Guest Blogger Jeff Kositsky

Photo by Mark Reynolds

Jeff Kositsky, San Francisco’s Director of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, was the guest speaker at our recent DrawBridge event, and he remarked about both the state of homelessness in our area, and how DrawBridge helps kids who are dealing with homelessness in their lives.

• “Programs like DrawBridge can make a huge difference; they are therapeutic – they’re like doses of medicine.  Any interaction that a child in trauma has from a caring and non-related adult, or opportunity to participate in programs like what DrawBridge offers, actually is proven scientifically to reduce the effects that trauma has on young children.”
• “I’ve seen DrawBridge in operation firsthand…it was really amazing to see these children think not only about their current situation, but to hope and to dream about how things might be better for them and for their families, and that really was a beautiful thing, and it makes a real difference.”
• “People always ask, “what can I do to end homelessness?” and I tell them “you need to become radicals.”  There are two kinds of radical behavior I’d like to see from everyone.  The first is radical compassion.  The more that people make contact with them (homeless), give them a smile, say hello; that actually has an impact and helps our social workers to engage with them.
• “The other thing that I’d like you to be radical with is your generosity.  It is really going to take the entire community to address homelessness, and one way that you can help is to support wonderful organizations such as DrawBridge.”

DrawBridge continues to help more and more homeless and underserved children each year, expanding its scope and the number of sites it serves. In the last year we have opened seven new sites, from San Jose to Novato, and we will continue to do so, with the help of the community and supporters like Jeff Kositsky, who help spread the word about our work.

You can help too, by donating your time or money, or both!