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Debi*

Debi is a survivor of domestic violence and currently on parole after serving nearly two decades in prison. After being incarcerated for so long, Debi was unsure how to navigate resources and find what she needed to reintegrate herself into the community. “As a parolee, I’ve discovered a very changed world than the one I left behind.”

“Your organization is incredibly vital to people who need access to reliable community connections in order to build lives they can be proud of.”

Debi discovered One Degree through a resource center in San Francisco that helps low-income individuals overcoming addiction. Through One Degree she has been able to find information on housing in her area, places to get food during the holidays, information on food banks, and more. She especially likes the way that One Degree follows up with members. “One Degree reaches out to inform me of topics that may be relevant to me.” At One Degree we always want to make the most relevant resources available to communities, which is why we create seasonal collections every year and keep our members informed through email updates.

Debi currently works as a server at a restaurant, and intends to continue her college education to make a career change in the near future. She believes that One Degree is a great place for people to start looking for the resources that they need in order to make a change. “I am grateful for the information I have found on your site. Your organization is incredibly vital to people who need access to reliable community connections in order to build lives they can be proud of. Thank you!”

Drea*

Drea is a working mother and a survivor of domestic violence who lives with her two young children in Hayward, California. Before she discovered One Degree, she was frustrated by the social services process. “In the Bay Area, getting help in general, you get all these phone numbers and never hear back,” she said. Unpredictable Google searches and outdated information prevented Drea from accessing the resources that she needed.

“One Degree is your resource center. ”

After getting housing through Compass Family Services, a worker there referred her to One Degree. What she found was that One Degree addressed many of the issues she had encountered with searching for resources before. With the help of One Degree, Drea was able to find other programs to help her with her job search, and she used the platform to keep them all in one place.

Given her own experience, Drea hopes that more people would use One Degree, “One Degree is a one-stop shop, better than going to all these different websites.”

Since we last spoke with Drea, she has been volunteering at CalWORKS and the South Hayward Parish food pantry winter shelter. She has held her position as a case manager for two years at the First Presbyterian Church’s resource center for people who are experiencing homelessness! Since she has experienced homelessness before and understands how it is, it makes her feel really good to be able to help people in this way. Drea would like to highlight the Bay Area Legal Aid, Hamilton Families, Compass Connect and Catholic Charities as resources that have been greatly supportive. She is excited to keep sharing One Degree with her team with a weekly workshop to share how “One Degree is your resource center. Boom!”.

Freeway

2017 was a year that presented Freeway with several painful hardships. She was involved in a major car accident and shortly after, lost her housing, job, and custody of her children. Freeway emphasized that one of the most difficult challenges was not being able to see her girls.

One day, at a pop-up event in Oakland, a One Degree representative shared the One Degree mobile application with Freeway. Soon, Freeway was quickly able to take advantage of One Degree’s diverse options of Opportunities for various needs. She was able to be connected to a Syringe Exchange program, access free food from Punks with Lunch, and receive essential medical attention at the Trust Clinic.

She thinks that One Degree has been a great help to her life, and would recommend others to get the help that she did on One Degree. Freeway has become an expert on the One Degree platform, leaving notes and reviews to help other Community Members navigate resources.

“We were faced with bleak, dismal circumstances and we couldn’t see things working out well for us. With little more than the clothes on our backs and faith in our hearts, we headed west.”

Gladis

Gladis is grateful her three children were able to continue working at their respective jobs during this past year of uncertainty. In addition, she feels fortunate to rely on her family to pay monthly rent because her workdays were reduced to only 3 per week.

She came to learn about One Degree in February 2021 when she, unfortunately, tested positive for COVID-19 and was provided information about our services. She used her mobile device to find local food banks to make healthy meals at home. Gladis saw a large amount of support offered, and in her own words, “ there are many people who don’t know about these great programs, and it shouldn’t take someone getting COVID to learn about them. ”

Gladis continues using One Degree and has connected with Los Angeles Regional Food to enroll in CalFresh, and she’s also filed for Unemployment Benefits to receive financial assistance .

