Recent studies indicate there are over 152,833 American citizens; veterans, families, and teens under 18 years of age, living on the streets or in shelters across the country. The cost of housing, feeding, clothing these displaced individuals is costing local agencies and wage earning taxpayers between $30,000 and $50,000 a year, per individual. Averaging the cost at Forty Thousand dollars per year, that’s over 6 Billion dollars a year! In fact, a recent study by a nonprofit located in Colorado found that direct cash per month assistance of up to $1,000 reduced homelessness and increased employment in Denver (Davis, 2023).
OSTI has begun developing the “HD HIREd” program, which stands for “Helping the Displaced get Honor, Integrity, Respect, and Education”. This is not a typical “homeless assistance” program. With our program the only Handout is the opportunity to “reintegrate” back into mainstream society; complete with an Education and the essential Training necessary to become a productive member of our society. “HD HIREd” has been specifically devised as an Educational program in a unique setting which provides housing, clothing, food, and an education, all in one convenient location.
Course completion within 24 months is possible. However, motivated individuals can complete the program in a minimum of 12 months. Each graduating student will have, a minimum of 1500 hours of work experience (unpaid OJT), so hearing the words, “…you lack the experience…”, has been minimized.
In order for this program to succeed, our initial enrollment is 20 students with an additional 10-20 student enrollment each month until we reach our annual enrollment goal of 100-125 students. So I urge you to please consider partnering with us. Your commitment in supporting this project is critical! Please make a contribution by clicking on the DONATE image below and share with all your contacts. Thank you and God Bless!