• More than 100,000 men, women & children are    homeless in the San Francisco Bay Area
• 50% are members of the fastest growing homeless population—families
• 67% are women with children
• Tonight only one in five (20%) will find room at an   emergency shelter

Causes, Obstacles & Consequences

• lingering effects of past mistakes
• unemployment, tight job market
• ever increasing housing costs
• low education or job skills
• inequitable pay scales
• behavioral challenges
• family violence
• hopelessness
• illness & disease
• social exclusion
• mental distress         
• helplessness
• exploitation
• addiction
• death

Who are the homeless? 

A former coworker, neighbor, schoolmate, child, parent, sister, brother, you, me
. . .not a single one of us ever made being homeless our life goal . . .

WE MUST HELP

• More than 200 San Francisco Bay Area homeless died last year
• Exhausted, resources and support networks depleted, out of options, they come to us.

WE HAVE AN EMERGENCY!

• Homelessness, especially for women with children and families is growing at an alarming rate! 
• Last year alone, we turned away nearly 6,400 calls for shelter. 

WE NEED MORE ROOM TO HELP MORE PEOPLE

• Homeless women, children, families need more than temporary assistance. 
• hey need rescue–escape from the desperate daily hunt for food and a safe place to sleep. 
• hey need a chance to start over. 
• hey need tools and footing to build life on a solid foundation, to create a home, to succeed. 
• They need a Bridge of Hope . . .