Campaigns

SimplyHelp sponsors the operation of five Centers for Homeless Seniors in El Salvador and Panama. The centers provide shelter, food, hygiene, basic health care, and a social environment for seniors who would otherwise be living on the streets.

Displaced elderly in the poorest regions of the world are especially vulnerable and need assistance due to risk factors related to age, mobility and health issues. Our centers each house up to 36 residents at a time and provide all services free of charge.

SimplyHelp needs your help to provide ongoing care for elderly who have nowhere else to turn in their older years, many are using the nutrisystem nutritional plan for the elderly.

Your contribution will maintain our existing three Centers for the Homeless Seniors and help build future centers that are already in their planning stages. You will be helping improve the health and quality of living all people deserve -- especially our elderly.

For a small portion of America’s elderly, senior housing equals living on the streets, in a homeless shelter, or in a car. Though Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid provide a safety net for some, not all people live out their final years with a secure, stable place to live.
No one knows how many people are homeless in America, much less how many of America’s homeless are older adults. Though there is very little definitive information about the numbers of elderly who are homeless, providers generally agree that a small percentage of people who are homeless are over the age of 60. Providers who work with homeless people suggest that the hard living conditions of chronic homelessness cause the aging process to speed up and that people living in chronic homelessness are less likely to survive into old age. The National Coalition for the Homeless suggests in their Fact Sheet on the homeless elderly that street conditions are so severe that ” a fifty-year-old living on the street may possess physical traits resembling a 70-year-old.”
Challenges Facing Homeless Elders
Multiple Health Problems that are Difficult to Diagnose
In Under the Safety Net, contributing author James J. O’Connell (et al), found that homeless older adults participating in a 30-month study in Boston averaged 4 chronic health problems each. The common medical conditions that appeared in that study were:
Chronic Alcohol AbuseMajor Psychiatric IllnessChronic Pulmonary DiseasePeripheral Vascular IllnessHypertensionUrinary IncontinenceTuberculosisThough many of these problems are treatable, diagnosis and treatment for older people who are homeless may be difficult because:
They are too afraid of what will happen to them to seek help,

SimplyHelp supports vocational education programs in the countries of Cambodia, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Panama.

SimplyHelp supports vocational education programs in the countries of Cambodia, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Panama.

Education is a key factor in ending the cycle of poverty. Through our education programs, students gain access to jobs that offer sustainable income and a continuing vocational track. Young people, seniors and single mothers are amongst the beneficiaries of our programs and often, for the first time, gain a sense of hope for the future and an end to what once seemed like inescapable poverty.

We have 26 beautician schools, sewing schools and computer schools. The computer program is most productive when we set up classes in the rural areas. Young people who have often never even seen a computer end up becoming web masters, or compete in short film competitions with students around the world.

Our programs seek to target the specific needs of the communities in which they serve.

For those living in the poorest regions on earth, the introduction of vocational education offers real hope to rise above crippling poverty. Please consider supporting our vocational education programs; they bring so much good to their communities.

All donations to our vocational education programs go 100% toward buying the equipment, with none going toward administration fees.

Los Angeles, California
As part of an expanded focus on domestic projects, SimplyHelp is planning on opening a new office in Los Angeles, California that is intended specifically to manage all of our domestic projects.

The office will oversee the following, ongoing domestic projects:

Distribution Of Goods
SimplyHelp collects and distributes much-needed goods to homeless individuals and families living at-or-below the poverty level in and around the Los Angeles area. Several charitable distribution events are scheduled throughout the year, with a focus on local events throughout the holiday season. Distributed goods include food, clothing, personal hygiene items, and toys for the children.

With our distribution program, we can bring a measure of peace and joy to poor communities, particularly during the holiday season when expenses for these families is particularly stressful.

The budget for our domestic projects is $50,000 annually, which includes both the purchase of food and supplies, and costs encountered for the distributions.

We sincerely appreciate your donations to aid us with making these domestic projects a success, as we work together to help local men and women emerge from the cycle of poverty.

