The Unhoused Initiative is an interdisciplinary collaboration at Santa Clara University that seeks to coordinate on-campus efforts related to our local homelessness crisis, as well as find opportunities for the University to be an intentional and active player in the response. The Unhoused Initiative was formed around two basic questions:
- Outward looking: Given the severity of the homeless crisis in our region, and the diverse array of responses to it, is there a niche SCU could fill?
- Inward looking: Might there be value added by bringing together the several discrete homeless projects in which we and others in the SCU community are engaged via a coordinated University-wide effort?
The Unhoused Initiative believes that there is an important and innovative place within the local homelessness responses for the University. We strive to utilize the varied resources held by SCU to support campus engagement and community efforts as we center the humanity and dignity of our unhoused neighbors.
Mission
The mission of the Unhoused Initiative is to advance community-informed engagement with the long-standing crisis of homelessness in Silicon Valley by:
- Harnessing research for effective policy and narrative change;
- Educating the campus and community and attention to cultural and structural forces driving homelessness;
- Fostering a discourse and supporting advocacy grounded in commitments to human dignity and the common good;
- Empowering individuals and institutions to better respond to homelessness;
- Offering meaningful opportunities to provide resources directly to, and collaborate with, unhoused populations; and
- Building community
Vision
The Unhoused Initiative seeks to harness University resources to meaningfully respond to homelessness in Silicon Valley through community-informed research and coursework, educational events of diverse perspectives, direct service and advocacy, with a commitment to centering the dignity and humanity of people experiencing homelessness.
The Unhoused Initiative at SCU 