Meet Donna, manager of #theeastcut’s Downtown Streets Team. Downtown Streets Team is an innovative non-profit providing pathways to success for homeless individuals through the dignity of employment. Working alongside our East Cut team on beautification projects, DST Team Members are able to develop soft skills for job readiness, as well as assistance with resume building, receive interview clothes and take advantage of case management services. DST is a one-year transitional model, with the ultimate goal of transitioning Team Members into employment and permanent housing.Because it is #thanksgiving week, we asked Donna what she is thankful for. “Since I started with @streetsteam in July, I have worked up from Team Member (yellow shirt), to Team Lead (green shirt) to Manager (blue shirt). Throughout the #sanfrancisco program, I am only the 2nd woman to make it to a blue shirt! I am really proud of that. And now that I manage a team, it is important that I cultivate a culture where my team wants to come to work everyday – make it both fun and rewarding. I encourage my team to say hi to people as they walk by. When we first started the program in #theeastcut, not too many people said hi back. But, fear is not knowing, right? So we kept saying hi, and over these last two months, we have made friends with many of the workers in the area. When you see familiar faces on a daily basis, it gives you a sense of place and camaraderie. If we can give that back to people, as well as having the opportunity to improve our own situations, there is nothing better.” And what is Donna doing to Thanksgiving? She will be using the Safeway gift cards she receives for working to buy Thanksgiving ingredients to bring to her daughters house.
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