Ending Relational Poverty with Phone Buddies

Housing and Homelessness

County of Los Angeles

Expand existing project, program, or initiative

Without adequate social support, people experiencing homelessness tend to stay homeless and many more people become homeless. Family reunifications can be transformative, but they also can have their limitations: for many individuals experiencing homelessness, family can be part of the problem, not part of the solution. Early on in our work to end relational poverty on the streets, we identified a pressing challenge: how might we help cultivate desperately needed social support systems for those who cannot or will not reconnect with their loved ones? The answer emerged in early 2020, in the early weeks of the pandemic, when we partnered with Sequoia Living to pilot a 1:1 buddy system to connect their previously unhoused senior residents with our trained volunteers. The relationships that formed were breathtaking and helped alleviate crushing isolation and loneliness. These findings were easily translated into our current Miracle Friends program for those experiencing homelessness.

"The solution to homelessness isn't just housing. It's community." - Jim Greene, Director of Boston's Emergency Shelter Commission This grant will allow us to continue our Miracle Friends program in Los Angeles beyond the pilot currently underway. Funding for our pilot ends in early 2024 and we are seeking funds to provide a seamless continuation of existing Miracle Friend connections and to facilitate new life-changing partnerships. Our programs are all co-created with our unhoused neighbors, service partners, and volunteers. Staff members with lived experience help guide the design and growth of our programs, so we can continue to meet people where they are (without leaving them there). Our phone buddy program matches volunteers with individuals experiencing homelessness for weekly phone calls and texts, like AJ (Bahrain) and Jaime (Los Angeles) that have developed a beautiful friendship across the globe. To date, 300+ volunteers have logged 100,000+ minutes. Funds to support our programs in Los Angeles go toward staff, volunteer recruitment, training and support, and client enrollment and support. We also have technology costs associated with logging and reporting our Miracle Friend connections.

Our theory of change is that relational poverty (or the lack of a social support system) is a deadly, often-overlooked form of poverty that is pervasive among individuals experiencing homelessness. For at least 1 in 4 adults experiencing homelessness in the SF Bay Area, the primary event or condition that led to homelessness was the loss or lack of their social support systems (e.g., divorce, separation, breakup). Without adequate social support, periods of housing insecurity last longer. Miracle Friends has matched 300 friendships which reestablishes trust and provides insights and understanding to our neighbors. Those experiencing homelessness are often deeply isolated and stigmatized. As one of our friends stated: "I never realized I was homeless when I lost my housing, only when I lost my family and friends." Our work provides a vital pathway for Los Angeles volunteers seeking to help, partner sites looking to extend valuable services, and those experiencing homelessness.

We offer a humane, highly effective way to help end homelessness. The impact of our work is demonstrated in the improved mental health of our participants, more effective resource navigation of existing services, and the ability of our volunteers to engage in an issue they feel passionate about. Currently, in Los Angeles, we are in the midst of a Randomized Control Trial of our programs with USC, in which surveys are administered to our participants experiencing homelessness each quarter for 5 quarters. The results will be released in 2024 and we expect them to confirm our findings from an initial pilot in San Francisco, showing improved mental health for our participants and improved housing status. Currently, the relationships between our volunteers and their friends provide a wealth of data proving that our programs are successful. Hundreds of matches have resulted in truly meaningful and life-changing relationships that are documented in weekly logs our volunteers complete.