October 1, 2015

Project Homeless Connect Celebrates 60 Events



Last week, team Ground Floor volunteered at Project Homeless Connect's 60th event, where we spent the morning preparing and serving meals at the PHC Cafe. We were inspired to see how Project Homeless Connect, an organization Alex helped start 11 years ago, has grown and today provides critical services to so many San Franciscans. Click here to learn how you can support PHC through donations or volunteer time.

Smaller Shelters Would Better Serve our Homeless
While the team at Ground Floor is doing their small part to help our City's homeless population, our clients are thinking much bigger. Recently, the Chronicle published an op-ed written by executive director of the St. Vincent de Paul Society of San Francisco, Margi English. Margi and her team manage the largest homeless shelter in San Francisco, and see an average of 410 individuals come through their doors at 5th and Bryant Streets on a daily basis. While the historic, large shelter model provides much needed short-term relief for people in need, Margi believes in a more comprehensive way of serving the homeless long-term. Data shows that supportive housing in smaller, more intimate settings with on-site "wrap-around" services is a proven solution to addressing homelessness. Margi is starting a conversation we should be having as San Franciscans: a shared responsibility to revamp the shelter system and ensure success for those we aim to serve. Read more about this approach here, and congrats to Margi for initiating this important conversation.

Sites Unseen Brings Public Art to SOMA



Ground Floor is proud to support Sites Unseen, a public art project sponsored by the Yerba Buena Community Benefit District. This project brings a variety of arts programming to alleyways around SOMA. As SOMA develops and changes, projects like this help preserve neighborhood character. Ground Floor supports Sites Unseen because we believe public art can foster social interaction and community pride right outside our office door. We are inspired by Alex's wife Wendi Norris, who is helping drive this project from start to finish. Learn more at sitesunseen.org.

Join Ground Floor in Support of HealthRIGHT 360
Ground Floor wants you! Our client HealthRIGHT 360 hosts its annual breakfast fundraiser 'Be the Change' on Wednesday, October 28th from 7:30 to 9am at the Four Seasons. If you care about access to healthcare and services for San Francisco's neediest, you ought to consider supporting this organization. Read more about the incredible work that HealthRIGHT 360 is doing - and their efforts to stay in San Francisco - here. That's not all though! We have 4 tickets at the Ground Floor table that we're opening to members of our network who are interested in learning more about the organization. Join Alex and the team on 10/28 by emailing info@gfpublicaffairs.com. Hope to see you there!

Thank you,