The Scalable Model
Win Win Win Win for Society
The ASOH model addresses two major social crises: homelessness and the environment. We match excess consumer goods with those in need through a seamless process that adds value to every participant, at every step.
Reduce Landfills
Volunteers and participants gain improved well-being and productivity
An Aged-out foster youth gains a sense of home and a sustainable tenancy
Reduction in homelessness
Everyone is Changed from the Experience
The Home Creation experience is as life changing for volunteers as it is for recipients. Witnessing the power and impact of humanity coming together to create a beautiful home (which is a radical transformation in and of itself), while also bearing witness to a life transformed, in only 90 minutes, can serve as a catalyst for a conscious awakening while also acting as a gainful learning experience on homelessness, poverty, race and inequity. For more information, please visit Impact on Volunteers.
A life filled with a sense of meaning, an increased sense of social connection and a decreased sense of loneliness are essential components to a healthy, happy life, according to Dr. Shira Gabriel at SUNY – University at Buffalo. Dr. Gabriel sates “My research suggests that activities sponsored by A Sense of Home are likely to be associated with an increased sense of social connection”.
The greatest happiness gained is from giving when a life is transformed, according to the research of Dr. Elizabeth Dunn (the happiness expert). Dr. Dunn states that the highest form of giving is creating a home for a stranger and witnessing the transformation. “We’re more likely to experience joy from helping others if we really feel connected with the people that we’re helping. Second is impact. If we can see the difference that our good deeds are making, that seems to really unlock the emotional benefits of generosity.”
Care and attention from “strangers” makes the beneficiary feel uniquely special, seen, heard and understood; they feel like they matter. Witnessing the vulnerability and joy of strangers makes them feel more connected to humanity and increases the likelihood of trust. For more information, please visit Impact on Recipients.
Home is a Launch Pad Toward Success
APS Fellow Eldar Shafir, of Princeton University, has research demonstrating that by removing the financial burden (of creating home), an experience from which a beneficiary most likely would never recover, increases the likelihood of the beneficiary escaping poverty and hence escaping the “scarcity trap”. The work of Professor Shafir has found that “scarcity-induced focus”, caused by poverty, impedes cognitive function and creates a downward spiral of increasingly poor decision making, sinking one deeper into poverty and poor health.
The Neuroscience Institute published a study that demonstrates employees and/or students are more productive, distracted less often, less irritable, and better able to process information when living in an uncluttered, organized and functional home.
Environmental psychology (we see ourselves the way see our environment) establishes that an inspired home environment enables the beneficiary of ASOH to reimagine their future, establish more exalted goals, and become empowered to be the architect of their own destiny.
For more information, please visit Home is a Gateway to Success
© 2020 Copyright A Sense of Home,
A tax exempt charitable organization qualified under
Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Donations are tax-deductible as allowed by law.
Tax ID# 47-3814056.
© 2020 Copyright A Sense of Home
The Model - A Sense of Home