Statements

Mission

"The mission of First Step Staffing is to provide a pathway to economic stability through employment and retention services."

"To create opportunity and dignity through employment so everyone in our communities can THRIVE."-Vision

Background

Many national and placed-based studies, including those conducted by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, have shown that individuals experiencing homelessness consistently rank paid employment alongside housing as a primary need. However, most men and women experiencing homeless face barriers to securing employment - lack a permanent address, criminal backgrounds, long gaps without work, and more. First Step was founded in Atlanta, GA in 2007 to fill this critical gap in homelessness services. First Step Staffing, Inc. (FSS) is an alternative staffing organization (ASO) that combines the market-driven demand of contract staffing with a mission-based employment strategy to connect men and women experiencing homelessness, veterans, and individuals who have been recently incarcerated, to sustainable employment, income, and the supportive services they need to obtain and retain a job. The goal is to provide economic opportunity and a path to self-sufficiency for those otherwise locked out of the employment system.

First Step operates as both a traditional staffing company and a non-profit. We have a sales team that secures customers for whom we place individuals into their open job positions. This component of the organization including administrative operations and salaries, insurance, and all wages for the men and women and we serve is funded by income earned from our customers. Earned revenue makes up 94 percent of our operating budget. The wrap-around, support services that First Step provides (transportation, job coaching, housing referrals, and assistance, etc.) to our clients are funded through philanthropy which makes up the remaining 6 percent of our operating budget.

Our process starts with an in-depth evaluation that assesses work history, technical skills, living situations, and identifies other barriers to employment. After an in-person orientation and a one-on-one meeting with a job coach, clients are matched with an employer and placed in a job within 48-72 hours. Through partnerships with MARTA, Uber, and Enterprise Rideshare, we provide clients transportation to and from work. The First Step team also coordinates closely with other nonprofits to connect clients to other community resources and services such as housing placements, mental health services, food, and clothing needs, and more, that they need to develop a stable path out of poverty and homelessness.

Impact

Since 2007, First Step Staffing has helped empower more than 15,000 men and women out of homelessness. Combined, they earned more than $100,000 million in wages. In 2020, during a global pandemic, we employed more than 8,000 individuals who earned $42 million in wages. In Los Angeles, we employed 1,700 earning a combined $15.9 million in wages and we provided 5,356 rides to and from work.

Specifically, in Nashville in 2020, we empowered 746 men and women on the path out of poverty and homelessness. Combined, these men and women earned $2.9 million in wages. We are honored to work with employers to address local economic and workforce development needs while also help those in the community who need a hand up.

First Step's successful organizational growth is a result of years of experience in replicating and scaling our alternative staffing model. To achieve our vision of becoming America's jobs solution to homelessness, in 2015 we began the implementation of a five-year growth strategy to expand into new cities through both acquisition and organic growth. In 2018, we acquired an existing firm in Philadelphia. In 2017, First Step opened in Nashville through organic growth with an existing customer. In 2019, we opened in Los Angeles upon completing our third acquisition. In 2020, even amidst a global pandemic, we expanded Los Angeles operations to an additional location and opened offices in Trenton, NJ, and Orlando, FL.

Needs

Homelessness in America is a national crisis. A report released by the Economic Roundtable in January 2021 indicates that because of the impact Covid-19 has had on vulnerable populations, "over the next four years the Pandemic Recession will cause chronic homelessness to increase 49 percent in the United States." Similarly, this month, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development released its 2020 Annual Homeless Assessment. It found that between 2019 and 2020, homelessness increased nationally, and their count was conducted before the global pandemic hit! The assessment also found that people of color are significantly overrepresented among people experiencing homelessness.

Unfortunately, the same is true regarding the most vulnerable population statistics. African Americans are over-represented relative to the general population when it comes to poverty, homelessness, and incarceration. African Americans make up 13 percent of the general population, but 21 percent of people in poverty, 40 percent of homeless people, and 30+ percent of males in prison.

Housing is part of the solution, but it alone cannot end individual homelessness. Housing and income are inextricably linked. One cannot sustain housing without a stable income and vice versa.

CEO Statement

"If you walk into one of our offices, you'll have a job before you leave. Our goal is to get people to work as quickly as possible. Quite simply, if they don't work, they may not be able to eat or afford a place to sleep that night."

Board Chair Statement

"Our business model works in every major metropolitan area in the U.S. that has a staffing agency and a homeless population. It's a proven model to end homelessness."

Service Categories
Primary Category:	Employment  - Employment Preparation & Procurement
Secondary Category:	Human Services  - Homeless Services/Centers
Tertiary Category:	Public & Societal Benefit  -

Areas Served

TN - Davidson