JA: Nonprofit donates basic income to 100 people experiencing homelessness
SAN FRANCISCO - A former tech entrepreneur's innovative idea has reunited hundreds of homeless people with their families. Now, he's expanding into a groundbreaking support system that's one of the largest privately-funded pilots for people experiencing homelessness.
Kevin Adler has a powerful new way to wrap his arms around people experiencing homelessness.
When we first met him five years ago, the entrepreneur left the tech industry, started recording videos of people who were homeless and posted them on social media.
His nonprofit, Miracle Messages, had re-connected more than 120 families. Today, he's reunited more than 700 unhoused people with loved ones.
Now, Adler's nonprofit is going a step farther. It's giving more than a million dollars to 100 people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco, Oakland and Los Angeles County. Each person gets $750 a month of "basic income" for a year. The program is called Miracle Money.
"It allows our neighbor experiencing homelessness to have that much more stability and that much more of a chance to get off the streets and stay off the streets," Adler said.
One of Miracle Money's first recipients, Timothy, a former firefighter from Seattle who's employed in social work but spent the last ten months homeless. He tells Adler that the monthly income helps him get back on his feet.
"You made it so I could sign a lease last Thursday," Timothy said.
"Really?" replied Adler. "Give you a hug? Come here, brother. Congratulations."
Timothy tried to articulate how he felt.
"Housed! You can't describe the feeling. You're safe," he said.
Housed after 46 rejected rental applications. Safe after moving from two dozen hotels to stay off San Francisco streets.
"I slept on the ground for 47 days, and on day 47, they took a clunk out of the back of my head with a nine iron," Timothy shuddered, describing the assault.
Miracle Money recipients also become phone buddies with a volunteer who calls or texts weekly for critical encouragement.
We were there as Kevin met his phone buddy, Andres, in person for the first time, with hugs. Andres says he fled gang-related assassins in Honduras. But at the Mexican border, he scaled, then fell over the wall into the US.
Four surgeries later, Andres says via translator that Kevin's friendship keeps him going, "He gets down, so it's important for him to know he has a friend."
Adler added, "He's trying to do it, get his life together, his work. He's blessed me with our friendship."
And then the Miracle Messages founder shares a surprise: Andres was randomly chosen to receive Miracle Money.
"I can't believe it, I can't believe it!" Andres exclaimed through a translator
Andres calls the $750 a month gift a blessing from God that could help him secure housing or an immigration attorney.
For Adler, changing lives stems from a changed perspective:
"Being able to trust our neighbors experiencing homelessness as people to be loved, not problems to be solved, because when you love people, problems get solved," he explained.
"Kevin is a miracle worker," Timothy added. "He's doing what other people can't, what some of us would like to do, but we're not in a position to."
So folks can keep moving one way: toward brighter futures.