Employee homelessness? That’s a thing? I can understand why you are confused.
When the media talks about homelessness, they’re usually referring to the stereotypical homeless person. Someone battling a mental health disorder or an addiction, living in a tent in squalor, unbathed and unruly. But that segment of the homeless population, called the chronic adult population, is actually small: less than 16% of all Americans battling homelessness.
A far greater number look more like you or me. They are employed, but living paycheck to paycheck. They are often raising a family with young children and trying to keep everyone safe. And they are hiding. They don’t want to be associated with the image of homelessness created in the news media. And they are afraid that if someone finds out they are homeless they will lose their job.
Employee Homelessness Is Widespread
In the United States, 64.4% of employees live paycheck to paycheck, including more than half of employees who earn over $100,000 per year. That’s because the cost of living, particularly in major cities like the ones in which Major League Baseball stadiums are located, has skyrocketed in the last few decades.
When I was just starting out in the work world, I lived paycheck to paycheck, too. I worked in the hospitality sector, and I spent more than half of every paycheck on housing and utilities. Fortunately, my parents were my safety net. If something had gone wrong, I knew I could count on them to help.
But for 11% of Americans, they don’t have a safety net. They don’t have friends or family members of means who could help them out. Or savings. Or the ability to borrow. They simply can’t handle unexpected expenses. But we all have them, just about every year. And that’s the most common cause of employee homelessness.
Most Employees Can’t Access Government Housing Programs
While the government spends significant amounts of taxpayer dollars on homelessness, they generally prioritize the individuals they consider to be in the worst condition. These include people with significant barriers to finding housing, including mental health and substance use disorders, disabilities, and long histories of homelessness. This isn’t a surprise, as this is the most visible subset of the homeless population, and taxpayers are often concerned about these individuals.
But it doesn’t help employees who are also experiencing homelessness. As a result, employees must find housing solutions on their own. This causes problems at work – and can even cause them to lose their jobs.
Most working-age Americans experiencing homelessness were employed when they lost their housing. They lost their job because they had to move to find less expensive housing, or they were distracted by their financial distress at work and couldn’t do their job well, or they had to quit in order to access government benefits.
This cycle is expensive to employees – and to employers. That’s why Wellspring Family Services recently launched a new, innovative employee benefit program called the Employee Stability Program.
Wellspring Employee Stability Program: An Innovative Solution for Employee Homelessness
The Wellspring Employee Stability Program (ESP) is an innovative employee benefit, sold to employers by Wellspring Family Services, a nonprofit human service agency. The program has two components: confidential case management and financial support.
All employees are able to access case management services delivered by experiencing housing stability specialists with training in financial coaching. Employers pay for this benefit on a fee-per-employee basis.
Financial support is available to enrolled employees whose households earn 80% or less of Area Median Income. This is the definition of low income under the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Donors fund this component of the program, with support coming from employers, employees, and the general public. Wellspring makes payments directly to third-party vendors, such as landlords or utility companies, so that the payment remains non-taxable to the employee and the employer.
The Employee Stability Program is designed to maximize the benefit to employees and employers. Because we are a nonprofit whose mission is to end employee and family homelessness, we can help employers and employees by accepting tax-deductible contributions and helping to support employees in need. As a provider of Employee Assistance Program services, we designed the program to work hand-in-hand with the employer’s EAP, maximizing the return on existing services. As a human service agency with deep expertise addressing family homelessness, we know how to help an employee who is facing eviction or experiencing homelessness. And as a result, we expect that employers who offer the Wellspring Employee Stability Program will generate $3 to $10 in savings on productivity losses and turnover for every $1 invested.
Of course, since Wellspring is a nonprofit, it means that if we generate a profit it will help advance our mission of ending homelessness. It also means that funding for innovation and new product launches is scarce. That’s where you come in.
Home Runs for Housing Will Help Wellspring End Employee Homelessness
Home Runs for Housing is a fun way to help us bootstrap this new employee benefit program. The funds you pledge will help Wellspring launch this program and attract new clients. They will facilitate the investment in technology to support operations and pay for start-up related costs. And they will allow us to seed the financial support funds for employees in need.
Every dollar makes a difference, so please consider making a pledge today. Based on 2022 statistics, we expect to see about 54 home runs over the course of our trip, meaning a $1 pledge will provide $54 in funding for Wellspring Family Services. Feel free to add in a limit when you make your pledge, or just pledge a fixed amount in our campaign. Then keep an eye on our progress. We’ll update the site with the number of home runs we see, and the amount of funding we have raised.
When we return home in September, you’ll get an email from me letting you know how much your pledge translated to in terms of a donation. I’ll provide you with a link to a Wellspring Family Services donation page, and your donation will go directly to Wellspring, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Thank you, in advance, for helping Wellspring end homelessness for employees across the United States!
