FV Kiwanis Presentation May 28, 2015

Larry BurnsPresident

Off The Streets - Huntington Beach

● Mission - We house the homeless

● History - Born out of frustration

● Our Team - Local and grassroots

● Principles - Compassion + personal responsibility

● Successes - 84 homeless housed

● Our Needs - Donations and volunteers

Agenda

Our Mission

Off The Streets - Huntington Beach is a501(c)(3) non-profit charity that helps homeless individuals and families in Orange County CA

get into permanent housing.

1. Qualify clients to determine if they: a. Are truly homelessb. Have monthly income (job, disability, aid, etc.)

2. Build a budget to determine rent they can afford.

3. Assist the client in finding an affordable rental.

4. Pay their security deposit directly to the landlord.

5. Deliver furniture and household goods to their new home.

What we do

History

● Born out of frustration in the Fall of 2013

● Started with a question: How do I get off the street?

● Prompted a Google search

● Discovered Off The Streets - Danbury, Connecticut

● Inspired us to start an OTS chapter here in HB

● Started operations in June 2014

Board of DirectorsFounded June 2014

Pierre Charette

DaveMoses Cheryl

LynchLarryBurns Bill

Wright

JenniferBurns

Local and Grassroots!

Principles● Close to 100% of donations go to help clients

o 100% volunteer - No paid staff and miscellaneous expenses are covered

by these same volunteers.

o Near-zero overhead - No office, no equipment, no vehicles. The only

significant expense is mandatory insurance and furniture storage unit.

o 100% private funding - No government funding or costly regulations.

● One-time service only - A revolving door would cause us to run out of

money quickly. Instead, a lot of due diligence performed for 1st time success.

● Compassion + personal responsibility - a healthy combination!

Compassion + Personal Responsibility● We exist to give people a compassionate hand up

● However, our approach requires the person we help to accept most of the responsibility for getting off the street

o Must have income to monthly pay rent

o Must be motivated to get off the street

o Must participate in an in-depth financial review

o Must find their own rental

● We encourage and guide them but they do most of the work

Every placement is documented on our website!

84 people placed using this simple process since our start up in June 2014

Note: simple does not mean it’s easy!

Budget = A Game Plan● We build a complete budget with

the client

● Covers all sources of income and expenses

● Identifies the monthly rent they can afford (~50% of income)

● Even if the client doesn’t get placed we have still helped them.

Placement Statistics

Retention Success Rate● OTS Founding Chapter: tracked 85 people and 83% are still housed.

● OTS-HB: Of the 84 people we’ve placed, 79 remain housed, which puts our retention success rate at 94%.

Because we are working with people who have fallen into homelessness before, we don’t anticipate a 100% retention rate.

However, for every homeless person we get off the streets permanently, we feel it’s well worth the effort.

Needs● Fundraising:

o We need ongoing funds to pay deposits (about $500 per person placed). o We are having a Fundraising Event on Oct 15th at Seacliff Country Club.

● Furniture: o We are in constant need of furniture donations and volunteers to pick up,

repair/refurbish, and deliver furniture.● House Hunting:

o We want to build up our team of volunteers who help our clients find affordable housing (research not physical searching).

● Marketing: o We are new and need your help to spread the word. o Our business card is our brochure. Take as many as you’d like.

Thank You!

To Learn MoreWeb: www.offthestreetsnow.com/hb

Facebook: www.facebook.com/offthestreetsnowhb