Read Transcript 7

  • Ann: Mine is usually personal around connecting to working with—my school is pretty low income, pretty high needs. Just explaining that when you’re looking at a trajectory for a kid that you’re really worried about and trying to see something down the road that could support them because you’re feeling pretty sure that they’re going to need support, that’s why I support ATC. Just knowing it’s going to be out there.
  • Loren: My pitch is usually around the concept that I don’t think that I have amazing skills, talents, intellect more so than many others who end up without as many opportunities, chances, resources that I have. Through no fault of theirs or no benefit of my own, I happen to have something that they don’t. As a result it makes you appreciate the fact that anyone could be hard on their luck in the situation that they haven’t been able to control and therefore end up somewhere that they don’t want to be. ATC gives that opportunity to them to see beyond, reach beyond, and land beyond their current trajectory which is truly powerful in terms of its ability to move the needle for so many.
  • Ann: Well, I do have one other connection. I always cry when I talk about it, though. A student from my school is an ATC client and he’s on one of your newsletters. It was just so powerful to me because I’ve been supporting you guys. I got my newsletter and I opened it up, I’m like, “I know you.” I think it solidified even more for me. I’m such a crybaby.
  • Loren: Man, I think the power in that is the fact that homelessness—the challenges that ATC is really here to address—it is personal. It is close to home.
  • Ann: It really is.
  • Loren: It’s not this problem that is way over there and we’re doing something to help folks that we’re not connected to.
  • Ann: And I think San Francisco, especially, because it’s so tiny, you’re so mushed in with everyone that you can’t really go too far away from being part of humanity.
  • Loren: You never know what might happen in someone’s life where the rug is pulled out from under them. Recently my cousin struggled with homelessness, stayed in a shelter for a while. Fortunately she’s out and in more stable housing but at the same time it’s very easy for a large portion of the Bay Area to potentially be in a situation where they’re not able to have that stable housing. It is personal. It is close to home. We can’t ignore it.