about what we lose when everyone who works in our communities can’t live in those communities,” said LAMVCF director of community impact and operations, Abi Karlin-Resnick.
UEO won this contest with its “Live where you work, retire where you belong” pilot proposal.
Their proposal expanded the scope of housing insecurity, considering the difficulties faced by elderly and retired community members, said UEO marketing and communications director, Shari Kipp.
Although the original plan focused on these communities, the program is intended to help people of all ages, Kipp said.
“We’re starting out with kind of a wide view. So, we decided not just to focus on seniors or just workers, but the two of them at once,” Kipp said. “We want to develop a program that has a strategic enough idea and a solid foundation that we can take it forward and make it programmatic.”
The organization focuses on aiding Santa Clara County residents in navigating public assistance programs to find affordable and sustainable housing, Kipp said. To participate in UEO’s program, clients must work in Santa Clara County.
Now, with the help of LAMVCF’s grant award, UEO is matching unhoused and housing-insecure individuals with local residents who have the spare space to support them. Grant funding, Kipp added, will go primarily toward covering moving costs.
“We use the available resources for that individual. If we can’t find a source to help them with that, then we will use some of that money to help pay,” Kipp said. “First, last month’s rent, deposit – some of those things that are required before they move in.”
Kipp said that the inspiration behind this program started with a local resident and UEO volunteer, Judy Fusco, who opened up her home to a person in need. Fusco has continued to help build the program by offering housing to their first official client.
“Two years ago, Judy Fusco reached out to one of our volunteers and said, ‘Hey, I have a place. I have a backyard cottage,’ and we were able to help one of our clients,” Kipp said. “He worked full time … he didn’t have the wherewithal to stay in his home, so he was sleeping in his car and going to work every day.”
Kipp explained that having the opportunity for safe, stable and convenient housing can have a drastic impact on a person’s quality of life. After seeing the potential behind a program like this, UEO began building their proposal. And, after a few months of planning, they are ready to implement.
Kipp stressed that homelessness is often not the fault of the people who experience it, rather the result of extenuating circumstances outside of their control.
“People fall into homelessness for many different reasons. It’s often not what people think. It is simply the cost of living. Sometimes we know people working two or three jobs,” Kipp said.
Their first client, who Kipp referred to as “Terry,” lost the job that he held for 20 years. After going through his savings, Terry found himself unable to afford his apartment and began sleeping in a public park in Milpitas.
The goal of this program, Kipp said, is to help people support themselves. In July, Terry moved into Fusco’s backyard cottage. Kipp added that UEO has helped Terry build his resume and find new employment.
“Homelessness is obviously a big problem across the states, and California is often in the news because it’s a big problem in California,” Kipp said. “There’s a lot of ways to bring people together. … I think, with the creativity and the persistence of volunteers at the UEO, we have a good chance at making this work.”
For more information, see theunitedeffort.org
