Downtown Streets Team is ending homelessness through the dignity of work.

Your support of the Hayward Downtown Streets Team will go directly toward the employment and housing goals of men and women in the Hayward community, as well as their basic needs toward dignity and purpose. Thanks to the generosity of Google.org gifts are being matched 100% for the first $10,000 given to this campaign! This is Kimberlee, one of our All-Star original Hayward Team Members. She has worked tirelessly to move out of her van and into a beautiful new apartment, reuniting her family under one roof. All along, she has been an active community advocate for low-income individuals in Alameda County, as well as lending a hand to anyone who needs help. As a Green Shirt Team Lead with Hayward Downtown Streets Team, she is actively developing her leadership skills and pursuing paid employment in social services as a way to support her family and keep giving back to those in need. Let's come together and support folks like Kimberlee to achieve their dreams!

We believe that treating people with dignity and empowering them to be a part of the solution to their struggles is a major factor in their ultimate success. Our approach is unique in that we not only challenge Team Members to take an active role in their own recovery but we also empower them to create long-term solutions for their peers. By participating positively in the community, our Team Members are changing perceptions about homelessness in their communities.

Further, our program has the inherent public benefit of a cleaner community as our Team Members engage in beautification projects through our Award-Winning Work-First Model. In Hayward, our Team Members are cleaning the downtown core, and assisting City departments in major environmental cleanups around town. As one of our Team Members has said, what we’re doing is a “win-win-win” scenario: the Team Member wins, the environment wins and the community wins – it doesn’t get much better than that.

All of our Team Members are volunteers who are homeless or at-risk of becoming homeless. The majority of our new Team Members hear about our services through peer-to-peer outreach from our existing Team Members or successful graduates.

We provide homeless and low-income men and women with the resources they need to rebuild their lives. First, they volunteer on one of our teams and begin working collaboratively on beautification projects. Team Members are held accountable and trusted to complete tasks, show up on time, and work well with others. Those who show dedication and leadership skills have the ability to rise up to become Team Leads, then Managers, and supervise others with little or no supervision from staff.

In return, Team Members receive a basic needs stipend to help cover their basic needs, while taking advantage of our case management and employment services to find housing and a job. Our ultimate goal is to transition Team Members into employment because having a job restores hope and opens the door to other opportunities. Across the Bay Area, Downtown Streets Team has exceeded over 1000 individual successes! We have placed 475 individuals into employment (lasting at least 90 days) and 552 into permanent housing.

To fight homelessness we combine compassionate and innovative leadership with collaboration between the private sector, government agencies, social service agencies, and most importantly, our community (that's you!). Homelessness is a complex issue that is too big for any single agency to address, so we value our strong partner network and are always looking for new partnerships to make sure all of our stakeholders are represented, and our Team Members have access to the resources and tools they need to end their homelessness.

We are grateful for your support and look forward to being part of the solution in Hayward for years to come!

Downtown Streets Team receives 100% of all donations (an additional 8% fee will be applied to the donor to cover payment processing and this campaign site). Donation receipts are emailed immediately for your tax records.