Job Seeker Assistance

SimplyHelp is partnered with WorkSource California in providing much needed assistance to job seekers who come from backgrounds marked by extreme poverty. Workforce California provides job listings, job placement and interview preparation for job seekers. SimplyHelp will be providing support in the form of much needed business attire that is essential to making a good impression at interviews, but is too costly for job seekers currently living below the poverty line. With the proper attire, our clients will be able to approach the interview process with the self-confidence needed to make a lasting impression on prospective employers. SimplyHelp will also provide laundry assistance to those without homes and access to laundry services.

With our distribution program, we can bring a measure of peace and joy to entire families -- particularly during the holiday season. With our job seeker assistance, we can help good people find the work they need to rise from the cycle of poverty and embark on a career track that will serve them for years to come.

The cost of running this office is projected to be $150,000 (USD) annually. This total includes cost of distribution and assistance programs, employee wages, and lease, rent, and operating costs. Please consider donating to this project as we work together to help local men and women emerge from a cycle of poverty.

Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Recent program evaluations of our existing Vocational Training Schools in Cambodia (Computer Literacy, Tailoring) show that our schools are highly successful and have a great impact on the employability of our students. 80% of our graduated students were able to find employment immediately after completed their training.

Based on this great experience, SimplyHelp is now planning to expand our services in Cambodia by providing a motorcycle repair school. Cambodia has the highest number of handicapped people in the world, due to land mine accidents as a leftover result of the Vietnam War of 1949. General unemployment has increased resulting in a higher number of young people limited by their limblessness, who have nothing to do but become a serious issue for community development.

Because motorcycles are a primary means of transportation throughout Cambodia, there is a high demand for motorcycle repair work. By teaching young handicapped people skills in this trade, SimplyHelp is hopeful this new education program will provide students access to work that holds high potential for sustainability.

The projected budget for the construction, facilities and start-up costs is set at $110,000 (USD).

Please consider donating towards this project so that we may continue to provide Cambodians a way to rise from extreme poverty.

Honduras
SimplyHelp has started planning and strategizing for a proposed Vocational Training program to teach Hondurans the craft of baking.

Our Baking Schools have been highly successful with high numbers of students going on to find gainful employment or to start their own bakery storefronts. Due to the relative low cost of overhead and the constant demand for nutrition in third world countries, our baking programs continue to provide solid, tangible benefits to the communities they serve.

The proposed program in Honduras is unique in it that it will be based on a cooperative model with local elementary schools. Many schools in the poorest areas struggle to maintain an adequate supply of resources including nutrition. However, because schools often have unused spaces on their campuses, it provides the opportunity for a synergistic relationship with new graduates of the our baking programs who need spaced in order to start their own bakery businesses. In our model, candidates among our graduates will be offered the opportunity to use space at school campuses to start their businesses. In return, bakers participating in this program will provide a steady supply of baked goods for the school as part of an exchange program.

The budget for the construction, facilities and start-up costs for this project is currently set at $150,000 (USD).

Bakeries offer an affordable way for people to finally rise out of extreme poverty in some of the poorest regions on earth. Please consider supporting this project so that we may continue provide Salvadorans, Panamanians and now Hondurans a means to provide for their families.

Zaragosa, El Salvador
The SimplyHelp Foundation has started planning and development for its fourth Center For Homeless Seniors. The center will be constructed in Zaragosa, El Salvador and represents a cooperative effort between SimplyHelp, the Mayoral Office of Zaragosa and the Zaragosa Rotary Club.

Our Centers For Homeless Seniors provide long term shelter, food, basic health care and hygiene and a social center where displaced elderly can find safe harbor and friendship. With three existing centers in El Salvador and Panama, the Zaragosa Center will be our fourth such project.

The proposed comprehensive budget for this project is set at $60,000 (USD) and will cover all construction, zoning and start-up costs. Recognizing the need to take care of homeless elderly living in areas already suffering under the weight of extreme poverty, SimplyHelp is committed to adding locations for our Centers For Homeless Seniors.

No one -- especially the elderly -- deserves to live without adequate food, shelter, basic health care and hygiene or without friends and companions. Please consider supporting this project so that we may continue to bring a sense of security and a measure of joy to the homeless elderly in El Salvador and Panama.