Our Roles in Creating Paths to Prosperity
by Ellie Rossiter:
Hodge is a young man who grew up in Alice Griffith, one of San Francisco’s HOPE SF public housing sites. Hodge enrolled in a workforce training and employment pilot because he was struggling to make ends meet and wanted to get on a path to a better life. He arrived at the training on time every day, eager to finish out the skills training part and move on to a real job. After a couple of weeks, he called his job coach from jail to say that he was unable to make it, but he was coming back, please don’t kick me out of the program. Please hold my spot. I guarantee if you hold my spot I will be there tomorrow. And he was. Hodge returned on time, ready to work the next day. Despite his effort and hard work, Hodge was re-arrested, and again he called his job coach, I’m going to be away from the program for a few days this time, but please don’t give up on me. I’ll be back.
Saidah Leatutufu, who previously ran the pilot and now works for the Mayor’s office as the HOPE SF Economic Mobility Director, was Hodge’s job coach. She says it takes a lot for these young people to break away and start new. Hodge could have called anyone, but he called me, his coach, to let me know he was committed. I knew that Hodge had a lot to overcome; I knew he was determined, and I knew he would be back to complete the program. The challenges in public housing communities are daunting nearly nine out of ten young people, age 16 to 24, living in HOPE SF communities are not in school and don’t have a job. They lack the linkages to thrive and succeed, and they are burdened by criminal records, chronic trauma and threats to their physical safety.
Over 100 young adults signed up for employment pilots at HOPE SF last year, but to be successful in a full-time demanding job, support is needed beyond job training and across multiple areas in their lives. We government, philanthropy and service providers need to work together to ensure that our young people have real opportunities to succeed. And there is good news on this front. HOPE SF is enhancing its current programming with more coaching and durable support to help San Francisco’s most vulnerable achieve economic self-sufficiency. Short term one-size-fits-all trainings have not led to employment for young people who have been left out of opportunity for too long, so we are committed to durable support. Be a part of building economic pathways out of poverty. Our goal is to expand the number of funders and raise $1,000,000 this year, so that we can focus on intensive individualized support and ensure that Hodge and other young adults have a real chance to advance economically.
It is through Philanthropy, that HOPE SF leaders are able to maximize the best thinking in the field, seed innovative programs, and learn and improve as we go. We are excited to have the on-going support from our philanthropic community to make sure that Hodge is not left behind and has the tools to thrive. HOPE SF is the nation’s first large-scale public housing transformation aimed at disrupting poverty, reducing social isolation, and creating vibrant mixed-income communities without mass displacement of current residents. The Partnership for HOPE SF, led by The San Francisco Foundation (where it is housed), the City of San Francisco, and Enterprise Community Partners, is the philanthropic arm of HOPE SF, made up of more than 20 organizations and individuals, who have pooled their funds to align with the goals of HOPE SF. Funds support research, strategy development, technical assistance, capacity-building, evaluation, and grants to community organizations that foster community engagement and resident leadership.