Florida has the third-highest population of homeless in the United States with about 27,000 people. Nonprofit organizations such as Homeless Helping Homeless aim to minimize that population and get them off the streets.
HHH was founded in 2009 when Adolphus Parker came up with the idea to have the homeless help other homeless individuals as an opportunity to make something of themselves and help their community.
“… [T]he object is to get the homeless off the street and into permanent housing,” says Erik Richard, chief financial officer of Homeless Helping Homeless.
Homeless Helping Homeless offers many services such as showers, storage, wifi/phone, referrals, birth certificate/bus pass, food, hygiene kits, computer, copies and clothes. Their services aim to help get people on their feet and back into the community. Not only do their services offer physical goods to get them going on their own, but they also promote their rights and work on overcoming the stigma they face.
“Well, actually I came here to Homeless Helping Homeless one night when it was cold about 60 days ago,” said says Curtis Jones, an HHH resident. “I got people to help me motivate. I got motivators here.”
Each resident has their own story about how they found HHH, but each individual has been greatly influenced by the group work and the sense of community that this organization offers.
HHH’s purpose is to provide a stable living environment with permanent housing for the homeless therefore making them no longer homeless. With this goal in mind, one day they hope to have a world where there are no longer homeless people.
Homeless Helping Homeless has a three-step program to help those in need. The first step is when they come in. They are provided housing for a limited time and assigned to a case manager to help get them what they need. The next step is moving into the program and being offered support and training. The third step is moving into their permanent home with a steady income.
HHH is a grassroots nonprofit organization, so it operates solely through individual donors. Even just a single donation can go a long way for this organization. To apply for housing or make a donation you can find all of the information about the organization on the Homeless Helping Homeless website.
Credits
Reporter: Daniel Finton
Anchor: Julianna Jung
Show Editor: Antonio Delucca
Web Editor: Jordan Kalajian
