Some say pictures speak louder than words, so we've decided to put that to the test, so everyone can see how we've sped up the process of creating sustainable work and dignified housing for and with homeless people in our program once again in 2023 thanks to our growing international community.
January
Life without masks returned, which also meant that the World Economic Forum would be held in January again. Homeless Entrepreneur celebrated our 5th annual WEF Sleepout in Davos in our effort to empower people made of potential out of homelessness thanks to public-private partnerships.
February
Homeless Entreprenuer’s commitment to end global homelessness has been recognized around the world. Our founder president, Andrew Funk, was invited to speak about our work on a smart cities panel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, at the second edition of LEAP, which was the most attended in the world. It welcomed +172,000 attendees from 183 countries.
March
Thanks to IBM SkillsBuild, Homeless Entrepreneur is providing free digital training in STEM, computer study, cyber, information technology and other sciences through various courses to empower people made of potential out of homelessness and poverty.
April
Our research in Europe develops faster than ever! Homeless Entrepreneur visits European cities in order to carry out its Assistance vs Empowerment report and builds partnerships in the process.
We’d like to thank all of the interns, volunteers and partners making our EU Report possible!
May
It all started with an invitation to join a dinner at the Wisdom House in Davos thanks to Marcelo Garcia; then I spoke with Will.i.am and then Gino, a Nueroscientist from Hong Kon who would eventually introduce me to Tony, an Australian chef experiencing homelessness in Nice, France.
Tony contacted our Homeless Helpline (+34 697 877 089), and then participated in our Voices program, which ultimately led him to get off of the streets and into a job doing what he loves: cooking!
June
Contrary to what you may see on social media, ending homelessness takes more than 1 post or 1 day! Homeless Entrepreneur is committed to accompanying our beneficiaries as far as they’d like to go with us.
One example of a success story is Hoshang, who has overcome many obstacles throughout his journey out of homelessness thanks to our HELP program and, most importantly, his commitment to improving his own life.
July
A social impact blast from the past! We are proud of our growing community of HELP program graduates, who become active, working citizens again. Luis is one of many success stories!
August
Homeless Entrepreneur partnered up with the Hostal Grau, an eco-sustainable boutique hotel, to create social impact thanks to tourism and the commitment of our partner network.
The Social Impact Room is an initiative where 100% of the profit of 1 room per week will be invested in local programs and projects led by Homeless Entrepreneur to empower people made of potential out of homelessness and poverty.
September
To speed up the process of empowering people out of poverty through our European Report on Assistance vs Empowerment, Homeless Entrepreneur has partnered up with Guillem S. Benet, a minimalist catalan pianist, to sonify the obstacles and opportunities of homelessness and poverty in Twelve European cities, which will help us strengthen our community through musical inspiration.
Enjoy his piano piece called “Brussels.“
October
Homeless Entrepreneur celebrated World Homeless Day by doing a sleepout with James Melville, Marco Robinson and Simon Miln in London, England on October 10th to raise awareness and funding for our sleepout in Davos during the World Economic Forum. Thanks to these three amazing men, our WEF sleepout has grown into what is now called THE Great Sleepout!
November
Nothing beats the smile of a Homeless Entrepreneur with a new job! We are proud of each and every individual who participates in our HELP program. It’s not easy because the commitment is intense, but seeing our beneficiaries advance professionally makes every single stakeholder smile =)
Clinton is one of many inspirational individuals who have successfully graduated from our HELP program this year.
December
We’ve grown so much that we even out grew our logo! Thanks to Lift Consulting’s pro bono support and Max Leal’s strategic branding advisory support, Homeless Entrepreneur has a new logo, which represents where we are and where we are going!
*We’d also like to thank them for emphasizing that every homeless person is made of potential, which will be included in our communication, which you might already have recognized ;-)
Summary
Thanks to everyone who has been involved, we've provided support to +1,000 beneficiaries in our main programs in 2023 and hope to empower +2,000 people made of potential experiencing homelessness in our programs in 2024.
Special Thanks to our Partners
We’d like to thank all of our partners in 2023 who have placed their trust and support in our work because it wouldn’t be possible without them!
We need your support for 2024!
If you appreciate our work and would like to help support us, please do.
A donation that comes from your heart, which is coherent with your interest and possibilities is the difference between more or less homeless people made of potential becoming empowered out of poverty.
A huge hug,
Andrew Funk
Founder President of Homeless Entrepreneur