EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Homeless Self-Help Employment Program, Inc. (HoSHEP) is, with its ART & ENTREPRENEURIAL PROGRAM, in the situation of one who has found a gold mine and does not have the funds to exploit it.

The 64 HoSHEP members who are artists and craftspeople have a body of work worth millions. This "art collection" has been developed even before November 1992, HoSHEP's inception year.

What we are looking for is:

1) a space. We need to assemble our art in one place and transform it into a workspace, a gallery and a shop.
2) frames and pedestals to make the artwork presentable to the New York community of artists, but also to collectors, dealers, gallery owners, and museum curators who will come, see it, and buy it.

For the time being, this work is in the hands of its multiple makers and manufacturers who happen to be without homes. They wander the streets with their work. When they live in shelters, the art is under their beds. Some of this work may never be seen by the general public or get the attention it deserves unless, yes, unless we get a little help from CITIBANK.

ART IS GOOD INVESTMENT

As Vice President of New York City's Art Commission Reba White William puts it, art contributes in helping New York:
1) retain its advantage as the preeminent state and city in the quality and quantity of its arts;
2) bolster the appeal to tourists,
3) attract industries dependent on the arts (advertising, architecture, design, fashion, media, and publishing).
Homeless art, which is a genre of its own, must have a bigger part in this contribution.

In a statewide study titled "YOU GOTTA HAVE ART", the consulting firm of McKinsey & Co. reveals that in 1995, the state invested about $65 million in the arts, New York City invested $91 million and other public sources combined invested about $197 million. In return, the state received tax revenues of $480 million, New York City $221 million, and other city and county governments $761 million--all directly attributable to arts activities. That works out a return on investment of approximately 700%, 240% and 380% respectively.

Homeless arts can contribute more to the state product. Homeless artists are a labor force. What works for the arts in New York can work for homeless art. What works for the arts in New York can work for the arts in America. HoSHEP works so that these facts are not overlooked.

THE ENTREPRENEURIAL PROGRAM TODAY

HoSHEP moved in the 180-room Greenpoint Hotel on July 8, 1997. HoSHEP's mandate was to outreach for Artists-Without-Housing (AWH) in preparation for a homeless art show that AWH wished to stage at Penn Station before taking it to all Amtrak terminals across the country.

AWH involved Praxis Housing Initiatives (Praxis), the Greenpoint Hotel owner, for two reasons:
1) Praxis was to provide a space to store the art. In this space, the selection process for the Penn Station show was to be conducted;
2) to satisfy HoSHEP's ambition to build a community of refuge for homeless artists and an entrepreneurial program within that community.

SPECIFICS OF THE ENTREPRENEURIAL PROGRAM

Beside making art (collages, paintings, sculptures, drawings), HoSHEP's entrepreneurial program also sells our ideas and maquettes to companies able to mass-produce them in the form of postcards, toys for children, clothing, posters, bumpers, and prints on t-shirts...

Also, from time to time, we bump into a homeless musician or song writer with genius. He composed fascinating songs five, ten years ago, but never had the necessary and appropriate exposure to get them to even be listened to by a record label. HoSHEP wants to be the organization that provides such exposure and opportunity to homeless artists, allowing them to be discovered by the industry.

NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED

The agreement of understanding (included) signed by AWH, Praxis and HoSHEP included a workspace where artists and craftspeople could not only work, but also store their work. We find the Greenoint Hotel to be an extraordinary place to develop a community of homeless artists. The (180) rooms where residents sleep and collect themselves are there. A community room where residents congregate to play cards, chess, watch television, or simply chat, also exists.

What never materialized was the workspace. We never had a shop because of a terrible misunderstanding: HoSHEP held a workspace to be part of the package; AWH hoped to rent a workspace for a small amount of money, but Praxis asked $1,000 a month to rent out the space. This situation created a lot of confusion and frustration.

TARGET POPULATION

HoSHEP's Art and Entrepreneurial Program targets artists and craftspeople without homes.

Being homeless means more than lacking a fixed residence or not having a secure place to sleep. It is having no place to store the things that connect you to your past or your present, losing contact with family and friends, uprooting your children from school, having to endure the shame of what is still preceived as personal failure. For some, being homeless means breaking up the family just to find lodging for the night, since many family shelters do not allow older boys to stay, and many homeless children are placed with relatives or put into foster care. Being homeless means enduring the routine indignities of living on the margins, the frustration of not being able to provide for those who depend on you, the humiliation of having to rely on the kindness of strangers, the anonymity of government assistance. Being homeless means having no center in one's life, no haven to return to, no certainty about tomorrow.

