Dsquared Homes For The Homeless

Our Mission Creating a support system for the seriously mentally ill (SMI) through community collaboration, providing hygiene bags, mental health professionals, and rental assistance programs to assist those who live independently and experience a temporary setback. We seek to combat the growing homeless problem and stigmatization of those who are homeless in the state of Arizona.

Dsquared has prevented homelessness for 73 individuals through our GAP program and has awarded four educational scholarships. DSquared's Youth Development Program helps at-risk and low-income youth of Maricopa County develop life skills, create a connection to their community, and learn about philanthropic values by participating in various volunteer projects and developmental initiatives facilitated by DSquared. Youth from low-income communities often do not receive adequate support to pursue post-secondary education and are more likely to remain trapped in the cycle of intergenerational poverty. Receiving active participation from low-income communities is a common challenge faced by nonprofits and governments offering extra-curricular programs and services, as they can compete with the participant's time that could otherwise be spent working and generating income. DSquared incentivizes participation through a point program that allows participants to cash in their annual accrued point balance for a cash value that can be used to cover educational support and learning supply expenses. As
Participants can unlock and earn points by completing specific volunteer or development activities.

The volunteer projects and development initiatives focus on developing essential skills to help youth succeed academically and in their future careers while supporting the DSquared's causes to assist the homeless and individuals with serious mental illness in Maricopa County. The Youth participants will develop skills in communication, teamwork, empathy, time and project management, creating and managing social media campaigns, and more.

Examples of some of the projects and initiatives include:
• learning how to make create sleeping mats for the homeless;
• distributing Dignity Bags of resources to homeless individuals;
• learn about mental health and serious mental illness by writing an essay on the topic; and,
• develop social media skills and create awareness for individuals with Serious Mental Illness.

DSquared has also partnered with other nonprofit organizations where youth participants can participate in their volunteer programs and receive points from DSquared, such as the Guadalupe Teen Court, Midwest Food Bank, Si Se Puede, Paz De Cristo, A.B.C. Book Club.

Testimonials

Our Teen Ambassador, Karasi Colter, earned a full-ride scholarship to an H.B.C.U. College was the Phoenix Outstanding Youth of the Year, was a recipient of the Junior Achievement Award, and earned over a million dollars in scholarships largely due to her work in the homeless community with Dsquared. See her story at:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPAxTXYXg98

Dsquared has prevented homelessness for 73 individuals due to our GAP program., and has been designated as a Qualifying Arizona Charitable Tax Credit organization.