Urban Compassion Project Bridges Services to Unhoused People

UCP’s work in Oakland has lasting effects and giving them more resources will only help! Also the founder is wonderful!

They make personal connections to people they are helping. UPC is confronting the real challenges Oalkand’s unhoused face.

having more financial support.

It focuses on treating the people and their issues with compassion and dignity.

This organization is doing so much to show that kindness and compassion can bring together people from all walks of life to help both the unhoused and the housed by taking action to be part of the solution for one another and to shed light on a complicated issue.

It involves the community and working side by side with its members to find solutions for this problem.

UPC has a proven track record of making a difference in the lives of both unhoused and housed Oakland residents. It makes sense to find a program that is already working and will be able to make even more of a difference with funding

It is grassroots.

If provided a direct solution for unhoused populations

UCP treats our unhoused neighbors as partners as opposed to a problem that needs to be fixed. They are one of the only orgs that addresses issues taking into account the opinions of the folks impacted most by it

It’s raising awareness and educating people about a cause that’s so important and yet many are under informed about it

I am so grateful that Vincent started this project and created an effective place for all the compassionate individuals in the city to address the issue of homelessness head on.

it's people on the ground actually doing the work of making the community cleaner, safer, and better for everyone.

All stakeholders are involved in making it happen so there is robust buy in. Please give it funding so it can do even more good in the world!

UPC is a great organization. They really care about the homeless and do their best to find housing for some of our most vulnerable citizens. They can do more with increased funding versus having to find funding for individuals one at a time. Oakland will benefit from this dedicated group of individuals.

It is absolutely vital that we take care of our unhoused citizens. I enjoy helping out about once a month as these are my neighbors and I value interacting with them. Vincent is a gem among people and deserves to be paid for the dedication and work he does. And these people deserve our respect and a clean place to live.

UCP restores dignity to the unhoused and their work is vital to the community!! Unlike any other org!

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The UPC is working towards helping others helping themselves allowing those within the community to become involved and become part of the solution.

I started learning about Vincent Williams and the UCP during the pandemic. Based on my own experience working with unhoused/formerly homeless folks,I know that it takes time and patience to build bridges to learn their needs (as they define them) and to assist them in accessing services. The UCP team, operating on a shoestring, is doing remarkable work with amazing dedication. Given their track record, they could accomplish much more with additional resources.

I have been volunteering with this organization for almost two years and I can speak to its impact. Vincent and the team are incredible.

This organization connects directly with the unhoused and don't make assumptions as to what their needs are! They provide much needed connection, discourse, and support for our unhoused neighbors!

it’s symbiotic and also UCP provides a way for concerned citizens to be directly involved with solutions in the face of problems that seem to have none.

Collaboration is key to helping the people who live in these encampments feel empowered to continue UCP’s work. Rather than telling them what they need to do, UPC listens to them and builds relationships that create trust and real change.

Urban Compassion goes out into unhoused communities and listens to people about their needs. They don't make up solutions and impose them, they work collaboratively with the community to design and implement improvements to living conditions. I have seen their work and it is excellent. In addition to providing basic services, I also appreciate how they help unhoused communities deal with the blight of urban dumping which targets campgrounds.

It provides true, real life and immediate solutions with compassion

It makes our city better for everyone - the unhoused as well as the housed.

This is certainly a human rights crisis and this project can help set up these human beings for success and treats them with human decency. I admire that it is volunteer-based and provides a very reasonable budget.

I know UCP and the dedication. The owner used to be homeless and truly knows what needs to be done.

UCP brings a compassion-based solution to the needs of our unhoused citizens, and they have been able to make great strides with limited money so far, so I’m looking forward to seeing what they can do with greater funds

This is a direct, boots-on-the-ground program whose benefits are immediately evident. Ideally, there are multiple policy solutions being pushed forward in Sacramento and Washington DC today, but those can take years to pass and take effect. Meanwhile, UPC is making real, tangible, and measurable progress on these important human issues right here, right now.

I’ve volunteered with them and their impact (with barely any funding now) is incredible. Think of what they could do with more!

Please support upc, they are wonderful!

Vincent Williams is an inspiration. I’m simply amazed by this organization and what they’ve already accomplished cleaning up and being a compassionate liaison and active help for houseless.

Incredible organization!

Brilliant and effective solutions!

Solves a problem that impacts not only individuals, but the entire community. This is a systematic problem that needs to be addressed and UCP is doing this!

UCP has a relationship and community based approach that is incrediblly authentic and inspiring for everyone who engages with it.

The community needs this support in all ways possible. If this is just the beginning, I anticipate their future impact.

Compassion driven with focus and drive.

It is less by someone with significant experience of being unhoused and the approach and solutions are based in the dignity of those living on the streets. It has a proven track record of impact and funding would enable this volunteer-led program to stabilize and be sustainable for Vincent and for Oakland.

