Our Work

The DST Flagship Program

For folks looking to exit survival mode and enter goal-setting mode …

The Volunteer Work-Experience Program gave people experiencing homelessness the chance to volunteer on Teams dedicated to cleaning streets, parks, waterways, and other public spaces while they charted a path out of homelessness.

Teams are led by peers with lived experience.

Streets Team Enterprises

For folks looking to enter or re-enter the full-time workforce …

Our supported employment program, Streets Team Enterprises, was a social enterprise that provided paid employment and case management for people impacted by homelessness, systemic trauma, and incarceration.

STE provides a stepping stone to full-time employment.

Streets Team Volunteer Program

DST’s flagship program was called the Streets Team Volunteers Program which invited people experiencing homelessness to volunteer on Teams dedicated to cleaning streets, parks, and other public spaces while they charted a path out of homelessness. Teams provided meaningful structured daily activity that fostered community, kindled confidence, reaffirmed dignity, and developed employment soft skills like punctuality, cooperation, and personal responsibility.

Our Services

Case Management

All Team Members in the Streets Team Volunteers Program were given access to individualized case management from trained DST Staff. Team Members and Case Managers worked together to identify and remove barriers, which could be anything that poses an obstacle to self-sufficiency.

Employment Services

Our Employment Specialists worked with Team Members to assess their skill levels and needs, and developed an action plan that includes resume building, interview readiness, communication skills, literacy resources, workplace etiquette and a sense of self-worth.

Community

Essential to the momentum of the Streets Team Volunteers Program was attending Weekly Success Meetings where Team Members were able to share successes, challenges, support, resources, and a meal. These gatherings often provided comfort, built friendships, and brought positivity during hard times.

Supported Employment Program

Streets Team Enterprises (STE) was an employment social enterprise that offered supportive employment to those impacted by homelessness, systemic trauma, and incarceration. Participant Employees built marketable skills and (re)developed workplace identities on-the-job while making a fair wage.

As Downtown Streets Team’s (DST) employment social enterprise, STE provided DST Team Members a safe and supportive step to transition into employment, while utilizing the knowledge, skills and life experience to support projects in their local community. Each Participant Employee was provided with wraparound case management, employment services, and housing linkage.

Current STE Initiatives

  • STE crews in Santa Clara County, Alameda County, and San Mateo County provided litter removal services to California Highways and roads. This program employed up to 150 individuals at a time.

  • In partnership with SolTrans, the public transportation provider of Solano County, STE Facility Technicians worked to keep transit stops clean, functional, and clear of graffiti. Facility Technicians also performed unhoused outreach in project areas.

  • STE employees, all JobTrain certified, provided a host of building maintenance services to Public Supportive Housing providers in Santa Clara County.

  • DST’s Flagship program, Streets Team Volunteer Program (STVP), featured STE employees filling leadership roles on beautification teams in each DST community.