"Those who sleep in parks, on streets will be cleaning them up" - By Kevin Valine, February 18, 2019

"New Program Allows Homeless to Turn Their Lives Around While Cleaning Streets in Modesto" - By Kay Recede, February 22, 2019

"Modesto puts homeless back to work cleaning up the city" - By Lena Howland, February 21, 2019

"Realizan jornada de limpieza en Modesto" - February 19, 2019

Ways to Help Your Team:

Donate to the Modesto Team

Our goal is to prepare homeless men and women for the workforce and to help them move forward and into regular employment. The old adage, “get a job, bum” is too simple and unrealistic when we stop to think about the many challenges that people face simply to find a place to shower, launder their clothes, get an ID and other vital documents, and access their email or phone messages.

A bridge is needed if homeless men and women are to move toward employment, housing, and other goals. We strive to build that bridge and hope that you are interested in helping us build that bridge too!

Employment for Team Members

While Team Members are volunteering 20 hours a week to beautify our community they are also working with an Employment Specialist to find gainful employment in jobs in which they are likely to succeed. Our Team Members have a wide variety of skill sets, backgrounds, strengths and interests that may suit the needs of your company or organization.

Hire One of Our Qualified Candidates

Why our Team Members have the advantage:

• DST’s program builds accountability, teamwork and punctuality - Our Team Members graduate ready to join the workforce. DST has placed over 709 individuals into permanent employment (90+ days)
• Targeted Recruitment — We’ll share your employment opportunities with a pool of candidates who come from diverse backgrounds and have many skills and talents.
• Candidate Screening — We thoroughly screen candidates and refer only those who are qualified for your open positions.
• Retention Program — To ensure long-term success, Downtown Streets Team keeps in touch with our graduates beyond graduation. Employees are also always welcome to participate in our development courses.
• Commitment to Change — We only count success when a Team Member retains a job for over 90 days.

Contact David Guzman if you’re interested in hiring our Team Members. David.Guzman@streetsteam.org

Help us find Housing for Team Members!

A wise man once said that the best solution to homelessness is housing. People experiencing homelessness often face myriad challenges to find housing even after they have an income or housing subsidy. We partner with private property owners, property managers, and affordable housing providers to help our Team Members successfully transition into housing.

Our Case Manager will work with our Team Member and the landlord on every step and provide ongoing support after the move in:

• Regular Home Visits: Our staff will conduct regular home visits to ensure that our Team Members are stabilized in their new homes. DST staff work diligently to connect them with resources and make sure they are getting the support needed to be the best tenants possible.
• Problem Prevention: Regular contact and with Team Members provide DST staff with the opportunity to identify and address potential problems such as unauthorized visitors, damage to the property, lease violations, etc. We can address any potential issues before they become problematic for you.
• Landlord Support: If there are any issues that arise throughout the Team Member’s tenancy, we are here to provide you with support. Our staff is always just a phone call away for you and we will do our best to help resolve any issues.
• Housing Authority Liaison: We can help landlords and property managers navigate the entire process with the Housing Authority, from helping you become a certified Section 8 Landlord to helping with inspections, paperwork, and answering questions about Housing Authority subsidy programs.

Contact our Case Manager Cris Unciano if you’re interested in learning more: C.Unciano@streetsteam.org

Volunteer! (Coming Soon)

Pretty soon we’ll be offering a variety of volunteer opportunities for members of the community who want to get involved.

Apply-a-Thons in which groups of volunteers work one-on-one with Team Members on job applications and resumes. For people without regular access to internet and computers, online applications create a major barrier to employment. This activity helps break down that barrier and is a great way for community members to interact with Team Members.

Hygiene Kit Assembly in which groups of volunteers collect all the materials for hygiene kits ahead of the event and assemble them with Team Members. These kits -- which contain things like socks and toiletries -- are used in our outreach. Again, another great way to work alongside Team Members and get to know them.

Employment Kit Assembly is the same format as Hygiene Kit Assembly (drive then assemble) but these kits contain items that will help our Team Members specifically on their employment goals. They include things like planners, notepads, pens, post-it notes, document holders, etc).

Environmental Cleanups in which community members work alongside our Team on beautifying the community. Like the other opportunities, the most valuable part is getting to know and interact with Team Members, but this one has the bonus of cleaning up the environment.

Customize Your Volunteer Experience: we love to create new volunteer opportunities based on the interests of our volunteers. We have worked with photographers, artists, writers, environmental stewards, and others to create unique opportunities. Let us know what you have in mind by completing this form.

Contact Director Greg Pensinger if you’re interested in volunteering. Greg@streetsteam.org