Anyone (young or adult, male or female) who falls into one of the categories described above gets HoSHEP's assistance. But deserve special attention the skilled ones who join our program and manifest the will to help themselves and others.

YOUTH AT RISK

HoSHEP believes that it's a virtue when the young draw themselves closer to their elders. In the homeless world, they see what they don't want to be when they grow up, and where they do not want to end up. Who better than these elders can warn the young about the dangers of "seeking a better life" by running away from home?

Prospective young program participants are referred to us by other youth at risk programs and shelter caseworkers willing to expose young people to art and artists, to a community of beauty, colors, and sounds, but also because we are committed to helping them fly. The young people we help are screened on the basis of their commitment to fully participate in all phases of the program. Those selected are required to sign a contract in which they agree to rigorous attendance and behavior guidelines.

GOALS AND INITIATIVES

The first thing homeless entrepreneurs, artists and craftspeople need the most is exposure. The second thing is a place to store their work. The workspace we wish to establish will provide both exposure and storage.
RESOURCES BEING SOUGHT FOR THE PROGRAM

HoSHEP is looking for space, frames, and pedestals. We believe that if we had a workspace, our entrepreneurial program would be self-sufficient in two years.

EFFECT THIS PROGRAM HAS ON CITIBANK BRANCH's COMMUNITY

Most of HoSHEP members are government aid recipients. Each gets welfare (between $210 and $660) and food stamps (between $80 and $353$) every month. They may qualify for Medicaid but it is not guaranteed.

All do not have bank accounts. Check cashing places have the bulk of the business here. HoSHEP shall bring its members to CITIBANK.

Every homeless artist sells an average of 10 art pieces a year, which is a revenue ranging from $500 to $100,000 per annum. It so happens, believe it or not, that one or two artists can be fortunate enough to sell a piece for $50,000 in New York City.

A backing by CITIBANK strengthens the community. If homeless artists know that such a backing exists, and may eventually help sell their products, this will constitute an incentive to get them to do more work, which takes them off the streets.

PROGRAM STAFFING

Mr. James S. Terrell is the executive director of the program. One of HoSHEP's founders, Mr. Terrell has been serving in that position since HoSHEP's inception. His artwork is also the most important.

Mr. Nouk Bassomb, HoSHEP's founder and president, provides ongoing supervision, support, and program review. He offers recommendations to Mr. Terrell and the program's Governing Council.

HoSHEP wishes to be accountable to all its members, supporters, advocates, service providers, and to the artists this program is designed to serve. HoSHEP was founded by homeless individuals eager to help themselves and others. If we insist that this program's Governing Council be composed exclusively of homeless individuals, it is because homeless or formerly homeless people understand the homeless better.

PROGRAM COSTS AND REQUEST FOR SUPPORT

For the moment, what we need is a space. If a space is donated, that works even better, and the cost is $0. If we get a benefactor who tells us: "I have you covered for a couple of years", the cost is still $0. But if we get a grant, we are looking for a rent between $600 and $1,000.

We request also a $4,000 grant to buy frames (to hang paintings and drawings)and pedestals (to stand sculptures).

IMPLEMENTATION TIMETABLE

HoSHEP is ready to take its duty to the next level. Once we get the space and settle in, we will:
1) gather all the work we have in that space.
2) Within a week, define a shop and the atelier.
3) Start mounting exhibitions. What is important to us is to be able to mount our own exhibitions and invite dealers and business executives to come, see our products, and buy them. In just two years, we are confident that we will provide steady income to our members.

EVALUATION OF THE PROGRAM

Membership growth, sales increase are variables with which our program, as any other business, evaluates itself. We will make sure that:
1) more homeless artists check in the Greenpoint Hotel or any housing program we are affiliated with;
2) more artists and craftspeople join our entrepreneurial program;
3) they produce more art and craft;
4) we sell more art and craft.

MEASURE OF SUCCESS

Whether we help an artist exhibit his work, find employment, or housing, we do not consider it a success unless and until he does for another homeless person what we have done for him. "Go and act likewise" is what we tell them when they thank us for the good we have done for them.