My Nonprofit Reviews

In the city of San Francisco, where the homeless population is so high, the Project Homeless Connect (PHC) is a great program to ameliorate homelessness. As a volunteer escort, I assisted clients to the location of their needed services. I noticed that most of the homeless individuals attending the program were very content and anxious to be there. They were very concerned as to whether they made it early enough to get the services that they wanted. Some services available were medical, mental health, substance abuse, housing, dental, SSI benefits, legal counseling, eyeglasses, California IDs, food, voicemail, employment counseling and job placement, and wheelchair repair. The housing and shelter services were probably the most popular due to the lack of space for all the homeless to stay at. From being in an unhealthy living environment, many homeless clients experienced mental and medical problems. By living on the streets, many homeless people are associated with drug abuse. Most of the needed help of this vulnerable population can be found at PHC. These free under-one-roof comprehensive services ameliorate homelessness because some of the services allow the homeless to turn their lives around by offering employment services. By getting employed, the homeless can start to save up money to buy or rent a home and live a happier life. For example, if a homeless person is addicted to drugs, the reason may be because it makes them happier while they’re living on the streets. Therefore, at PHC, they can get healthier by becoming drug-free with the help of substance abuse services. If I had to choose between a clinic with regular hours or Project Homeless Connect every two months, I would choose PHC, because by volunteering here, I feel like I can make a difference. The homeless really needs our help so that they can get back on their feet again: live in a home, work at a job, and live happily. Before I volunteered at PHC, I was always afraid of homeless people, because I was scared that they’ll harass me or harm me in some way. But after the experience of working with the homeless at PHC, I realized that all they wanted was for people to acknowledge the fact that they exist and that they were normal people that just needed help. This experience drastically changed my perspective towards the homeless population.

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