We believe in a Canada that will one day, in the future, view chronic homelessness as a relic of the past – something found only in history text books and museums. In this Canada, BetterStreet no longer needs to exist.
You read that right. We want to work ourselves out of a job.
It is possible to get to that Canada. But we must be intentional in our approach. The Museum of Homelessness can only be built if there are people working across the country who believe in three core values: Radical Empathy, Strategic Discipline, and Incremental Change.
We believe.
Radical empathy
Who is the person in the room who's the hardest to feel empathy towards, and how can we see the world from their perspective? Some may say the unhoused, while others may say angry neighbours or elected officials.
We believe that people matter, no matter their life situation. To end homelessness, they deserve to be heard, empathized with, and the solution must acknowledge and support their needs where it can.
Strategic discipline
Non-profits and charities deserve the same level of professionalism that corporate clients receive. This is why BetterStreet is a business – we want you to be able to fire us, because we want your problems to be solved.
We believe that high-quality professional services can improve an organization's ability to do good work. Once we no longer provide value, we want to be let go – though we've always got your back!
Incremental change
The problems of homelessness, addiction, and deep poverty were not created overnight, nor will they be solved overnight. Stakeholders need to be on board for real, long-lasting change to occur.
We believe that the homelessness crisis can be made better, community by community, with dedicated organizations made of dedicated people doing the hard work of incremental improvement.
It's in our name.
BetterStreet
ˈbɛtɝstɹit
noun
The belief that the problems of street life can be made better; that with discipline and radical empathy, we can make incremental improvements to the problems of homelessness, addiction, and deep poverty.