As the Bay Area begins to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, the houseless community has received inadequate support. The homelessness rate in California is projected to increase by 68% in the next 4 years, primarily due to the large amounts of layoffs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and small business closures. Many people have been forced to foreclose their homes, couchsurf, or live on the streets. According to a survey conducted by Mercury News, homelessness is currently recognized as the number one issue of the Bay Area. We high schoolers at the nonprofit Bay Echo recognized the need to address this severe crisis and created HEVI.

 

Environmental efforts have also been impeded throughout the pandemic. Government programs, individual donations, and volunteers have all been focused on the public health crisis. Small local nonprofits have shut down due to a lack of funding, and those that are still open are struggling to keep up.

 

HEVI aims to address both these issues by engaging the homeless community in reliable forms of employment that simultaneously support environmental initiatives.