Celebrating 4 years of The United Effort Organization on July 1, 2024!

“We need to help people find safe housing and public assistance!” said Wei and Claire, then-volunteers at local non-profit Hope’s Corner. Amid the pandemic, they co-founded The United Effort Organization with their friend Julie on July 1, 2020. Since then, the nonprofit organization has served over 900 individuals and families experiencing or at risk of homelessness in Santa Clara County, thanks to the support of compassionate community members, volunteers, and donors.

Women-founded and volunteer-run, The United Effort Organization is a diverse team with a range of experiences, united in their commitment to eliminate inequities. Volunteers include professionals – with backgrounds in law, education, finance, technology, business and medicine – as well as students, and people with lived experience of homelessness. In addition to client management, volunteers have developed self-service tools and resources that are freely shared on theunitedeffort.org so that everyone has the opportunity to reach their full potential.

The United Effort is successful because of its holistic approach to client success and team of dedicated, knowledgeable volunteers. For example, Charlie, our first volunteer, works at a non-profit in San Jose and has never missed a Saturday volunteering session since July 1, 2020! With a heart of pure gold and tech-savvy skills, Charlie excels at finding the right services to help each client navigate a highly complex system.

James, another of our first volunteers, brought lived experience of homelessness to our team. While visiting Hope’s Corner, he helped others, began volunteering there, and advised The United Effort Organization. Today, he is housed, employed, and continues to volunteer with The United Effort, giving back to the community that supported him.  You can read James’s story on our website.

One of our early clients was Mikey, who had been unhoused for about 30 years. Struggling while living in a tent by a creek, he wasn’t able to focus on his health or find housing. Thanks to Wei, Claire, Charlie and James, The United Effort helped him find housing under the Permanent Supportive Housing program. Mikey now has his own studio apartment and strives to be a life-long learner, volunteering and helping others. You can read Mikey’s story on our website.

Thank you to our many volunteers and generous donors who have contributed to our successful service to our clients over the past four years!