Redondo Beach About Town: Team HOPE honored and more
Redondo students honored for homeless outreach
Four Redondo Beach High School students received commendations from Redondo Beach’s mayor and city council at a Tuesday, June 20 meeting.
The four Redondo Union High School attendees, Anna Corkery, Brooke Tokushige, Christopher Strouse, and Jordan Keith, conceptualized and implemented a homeless outreach program team, calling it Homeless Outreach for Purpose and Empowerment.
The teen’s project was not part of a school project but instead was a way for the teens to give back to the community. The project started in June 2016, with the goal of completion by the end of the school year. The students met with the Redondo Beach Police Department and other local organizations that work together to find solutions to the South Bay’s homeless problem.
After learning about the challenges of the South Bay homeless problem and Redondo Beach Police Department’s partnership with People Assisting the Homeless, or PATH, which seeks to find permanent shelter for the increasing numbers of homeless in Redondo Beach and the South Bay, the teens launched a plan to raise over $4,000 in donations over the school year to create care packages, “welcome home” kits, and food cards. They also developed a $2,000 fund to assist homeless neighbors in Redondo Beach to acquire permanent shelter.
The four students worked during the school year seeking donations from businesses, community members, family, and friends to raise the needed money for their project. Students learned firsthand the challenges facing the homeless population and the different perceptions held about the homeless population within the South Bay community. The four teens met and exceeded their goal, raising $4,998.
The students are now putting together the various care packages to be delivered to their partners, Redondo Beach Police Department, and PATH, thereby accomplishing Team HOPE’s community project to address the growing needs of the South Bay homeless population.