Thomas House is a non-profit, temporary shelter available to homeless families of diverse cultural and religious backgrounds. Located in an apartment complex in Garden Grove, the Thomas House Program assists families to become self-sufficient and to provide a safe, supportive environment and resources necessary for homeless families with children to remain together while empowering them to become independent and self-sufficient.

The Problem

Thomas House Shelter has been very strategic for years forming excellent relationships with local, state and federal government agencies. With the current economic climate being what it is though, competition for each grant is greater and their is less money going out. With a primary focus on this funding strategy in place for decades though, they did not want to just start bouncing around and trying anything. Grants take a lot of work and have been effective so it was not wise to take their focus away from them just yet. They knew they want something sustainable, something that could with stand future economic and political shifts.

They also knew that the job market does not look good for their residents. Many have little or know work experience, huge gaps in their resumes and lots of personal hurdles to overcome. They need jobs that are flexible enough for them to continue being the primary caregiver at home, while also being the primary breadwinner.

They called us.

The Solution

We immediately worked out a plan to do a series of brainstorming sessions with stakeholders from their board, staff, support networks, etc. Through the course of these sessions and our subsequent research (focus groups, PEST Analysis, SWOT Analysis, etc) we developed a bold new Social Enterprise program. We created a detailed road map for funding, starting and running the business (including business plans, revenue and growth projections, staffing guidelines, ideal customer profiles, etc.) We set into motion some early stage partnerships to help ramp up the program as quickly as possible. We even designed a mock up of what the eventual physical location of the business would look like (through our partnership with the amazing architecture firm, Studio Muse).

Additionally, we designed and developed a workforce development program that would train program participants in all aspects of the retail industry including product design, manufacturing, marketing, sales, management and customer service. The program is designed in some a way as to provide income for the participants, while increasing their marketable skills to enter the workforce at a higher level than they would otherwise be prepared for.

Outcomes

This is very much a work in progress for Thomas House, but language from our strategic plan has already been used in their grant applications, we presented the plan to many of their stakeholders and they introduced it at a recent gala fund raising event. They are well on their way to financial stability for the organization and for their program participants.