Gladis is grateful that her three children have been able to continue working at their respective jobs during this past year of uncertainty. Also, she feels lucky to depend on her family to pay her monthly rent because her working days have been reduced to just 3 a week.

You learned about One Degree in February 2021 when you unfortunately tested positive for COVID-19 and were provided with information about our services. He used his mobile device to find local food banks to prepare healthy meals at home. Gladis saw a lot of support offered and, in his own words, ” there are a lot of people who don’t know about these great programs, and it shouldn’t take someone getting COVID to know about them .”

Gladis continues to use One Degree and has connected with Los Angeles Regional Food to sign up for CalFresh, and has also applied for unemployment benefits for financial assistance.

Tierra

Tierra is a single mother who was referred to One Degree by a Nurse Practitioner at a shelter on Skid Row in Los Angeles. When we met Tierra in November 2018, she was using One Degree to look for housing for herself and her 5 year old daughter. Before she found One Degree Tierra was trying to find resources by knocking on doors up and down Skid Row. “Everyday is a fight for housing and everyday I’m coming out here… Without One Degree I was feeling low in spirit because I just didn’t know what to do.”

Tierra was determined to find housing, and was certain she could make it happen with hard work and a positive attitude. After downloading the One Degree app, Tierra was able to access resources that helped her find affordable housing, as well as summer and winter programs for her daughter. Now that she and her daughter have housing, Tierra has more time to focus on her career.

Six months after she started using One Degree Tierra reached out to us: “Fast forward 6 months later we finally housed! I’m working on my license and I have a job.”

Two years after being on Skid Row, things have really improved for Tierra and her daughter. Looking back on that time in her life, she said that she was “so glad I had you during that time. To know I had some type of hope and ended up getting me out of that hell hole”. She is now sharing an apartment with her mom and daughter, she just got a new car, she acquired her MLS license, and she is now a licensed loan officer! She is also “so excited about paying rent now… I want [my landlord] to see this money, honey!”.

Jake

Jake is 41 years old, identifies as transgender, is disabled, and loves to spend time with his dog. Before finding One Degree he was struggling to find the disability benefits he needed. He spent a lot of time scrolling through Google to find resources, but he wasn’t getting the results he wanted.

“It really changed my life.”

When Jake found One Degree he hoped that it would be a good resource for finding disability benefits. What he discovered was that the resources on One Degree helped him find multiple types of benefits – the disability benefits he needed as well as housing, wellness services, and pet assistance. Jake was also able to make sure that the resources and organizations that he found were queer-friendly, which was extremely important to him. He was also thrilled that he could use One Degree on his phone. “The fact that there is a mobile app is amazing.”

Since using One Degree to help get the resources he needs, Jake can spend more time outside with his furry friend and go to the skatepark. He hopes that more people start using One Degree, and he has spread the word by telling his friends to download the app. Jake is proud to say that he is no longer homeless, and he is thankful that One Degree helped him get to this point. “It really changed my life.”

Lola

“We are just trying to survive, but right now, this situation we are living in is making it very difficult.”

Lola suffered a work-related accident several years ago and was able to briefly receive disability leave. She knew that these benefits would end promptly, and had saved a year’s worth of disability benefits to help cover basic living expenses for her daughter and grandson. Now that her family of three has used their savings to cover basic living expenses, they have experienced even greater difficulty paying bills during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Luckily, Lola heard about One Degree through Facebook in May 2020 and has been using the website to search for resources ever since. One of the first ways she used One Degree was contacting help@1degree.org, our Member Support email where we provide extra assistance finding resources to those individuals and families that need it. One Degree staff quickly connected Lola to organizations and services near her that addressed her needs for food and rent assistance. 

“I continued to search for other resources on One Degree. I started looking for places where I could receive food, and I found some addresses and was able to access a church’s food bank.” The Salvation Army and various churches were able to provide a steady source of free food to Lola and her family. Lola encourages others to use One Degree because she believes that it can relieve a lot of stress for people that are facing similar financial challenges.

