The Homeless Not Hopeless

 

Nigeria Initiative

 

 

Homeless Not Hopeless Nigeria is a student-led non-profit organization founded in May 2020 to address the issue of homelessness and its numerous ugly consequences in Nigeria. The passion of its founder to contribute to community development through voluntary and selfless service and his timely exposure to the dark side and consequences of homelessness through John Grisham's bestseller, "The Street Lawyer", led to the creation of the organization.

 

Homeless Not Hopeless Nigeria seeks to alleviate the sufferings of both the homeless and the insecurely sheltered. Particular focus is given to the vulnerable ones such as pregnant women, nursing mothers, children, and senior citizens. The organization also aims to mitigate the current negative impact and prevent the projected future consequences of homelessness in Nigeria. 

 

MISSION:

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The mission of our organization is to provide hope for the hopeless homeless by undertaking alleviation projects and simultaneously advocating for a reduction in the rate of homelessness in Nigeria.

 

GOALS: What we hope to achieve by 2025.

 

• Directly impact the lives of 1,000 homeless people through our outreach programs including but not limited to a malaria eradication project, a mental health awareness project, and a safe drinking water project.

 

• Impact the lives of 500 secondary school children between ages 11 and 18 by creating a strong awareness of one of the leading causes of homelessness - substance abuse and addiction. This way we tackle potential homelessness.

 

• Indirectly reduce the incidence of homelessness by at least 10% through our advocacy projects which include: an annual public awareness and advocacy march, writing frequent letters to relevant government agencies and policymakers, and holding critical discussions with stakeholders and philanthropists to influence them to create and implement policies and/or take steps aimed at reducing the rate of homelessness in Nigeria.

 

OBJECTIVES: Activities aimed at achieving our goals.

 

• Public Awareness and Sensitization Campaign

 

1. Bi-annual visits to secondary schools to educate students on the dangers of substance abuse and addiction, which is one of the leading causes of homelessness and destitution. By doing this, we are proactively tackling potential homelessness.

2. Publication of well-researched monthly articles that not only sensitize the public to the issue of homelessness but also discuss the best ways to effectively tackle it.

3. An annual public awareness march aimed at building compassion for the homeless in the hearts of the masses.

4. Weekly distribution of sensitization flyers on our website and all social media channels. These flyers can be downloaded and shared to further amplify our awareness campaign. 

 

• Outreach Programs

 

1. Distribution of insecticide-treated mosquito nets to the homeless and technically homeless in mosquito-infested areas as part of our effort to end malaria which, according to the Biomedical Central Journal on Malaria, kills about 300,000 people in Nigeria every year. Here, we focus primarily on women and children, as they are most vulnerable to malaria.

2. Embarking on safe-drinking water projects in disadvantaged communities without access to potable water, and have to make do with contaminated water. This will help eradicate water-borne diseases such as cholera which, according to the Anadolu Agency report on cholera, killed 3,598 Nigerians in 2021 alone.

3. Mental health awareness programs for homeless people who suffer from marginalization and psychological distress due to their living conditions. Our target demography here is the senior citizens.

4. Partnering with emergency response organizations to provide relief materials for victims of floods and other disasters which threaten their homes, livelihood, and physical and mental well-being.

 

• Solution-Oriented Research

 

1. Partnering with research interns/volunteers to research, through the utilization of credible and verifiable sources, the nitty-gritty of homelessness and how best to tackle it. This will provide us with the best methods of tackling the issue.
2. Consultations and deliberations with inhabitants of disadvantaged communities to get first-hand perspectives of the problems they face and how best we can be of help.
3. Engaging in conversations with experts, academics, and thinktank who are invested in tackling homelessness to tap from their wealth of knowledge and experience in the field.
4. Publication of the results of our findings on our website for the perusal of the public. By doing this, we are providing resources to aid anyone in understanding and tackling homelessness.

 

• Advocacy

 

1. Writing frequent letters to members of legislative houses, encouraging them to sponsor and propose bills aimed at alleviating the suffering of the homeless.

2. Pressuring political leaders to support policies and programs aimed at reducing homelessness and poverty in Nigeria.

3. Pitching our research findings to philanthropists, government organizations, and other NGOs to influence them to help in the fight to end homelessness and poverty.  

 

 

Why We Decided To Tackle

 

Homelessness

 

 

There is no gainsaying that there are numerous problems in the world today. These problems include but are not limited to climate change, natural disasters, wars, poverty, racism, and homelessness. While there are several governmental and non-governmental organizations already tackling most of the aforementioned world problems, more needs to be done to solve the problem of homelessness and its negative impact, especially in Nigeria.

 

It should come as no surprise that about 150 million individuals in the world are homeless, it is even more appalling that about 1.6 billion people worldwide live in inadequate shelter. In Nigeria alone, over 25 million people are either homeless or living in inadequate shelters. This represents about 1/8 or 13% of the country's entire population. Dishearteningly, this number has been projected to double in the next five years if quick but sustainable steps are not taken to solve the problem. Homeless people are also adversely affected by numerous problems. This is where we, a student-led organization of young change-makers passionate about community development, come in:

 

• The National Coalition for the Homeless reported that substance abuse is one of the leading causes of homelessness. To tackle potential homelessness, we educate teenage students on the consequences of substance abuse. This will reduce the number of homeless people in the future.
• The Biomedcentral in its 2010 Malaria Journal, ascertained that although Malaria is endemic throughout Nigeria, it is prevalent among people who live below the poverty line. Many of these people are either homeless or live in unstable, unsafe, and unbefitting conditions. Therefore, to tackle malaria among these very vulnerable people, we embark on free insecticide-treated net campaigns toward ending malaria.
• The UNICEF, in 2021, expressed concern that over 86% of Nigerians lack access to safe drinking water. Among these people, those who live in slummy areas and rural communities suffer the most severe consequences of contaminated water-borne diseases such as cholera, diarrhea, and dysentery. To end this problem among the homeless and people in disadvantaged communities, we plan to embark on safe drinking water projects.

 

Now, as a youth and student-led non-profit with little resources at its disposal, we need your help in carrying out the aforementioned projects and others (that can be found in our OBJECTIVES above) aimed at alleviating the pains of the homeless and vulnerable people in society. You can help us either by volunteering or donating to support our cause. Together, we can create a society devoid of homelessness and its ugly consequences.