by Peter A. Arthur-Smith, Leadership Solutions, Inc.®

“Leaders don’t create followers, they create more leaders.” Tom Peters, author of ‘In search of Excellence.’

In our prior article about Micro-Finance Enterprises, we reviewed the possibility of such entities providing an opportunity for dealing with our growing homeless and downtrodden population. Once you’ve successfully established one Pod A, where it is providing gainful work and support for its participants, then cities and counties can consider expanding the concept to meet their overall need.

One of the key reasons why these Micro-Finance Sheltered-Enterprise communities have greater chances of success than trying to integrate these people into regular organizations is: there’s bound to be a degree of natural reticence about hiring such people. By setting up enterprises led and staffed by the same people, such barriers are reduced from the get-go.

At some point, with the right perseverance and mindset, our initial Micro-Finance Sheltered-Enterprise, Pod ‘A’, will become self-sufficient and begin to pay minimum required wages for part-time or full-time participants. It will aim to build a credible ‘leadership team’ from those same homeless, downtrodden participants – see later about Community Hub. It will still have pro bono professional accounting, legal and business advisors on its advisory board – along with a professional city/county social worker – to help guide its growth activities. Once it’s making a surplus, it can even consider hiring a full-time professional Visionist to help along its integration and growth needs. The founding homeless-downtrodden leader, who will have been working alongside its advisory board to get it over the breakeven hump, can then work as its Co-Pathfinder to assist with frontline-contributor communication…key with such a population.

Also, as Pod A begins to generate a surplus, it can consider paying the pro-bono threesome ‘courtesy’ fees or grant them a small equity stake in their Pod enterprise as a reward for their start-up, pro-bono efforts. It’s also recommended that, if and when the Pod reaches the 150 participant size, it should then appropriately divide and begin creating other Pods. Maybe by that time the city or county has already initiated other desired Pods in the south (B), east (C) or west (D) of its domain; or wherever appropriate.

Where the need is greater than that, they can always build another fresh cluster of six Pods. They can then draw upon city and county funding, local donations and, at the right time, even some sponsorship from other Pods. Again, start-up Pods will not begin paying wages or salaries until they are beyond breakeven. Moreover, each Pod will have its advisory board of three pro-bono professionals – plus professional social worker – to encourage trust within cities, counties and communities at large: as well as educate participants on the most authentic way to build a prosperous Pod.

At some point, these City and County sponsors will donate a centrally located Community Hub – at a nominal rent – to be increasingly funded by its cluster surrounding Pods, to act as a common center for meetings, learning and recreational activities. As much as possible such a Hub will be financed by the various Pods within that Sheltered-Enterprise Community and run by a Board; comprised of Pod leaders and nominated pro bono accounting, legal and business professionals along with a senior professional social worker – as a city/county representative. (NOTE: It’s recommended that these professionals are rotated out every three years to encourage fresh perspectives and energy.)

This Community Hub will also operate as a learning center for all Pod participants, where every participant within the Cluster will be expected to accrue a minimal number of discovery-learning hours – say 30 hours per year – to remain qualified as a participant. For leaders, it should be at least 40 hours to cover their Team Leader or Strategist education. This Hub center can also operate as a social and recreational facility to offer Cluster-participants as much of a fulfilling life as is practicable. It may also have limited use as a health center, too.

Such Pods may never be able to pay full-market wage rates, since they will be funding their Pod facilities, Community Hub and providing funds for tiny-home or shelter materials, craft materials, maintenance expenses and daily feeding requirements for their participants. But at least it allows them to continually reduce their dependence on surrounding regular communities for financial support.

Again, those individuals requiring special mental and physical health support will be channeled toward existing city, county and community facilities until they are fit enough to work within Pods or come up with some another appropriate solution. And so the Clusters and Pods will develop according to local City, County or Community needs and present the following advantages:

» Provide outlets for homeless and downtrodden people to gradually become productive members of society.

» With initial micro-financing through cities, counties, and local donations: to create tiny-home communities along with weekly food and craft fairs as income generators for feeding and supplies.

» They will also eventually contribute funding for a Community Hub to provide meeting, learning and recreational facilities for all leaders and participants within the Cluster.

» Sponsoring Cities and Counties will provide professional social workers to work alongside Pod leaders – drawn from among the homeless-downtrodden people – along with having an Advisory Board comprised of local, pro bono accounting, legal and business professionals.

» Clusters will contain up to six Pods and each Pod would consist of no more than 150 people to encourage tight, fraternal communities, minimize the need for bureaucratic systems, and suppress the appetite for negative politics. They will also be built on heterarchy rather than hierarchy principles. Consequently each cluster will have the capacity to absorb up to 900 frontline homeless-downtrodden participants.

» Participants with health issues can be handled by existing City, County or Community services.

Ultimately, this larger Micro-Finance Sheltered-Enterprise concept is designed to gain a community foothold and then build over time to provide employment, organized shelter and recreational activities for homeless and other under-served community members. Where there’s a will there’s a way: we just have to find the way.  At least this article starts an alternative discussion.

To find out more about an engaged and involved approach, talk with: