Concord, California Apr 1, 2021 (Issuewire.com) - A New Local Collective Wants To Help Homeless People. And They’re Actually Doing It.
When Vince Martellacci, the founder of Elevate Collective Clayton in the east San Francisco bay area, saw a post on local social media app Nextdoor lamenting the homeless population’s woes, he felt odd. Everyone had empathy, but no one suggested doing anything. Vince believes empathy + action is unstoppable, so he started a group on Nextdoor and invited people from the post. When planning the first give-back event, he was pleasantly surprised to see they all did want to and intend to help.
Vince and company planned and executed their first event this weekend: bringing not just food, but creature comforts in the form of coffee and cannabis to Concord’s homeless population. The group paid for it out of their own pockets. Now, they want to keep it up and want you to donate to their cause.
The event was a success for the group. They gave out around 20 bags of cannabis and even more food. Now, they are in talks with a local nonprofit about reviving a safe parking lot program, and planning to give out something even more important than coffee: they want to work to get their local homeless population employed.
Clayton sits at the base of Mt. Diablo in the east SF bay area and is affluent. While not everyone wants to go out and do homeless outreach, everyone wants to donate. Scott and Teri, founding members of the group and a husband-and-wife team, are homeless outreach experts who live for getting out there and giving back and prove what can be accomplished when you choose action. They have been undertaking these sorts of initiatives for quite some time. Vince has a background in activism and community organizing, as well as running giveback projects.
The group spent time on Sunday driving all over Concord, CA, arms overflowing with goodies. They spoke to homeless individuals, making sure “everyone felt seen,” according to Vince, whether that meant enjoying a homeless artist’s painting in the park with him, or hanging out and chatting with the people they were trying to help. Vince adds, “It’s good to know we’re helping in more than one way. Some of these people, more than food, just need someone to talk to.”
elevatecollectiveclayton@gmail.com
Media Contact
Vince Martellacci vince@forgecollective.agency 9259937425 37 Jalalon Place http://elevatecollectiveclayton.com
