The homelessness challenge may seem enormous, but it is solvable.
The first step is to choose to see it. Homelessness is an outcome of severe and growing economic inequality, with factors such as slow wage growth, downsizing of some industries, or skyrocketing rents—anyone can be at risk of becoming homeless.
On any given night, 552,830 people in the United States experience homelessness. California has the largest number of people experiencing homelessness, and in San Diego County, nearly 9000 are experiencing homelessness.
Organizations like Destination: Home and PATH—with the support of companies like Cisco and local communities—are making an impact across the state. And at Cisco Live US 2019, attendees will have the opportunity to make conquering homelessness possible.
#CiscoChat Live: Making an Impact on Homelessness
Before Cisco Live US kicks off on June 9th, we invite you to join our #CiscoChat Live on Thursday, May 30th at 10 am PT to hear directly from Cisco, Destination: Home, and PATH. They’ll share how we can conquer homelessness, together, and how you can get involved at Cisco Live or in your own backyard.
We’re excited for the roundtable discussion, which will be moderated by Cisco’s own Stephanie Chan! She’ll be joined by:
- Chad Bojorquez, Senior Director, Destination: Home
- Joel Roberts, CEO, PATH
- Erin Connor, Critical Human Needs Portfolio Manager, Cisco Corporate Affairs and Cisco Foundation
You’ll learn firsthand about the problem of homelessness, the solutions being pioneered by these organizations, and how we can all get involved to make a positive impact.
We’ll be taking your questions live at the end of the show. Use the #CiscoChat hashtag on Twitter, or post your question in the comments section if you’re watching on Facebook or YouTube via Cisco’s home page. We look forward to next week’s discussion, and hope you’ll join us!
See how we’re making a positive impact on the world, and how we plan to benefit people in the local San Diego community at this year’s Cisco Live US.
Hi!
I watched the livestream today about solving homelessness. I did see a lot of information shared about poverty and economic disparity. These are indeed the reality of many.
I’ve been working in the homeless sector for over a decade. I would say that lack of social inclusion, complacent wages and a lack of obtainable housing do play a role, but these are symptoms of the problem, not THE problem.
Housing, while vital, is not the solution to homelessness, but a part of it. What I found missing from the panel was a candid discussion about why people end up homeless and maintain this status. 99% of the assessments I do with vulnerable populations I serve all have something in common: at one point, as early as childhood, have experienced trauma. Trauma is the root cause, drugs and alcohol, violence, lack of self-sustainability stems from it. THEN, we observe how the systems we have in place do not make it easy to recover.
What is important to note is the difference between surviving (ie. being out in housing) and thriving (ie. beyond shelter, addressing the needs, coping with crisis and finding a sense of self and belonging in your community). This is imperative for anyone trying to bridge the gaps to understand, but I would have preferred more details about how these initiatives are achieved under a Housing First model. In my experience, people think a job well done is for an agency to record that so and so is now housed. That’s actually just the beginning. This is difficult to quantify in terms of stats and I would be interested in the stats Path, for example, have in relation to housing stability beyond the 12 month mark.
This is a paradigm for any social service agency, as eventually people leave your care and you have no way of knowing if individuals facing these struggles are still in recovery. The definition of success in this regard is arbitrary, as we may perceive ‘success’ differently.
I would love to know more about Cisco’s involvement and would be interested in how to become directly involved myself.