Summer 2008

"Investing in children is not a national luxury or a national choice. It's a national necessity. If the foundation of your house is crumbling, you don't say you can't afford to fix it while you're building astronomically expensive fences to protect it from outside enemies. The issue is not are we going to pay -- it's are we going to pay now, up front, or are we going to pay a whole lot more later on." - Marian Wright Edelman

Dear Friends of HPP,

When I talk about our work at HPP, I talk about it as an “investment” in families. Since 1989, we have been serving the poorest families in our community. Many have been homeless, living in shelters or single room occupancy hotels or doubled and tripled up with other families.

When families come to us, they begin to hope. We help them identify a strength upon which to build. Our goal is to partner with the parent so that the family achieves full health and stability. We want to break the cycle of homelessness and poverty so that the children will never end up on the streets again.

In the fiscal year that ended on June 30th, we housed 489 families, an increase of 22% over last year. Moving into housing is a strong indicator of family stability. Very often, by the time they move into their own place, the children are enrolled in school, the parent is working. They are well on their way to turning their lives around.

When you visit us, you see the many ways we serve families.

The young women who greet you in our waiting area are formerly homeless moms who are participating in our Community Health Worker training program. They are stellar examples of what works at HPP. During a year-long paid internship, they prepare for full-time work in the community. They perform outreach to homeless and poor families. They take classes toward a certificate of completion, often in the area of drug and alcohol counseling, at City College of San Francisco. They upgrade their skills in our computer lab and participate in a digital storytelling project. At the end of the year, they have many skills to contribute toward making this a better community.

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