College students' perception of homelessness and community support programs

Abstract

Homelessness is a severe social issue that is facing the world today and impacts thousands of people daily. The public perception of homelessness is negative and there are a lot of misconceptions about people who are homeless. One of the popular misconceptions of homelessness is that it is because people are lazy or bad with money, but there is so much more than that.

This study and business plan focuses on identifying the college student's perception of people who are homeless, how they got there, resources available to help, and overall feelings about them. Then it goes into detail about the business plan for a potential nonprofit called, "Helping the Homeless". The business plan focuses on marketing strategy, financial projections, mission/vision statements, donor fundraising plans, and how they could make an impact. The exploratory data was collected by doing a literature search on homelessness and perception, a depth interview with a founder of a nonprofit organization called Neuro Assistance, and conducting an exploratory survey online through Qualtrics.