Lola sufrió un accidente laboral hace vario años y pudo recibir brevemente una licencia por discapacidad. Ella sabía que estos beneficios terminarían rápidamente, y había ahorrado un año de beneficios por discapacidad para ayudar a cubrir los gastos básicos de vida de su hija y nieto. Ahora que su familia de tres ha utilizado sus ahorros para cubrir los gastos básicos de vida, han experimentado dificultades aún mayores para pagar facturas durante la pandemia COVID-19.

“Nosotros sólo estamos tratando de sobrevivir, pero este momento, esté situación en la que estamos viviendo está haciendo muy difícil. ”

Afortunadamente, Lola escuchó sobre One Degree a través de Facebook en Mayo de 2020 y ha estado utilizando el sitio web para buscar recursos desde entonces. Una de las primeras formas fue contactando help@1degree.org, nuestro correo electrónico de Soporte para Miembros, donde nosotros proporcionamos asistencia adicional para encontrar recursos a las personas y familias que lo necesitan. El personal de One Degree conectó rápidamente a Lola con organizaciones y servicios cercanos a ella que se abordaban sus necesidades de alimentos y asistencia de alquiler. 

“Yo continué buscando otros recursos en One Degree. Yo empecé a buscar lugares donde pudiera recibir comida, y encontré algunos direcciones y pude acceder a un banco de alimentos de una iglesia.”

El Salvation Army y varias iglesias fueron capaces de proporcionar una fuente constante de comida gratuita a Lola y su familia. Lola alienta a otros a usar One Degree porque ella cree que puede aliviar mucho estrés para las personas que se enfrentan a desafíos financieros similares.

Geronimo*

“One Degree has a big heart for us seniors.”

After contracting COVID-19, Geronimo is battling serious complications with pneumonia at the age of 66. He describes himself as a hard worker and someone who is searching for a better life for himself and his loved ones. He immigrated from El Salvador to support his family financially – it’s been a challenge being here by himself, but he’s a strong advocate for his needs and knows that people are placed on his path to provide support.

Due to the pandemic, Geronimo’s work hours at a local restaurant were reduced and it’s been difficult for him to find affordable housing. His doctor connected him to One Degree, where he’s accessed food banks like Angelica Lutheran Church, Los Angeles Food Not Bombs, and Food Oasis. Additionally, he connected with HOPICS, where they’ve helped him move into temporary housing while supporting him in finding permanent affordable housing. He sees many in his community who could benefit from One Degree services and would like them to know that “the only part they have to do is ask for help – their perspective on life could change”.

Geronimo plans to obtain legal immigration assistance and knows he can take these steps with the support of One Degree and the wonderful people working at local organizations. 

“One Degree tiene un gran corazón para personas mayor de edad.”

Después de contraer el COVID-19, Geronimo Martínez todavía está luchando contra graves complicaciones de neumonía a la edad de 66 años. Se describe a sí mismo como un buen trabajador y alguien que busca una vida mejor para él y sus seres queridos. Emigró a los Estados Unidos desde El Salvador para mantener económicamente a su familia; ha sido un desafío estar aquí solo, pero es un firme defensor de sus necesidades y sabe que hay personas en su camino que le brindaran apoyo.

Debido a la pandemia, sus horas de trabajo en un restaurante local se redujeron y le ha resultado difícil encontrar una vivienda asequible. Su doctor lo conectó con One Degree y ha logrado obtener asistencia alimentaria de la Iglesia Luterana Angélica, Los Angeles Food Not Bombs y Food Oasis. También se conectó con HOPICS, quienes han podido colocarlo en una vivienda temporal mientras lo apoyan en la búsqueda de un hogar permanente. Ve a muchos en su comunidad que realmente podrían beneficiarse de los servicios de One Degree y les gustaría que supieran que “la única parte que tienen que hacer es pedir ayuda; su perspectiva de la vida podría cambiar“.

Geronimo planea obtener asistencia legal de inmigración y sabe que puede tomar estos pasos con el apoyo de One Degree, que lo conectará con personas maravillosas que trabajan en organizaciones locales.