We’re Helen and Michael. We have been involved in programs and funding intended to help the homeless for more than a decade. (She’s a grant writer. He’s a donor and volunteer.) Here’s what we’ve learned that’s led to creation of this site and what we’re hoping to see grow from it.

The homeless need more than places to live.

They need their lives back (or in some cases, real lives for the first time).

To get and keep those lives, they need skills and support services, ranging from literacy to work habits to addiction recovery.

To ensure consistent access to services, it helps a lot to have a fixed address — preferably of a place to live.

In other words, “homes – with benefits.”

The programs we’ve seen that appear to be the best at providing short- and long-term help to homeless people find ways to provide homes and services.

Homes With Benefits intends to be a clearinghouse and a showcase for such programs and the people behind them, to help to grow existing programs and encourage creation of new ones.

We think that we can do this by helping to to connect those who are delivering and want to deliver such programs with those who are supporting and want to support them.

We think that we can encourage such connections by partnering with creative and performing artists and the owners and operators of venues who are looking for ways to “give back.” (We’ve both done music promotion, too.)

Of course, we need to form an official, legal non-profit, and do a bunch of other things to begin realizing these goals. But we had to start somewhere, so we’re starting here.

If you’re interested in helping, with ideas, time, money, or other resources, or just want to follow what we’re trying to do, drop an e-mail to info@homeswithbenefits.org. Real human beings will read every message and write every response. And no, we won’t share your information with any other organizations.

More to come soon. Stay tuned. Thanks in advance for any help, advice, or encouragement you’d care to provide. Oh, and please — tell your friends!

Sincerely,

Michael Dortch (http://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeldortch; http://www.facebook.com/michael.e.dortch)

Helen Volhontseff (http://www.facebook.com/helen.volhontseff)