Leadership Students Create Program to Help Homeless People Find Jobs, Homes

November 1, 2004

Before attending the Jepson School of Leadership Studies, Lauren Johanson and Jill Fasching gave little thought to social justice issues.

Now the two senior leadership studies students are responsible for developing a jobs program that has measurably reduced homelessness in Richmond and been funded by a quarter-million dollar HUD grant.

Their creation, Project Strive, has so far helped nearly 100 homeless men and women develop job readiness skills, go to work, and, for some, move out of shelters or off the streets and into homes. 

The project began their sophomore year with a class on analyzing and making public policy and the 2002-03 Jepson Student Community Project. "The focus of that class and of the school that year was on homelessness," explained Johanson. They studied the problems of day labor pools, a traditional source of work for homeless people.

Forming Community Partnerships

When the Jepson School brought together some 300 community leaders for the Summit on Homelessness in March, 2003, Johanson and Fasching were among the student presenters. In that audience was Peter Prizzio, executive director of The Daily Planet, which offers aid and services to homeless people. Intrigued by the students' ideas, Prizzio began the dialogue that resulted in The Daily Planet adopting Project Strive as its vocational program. 

"We really had people willing to work with us and consider us peers in the project," said Fasching. To explain their program's merits, the students presented their ideas to local business leaders, the Daily Planet's board and professionals with Homeward -- the umbrella agency addressing homelessness in metro Richmond. 

Project Strive combines education with job training.  Participants can earn a GED; learn how to fill out employment applications, interview and dress appropriately for work; complete a paid internship at The Daily Planet; and obtain a job. They are required to save some of what they earn for a deposit or down payment on a room or apartment.

HUD Funds Project Strive

The success of Project Strive became assured when The  Department of Housing and Urban Development gave $226,000 to the Daily Planet to implement the program.  In a trial period, Prizzio said, 90 of 97 people who started the program became employed. After 30 days, 68 percent were still working and of those, he said, 70 percent had moved into permanent housing.

One Project Strive graduate is Joseph Henry, a house painter. After becoming homeless, he tried working, but ended up angry, hungry and cold most of the time. "When you think you don't have nothing to offer, you're kinda lost before you get started," he said.

He turned to the The Daily Planet for help. After completing the Project Strive program, he landed a job with a painting contractor, moved into a townhouse and bought a car. "There's nothing like making it on your own," he said.

Penny Dortch agrees. In the program now, she has her sights on managing a fast-food restaurant. A convicted  felon and recovering addict, she has overcome many obstacles.

"When I first became homeless, I didn't know which way to go," she said. "I have little to no education. I thought the doors were shut for me. Now I have my goals in order. Project Strive let me know that there are still opportunities out there for me."

She would like to meet Johanson and Fasching to thank them. "They let me know that it's not over."

Life-Changing Experiences

That kind of comment makes the hours of work worthwhile for the students. "Having been involved in the Jepson School and specifically having worked with an amazing group of people on Project Strive, I will graduate with an entirely different perspective on the world around me," said Johanson.

Fasching also learned valuable lessons from Project Strive. "I was given the unique opportunity to experience a piece of the public policy process that students usually only read about in textbooks," she said. "In the future, I hope to pursue a career that encourages creative problem solving and that allows me to participate actively in the community."

Their work is an example of how Jepson students apply their leadership lessons to real life, according to Dr. Thomas Shields, a visiting assistant professor who teaches the public policy course. "In terms of academic learning, Lauren and Jill were excellent students, but they also learned that the ideal of moral leadership occurs through action. Project Strive embodied the mission of Jepson--to educate people for and about leadership."

A version of this article, written by Linda Evans of  University Communications, appeared in the Oct. 20 edition of Richmond Matters, the on-campus electronic newsletter.

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