Innovating Solutions to Homelessness | Carol Hollowell | TEDxStGeorge — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:12I never intended
2. 0:14to innovate solutions for homelessness.
3. 0:18What caught my eye
4. 0:20when I drove by was a man on the
5. 0:22sidewalk
6. 0:24in a wheelchair in the cold rain.
7. 0:27In a split-second
8. 0:29rearview mirror moment,
9. 0:31I had to turn around.
10. 0:34You've had those gut impulses, too, yes?
11. 0:36The ones where you have to take action.
12. 0:40I call them a switch point.
13. 0:43Like on a train, a switch point can
14. 0:46change the direction of the train
15. 0:49or the trajectory of your life.
16. 0:53And this one rearview mirror moment
17. 0:56changed mine.
18. 0:59"Hey, buddy, where you going?" I yelled
19. 1:01out my window.
20. 1:02"To get a warm cup of coffee." He
21. 1:04shouted back.
22. 1:05"I'll take you."
23. 1:07I loaded him and his wheelchair into my
24. 1:11truck.
25. 1:12And I began to hear Ray's story.
26. 1:16I was astounded to learn that Ray had
27. 1:19become homeless simply because a stolen
28. 1:22wallet
29. 1:23had left him with no ID.
30. 1:27Something switched in me at that moment.
31. 1:32And I vowed to get Ray housed
32. 1:35plus an ID that day.
33. 1:43Dozens of phone calls, a whole lot of my
34. 1:45tears,
35. 1:47and 7 hours later,
36. 1:50honestly, my biggest fear was I going to
37. 1:52need a bail bond
38. 1:53because I was not leaving the DMV until
39. 1:56Ray had his ID.
40. 1:59Later that night, Ray had his vital
41. 2:01documents in his hand.
42. 2:05And he was settled into a permanent
43. 2:06house
44. 2:09with a roof over his head for the first
45. 2:11time in years.
46. 2:18My mission was born.
47. 2:21I could not
48. 2:23I would not turn a blind eye to the Rays
49. 2:27of the world
50. 2:29and the broken system they'd been
51. 2:30trapped in.
52. 2:32Something had to change.
53. 2:36Switchpoint Community Resource Center
54. 2:37was created the fall of 2014.
55. 2:40Open 24/7 so that we could truly connect
56. 2:44and help people.
57. 2:46Our programs focus on people in poverty,
58. 2:49whether they're homeless or not.
59. 2:53The very definition
60. 2:56of innovation is
61. 2:57the action or process
62. 3:00of a new method, idea, or product.
63. 3:05The homeless needed all three.
64. 3:09No one I've ever met
65. 3:11wakes up one morning and decides, "I
66. 3:13want to be homeless today."
67. 3:17Ray didn't, either.
68. 3:19When something
69. 3:21as simple as a stolen wallet
70. 3:24has the power
71. 3:26to create a life sentence of
72. 3:27homelessness,
73. 3:30friends,
74. 3:31we must peel back the layers
75. 3:35and examine the roots that are
76. 3:36perpetuating the cycle of poverty.
77. 3:45We began to listen.
78. 3:47We began to ask questions like, "What
79. 3:50happened to you?
80. 3:51Why are you homeless?
81. 3:53What do you need?"
82. 3:56I will always hear Catherine's words.
83. 3:59"I need affordable child care so I can
84. 4:01work nights and weekends
85. 4:03and accept shifts that pay up to five
86. 4:06more dollars an hour."
87. 4:08That did not exist.
88. 4:10We knew we had to take action and take
89. 4:13on child care.
90. 4:15And take on all the desperate needs of
91. 4:17the homeless.
92. 4:21What if
93. 4:22we could find funding
94. 4:25through
95. 4:27grants and donations and corporations
96. 4:30and foundations and sponsors who
97. 4:33understood this desperate need?
98. 4:37Boom. Our question became our answer.
99. 4:41What if
100. 4:43became our magical solution
101. 4:47to innovate our own methods,
102. 4:50ideas, and products.
103. 4:53Profitable products
104. 4:54so that our clients could work,
105. 4:57our community would buy,
106. 4:59and other counties could duplicate.
107. 5:03What do we do differently?
108. 5:05Our resource center
109. 5:08created a safe place
110. 5:10where clients could find
111. 5:12direction,
112. 5:14dignity,
113. 5:15education, advocacy, and support.
114. 5:19We began to offer diverse classes like
115. 5:22anger management and life skills and
116. 5:24budgeting. We gave access to showers and
117. 5:28computers.
118. 5:30And for those lacking skills or with a
119. 5:33criminal record,
120. 5:34what if
121. 5:37we created micro-enterprises
122. 5:40where our clients could work and we
123. 5:42provided a service that the surrounding
124. 5:44community would want and need?
125. 5:48We now have
126. 5:50thriving thrift stores, doggy daycares,
127. 5:53aeroponic gardens, and other businesses.
128. 5:57Yeah.
129. 6:03We bought hotels like the Studio 6 in
130. 6:07St. George and another one in Salt Lake.
131. 6:09And we created communities.
132. 6:13And we developed affordable housing for
133. 6:16over 300 of our clients who'd been
134. 6:19evicted due to bad credit or
135. 6:22have been priced out of the market like
136. 6:24our seniors and our veterans.
137. 6:31And yes,
138. 6:33because we listened,
139. 6:35we what if'd
140. 6:37into existence
141. 6:39a new, beautiful, 24/7
142. 6:42child care center called Stepping
143. 6:44Stones.
144. 6:50And these ideas, my friends, are
145. 6:51spreading to northern Utah and beyond.
146. 6:55I I never intended
147. 6:58to innovate solutions for homelessness.
148. 7:02I had no idea we were creating a new,
149. 7:05duplicatable system
150. 7:07that could profitably change the
151. 7:09condition of homeless.
152. 7:12I just knew we needed to create jobs,
153. 7:16develop income,
154. 7:18and empower the homeless.
155. 7:21Cuz that's our mission.
156. 7:25These
157. 7:27These are the faces of Switchpoint.
158. 7:30And like Catherine,
159. 7:33they all have names.
160. 7:36They all have stories.
161. 7:38And now they have hope.
162. 7:40And with hope,
163. 7:42anything is possible.
164. 7:52Ray
165. 7:54Ray was my switchpoint.
166. 7:57I am their switchpoint.
167. 8:00And what if today
168. 8:03Switchpoint is yours?
169. 8:05Your rearview mirror moment where you
170. 8:07take action and help us forever
171. 8:10eliminate homelessness.
172. 8:14How?
173. 8:15A simple donation of your time, energy,
174. 8:18money, clothing, or maybe you want to
175. 8:21help us build a village cuz it takes a
176. 8:23village to build one, believe me.
177. 8:28Homelessness
178. 8:30it's not inevitable.
179. 8:33It's not unstoppable.
180. 8:37Will you join me?
181. 8:40Will you become a part of the
182. 8:41revolution?
183. 8:45Will you become part of the movement
184. 8:49to help us end homelessness
185. 8:51forever?