Homelessness in the Bay Area -

Worldwide there are over 100 million homeless people, reports the United Nations. Housing Our People Effectively (HOPE) is the plan to prevent and end homelessness in San Mateo County. HOPE is a ten year action plan that brings together business, nonprofit groups and the public sector to address the challenging issues of homelessness.

HOPE's plan reflects the San Mateo County Board of Supervisor's goal "that housing should exist in our community for people of all income levels and all generations of families - including those who are extremely low income or who are homeless". HOPE is based on a belief that we can achieve this goal through pro-active, coordinated action and investments in initiatives that solve homelessness.

For more information how you can help fight homelessness in San Mateo County, contact Wendy Goldberg by email at wgoldberg@smchsa.org.

In San Francisco, Habitat for the Homeless is a non-profit construction corporation dedicated to helping homeless people build decent housing for themselves and others. The housing units known as "Shelter One" are complete homes in just 100 square feet. The homes are built to provide clean and sober homeless people with a home in exchange for volunteer services. For more information on the this program, go to www.habitatforthehomeless.org.

Quoting their web site, "The Bay Area Homeless Alliance (BAHA) is a collaboration of greater San Francisco Bay Area service agencies. The primary goal is to prevent or reduce homelessness by providing a variety of social services to families and individuals within the Bay Area counties. This Web site provides links to information for individuals or agencies for services including shelter and food providers, mental and physical health assistance, employment counseling and access to voice mail. www.baha.org".

With the advent of Habitat for Humanity in Brisbane, an opportunity exists for just about anyone to own a home. If you happen to fall in the middle ranges of income and make too much money for a Habitat home, Bay Area Home
Buyer Agency (BAHBA) founded by Walter Zhovreboff offers a very realistic presentation about how his company can help you own your own home with an annual income of as little as $36,000. For more information about BAHBA contact Fred Smith with the City of Brisbane.