What if someone was just one plane ticket away from reuniting with family, re-establishing roots, finding a home and the comfort of friends? What if one fare can release an impoverished individual from the binds of homelessness? This is the case for some within the homeless community who have lost contact with their loved ones, who are displaced from their homes, and through a series of unfortunate circumstances have landed on the streets without a support structure. Day by day, becoming increasingly estranged and diffused into the general mass populations of the homeless.

Feathers For Flying is a project that aims to support striving individuals who are on the road to regaining social independence; these are responsible, goal-orientated individuals who strongly desire to achieve their fullest potential and only a few practical obstacles are standing in the way of success. It is these few vital things once identified and provided, will give the individual in need a precise boost to rise untethered and ultimately take flight on their own accord.

Our focus for this project is on developing the following services and to connect with potential sponsors willing to partner with us to help provide them.

Finding a Way Home

Most individuals who are homeless have immediate or extended family members, some will have resources and are capable of financially supporting the individual. They can at least provide a place to stay and regular meals for sustenance—an environment that is much more hospitable then being on the streets, subject to stress, violence, crime, and a host of other nefarious activities. If a plane ticket, a ride on a train, or bus fare was the only bridge needed for someone to progress from the streets and arrive at a more stable, familiar environment, to be with family, then it seems the benefit far outweighs the cost of a one-way transport fare. In some cases, this can provide an immediate and long-term solution to homelessness by reuniting displaced individuals with family and friends, thus re-establishing the support structure that acts to prevent displacement in the first place.

Keep the Wheels Rollin’

For clients proactively seeking work and has jobs lined up but requires reliable transportation, perhaps all that is needed is a temporary means of personal transportation to/from a work site in order to obtain and sustain a steady stream of income. Over a short period of time, one can potentially save enough funds to purchase a personal vehicle to achieve greater self-reliance and release the services to other individuals just beginning to walk the same path that one has already traveled. In this case, we’d like to provide free vehicle leasing for a definite period of time to help individuals obtain a reliable mode of transportation to commute to work and/or other agencies providing vital social services. In that time, we will work closely with the individuals to keep a pulse on progress, to ensure the success of individual long-term goals for self-reliance by focusing on successive short-term achievements, and to develop a time-line that will help individuals stay on track toward completing the primary objectives.

Subsidized DMV Registration & Insurance
Clients who already own a vehicle sometimes may run into unexpected financial hardship that limits their ability to properly pay for assessed DMV registration fees or insurance premiums. This threatens access to one of the most vital resources that is connected to many other dependencies. We’d like to assist clients who experience these circumstances of financial upheaval by temporarily subsidizing DMV fees and insurance premiums to provide interim relief which may prevent accumulation of fees due to late payment while enabling clients to legally drive on the road.

Fuel Vouchers
Additionally, a client may just be a tank of gas short this month and is unable to commute to work due to the shortage. This one event has the potential of spiraling out of control to the detriment of the client’s financial/social stability. By providing precisely what is needed at the time in which it is of critical use, we can effectively prevent a potentially negative financial/social domino effect. We’d like to issue “fuel vouchers” that clients can use to re-fuel their vehicle at a local fueling station, providing for needs when it is most needed.