This is an amazing organization. I volunteer with them once a month. The amount of trash they remove is astonishing. They also build connections with the housed and the unhoused. Because of this organization I feel more comfortable talking to my unhoused neighbors. UCP’s building bridges approach is inspiring.

The UPC addresses a lot of complex issues in a way that puts unhoused peoples needs first. Vincent works tirelessly to connect unhoused people to other services and builds trust in these communities by clearing dumped trash out of the streets. This gives the unhoused the dignity of cleaner healthier and safer spaces.

I have volunteered with UCP and seen firsthand how the organization takes a community-first approach. The head of the UCP himself was unhoused and understands innately the needs of this population and how to create sustainable change. They have cleaned up more trash than Oakland city itself and with funding can make an even larger impact that will help not only the unhoused population but all residents of Oakland the surrounding areas.

This is a great organization. I donate to them monthly. Partnering with the unhoused, building trust and providing services to the unhoused is a win win for the community. Their proven track record and results is why I donate to them and the City should too. The City should provide this organization funds to ramp up to provide an even larger operation. Their founder is an inspiration and shows what people can achieve when they find community and purpose.

Helps people connect with the unhoused communities and help by removing illegally dumped materials and any other trash.

I have seen firsthand Vincent and team in action. They’re compassionate. They’re relentless advocates for our unhoused neighbors. And they’re doers. This program works.

These volunteers are dedicated to preserving the dignity of the unhoused as they seek to help them in whatever way they are willing to accept

UCP is born out of the Oakland community and thus has an extremely grassroots oriented approach. Through its cleanups and social support services, UCP is the perfect resource to uplift unhoused residents

UCP brings a compassionate approach to unhoused folks in Oakland, and is led by someone who actually lived on the streets and knows what it is like to have your community turn its back on you. UCP has an individualized approach that is successful because it centers on the person being helped rather than the person helping—we care!

This is a proven solution that works! Please help provide some funding to these folks. We need to be creative and have as many options as possible to clean up this city - garbage and homelessness such as Tiny homes, using empty lots (Alameda naval station, and services provided to help people transition to living in a decent manner.

UPC could do more with increased funding. Everyone agrees that the debris created by illegal dumping and living outdoors without infrastructure for basic human needs creates a host of issues. UCP directly addresses those concerns and, with more money, could be considerably more effective in building communities and cleaning up the neighborhoods we all housed or unhoused live in.

It provides direct impact onto the lives of both housed and unhoused community members. By improving both health and safety (through trash, bio-waste, and sharps cleanup) and the environmental impact of waste and illegal dumping buildup. UCP also connects with the residents of encampments before, during, and after the clean ups to see what they services they need, connect them to housing resources, and keep tabs on developments within that specific community.

It provides direct impact onto the lives of both housed and unhoused community members. By improving both health and safety (through trash, bio-waste, and sharps cleanup) and the environmental impact of waste and illegal dumping buildup. UCP also connects with the residents of encampments before, during, and after the clean ups to see what they services they need, connect them to housing resources, and keep tabs on developments within that specific community.

It is empowering, inclusive, effective, and direct action-based. It creates opportunities for community members on all sides of the issue to make a positive impact on our communities.

It solves more than one problem and helps people feel a sense of purpose.

Increased funding and partnership from the City and willingness for long-term solutions

It employs citizens working together to keep our beautiful city clean and creates a sense of community between volunteers and those without housing.

UCP does what other organizations only talk about. They spend time on the ground helping those in need without passing judgment or attempting to implement counterproductive measures. They address suffering at its source and help those in unimaginable situations claim back some of their dignity. Rather than throwing money and policy at the problem, they make a real tangible impact by doing the hard work needed.

After being frustrated for years by the worsening trash and homeless situation in Oakland, I read an article about Vincent and his group and I thought, well, here is somebody actually doing something about this rather than just being upset. This prompted me to volunteer and I have seen firsthand the amount of work this group does and the consideration and relentless advocacy they bring to our fellow humans living unhoused.

We need more solutions built around what the unhoused folks of Oakland actually need, not what housed people THINK they need. Vincent and UCP do just that!

Increased and steady funding of UCPs work. It'll provide not only for the equipment needed in the work but would allow for members like Vincent to dedicate their time wholly to the project. Thus increasing the time dedicated to improving the lives of the unhoused in Oakland and improving the trash and illegal dumping situation in the city.

Greater funding, broader awareness and involvement from all!

They need all the funds they can get.

Increased and steady funding of UCPs work. It'll provide not only for the equipment needed in the work but would allow for members like Vincent to dedicate their time wholly to the project. Thus increasing the time dedicated to improving the lives of the unhoused in Oakland and improving the trash and illegal dumping situation in the city.