“There's a bigger purpose for you.“

– Dawn Marie Rapaport

I had the pleasure of speaking with Dawn Marie Rapaport, the founder of the Homeless Engagement Lift Partnership (H.E.L.P.), transforming the lives of families with children for over 13 years. Her personal experience with homelessness fuels her empathy and dedication, driving her to help families transition out of homelessness.

We discuss:

• The birth of a life-changing organization
• The evolution of H.E.L.P. Snackz: from idea to impact
• Harnessing community support and volunteer power

The birth of a life-changing organization

Home is such a simple word for such an important concept, such an essential place. Home can take many forms, and for some, it’s nothing more than a concept. Or, if you were Dawn from the ages of 5-15, it was parks, cars, and the roofs of strangers. 

Dawn’s background lends her an intimate familiarity with the people she aims to help today, but it wasn’t always like that. After escaping homelessness through marriage at the tender age of 15, Dawn started the life she believed she wanted.

“Growing up and not having anything, I wanted to hold on to everything. I thought money and stuff were the power and the answer to everything, so I collected everything, and I had a good job, and I had the big house and the cars,” she says. “And then as my life was going on, I realized I was really missing something, but I didn't know what it was. Took me many years, many years to figure that out, and 13 years ago, it all changed.”

She saw a homeless man with a sign that read, “All I’m looking for is water,” and she heard an unmistakable voice in her head telling her there was more she was meant for—there was work she needed to do.

“I went home to my amazing husband and said, ‘We're gonna change the world!’ And he looked at me and went, ‘Okay, what are we doing?’ And we did it. We started. We weren't sure what it was gonna look like, but we stepped into it.”

And so, H.E.L.P. (Homeless Engagement Lift Partnership) was born, and from that, H.E.L.P. Snackz entered schools to cater to children experiencing types of homelessness.

The evolution of H.E.L.P. Snackz: from idea to impact

H.E.L.P. Snackz provides non-perishable bags of food to at-risk, displaced children, and has expanded from local work to multiple school districts.

“It just kept spreading and spreading, and now we're in 23 school districts serving over 300 schools with H.E.L.P. Snackz. And these bags of food have special messages for the kiddos on the outside,” Dawn says.

These messages are inspired by Dawn’s grandfather, who always had an inspirational word of encouragement for Dawn. Today, H.E.L.P. Snackz provides 25,000 bags a month to children in need.

“Some of these kids that have kept these bags after they eat the food inside, and they hold on to these sayings and read them,” Dawn says. “I ran into this one little boy that said he takes the bags and he gets them out every morning, and he reads them before he goes to school.”

The point of catching these at-risk children as they grow and mature is to stop the cycle of homelessness. The more we support and care for these children, and help them get the supplies, knowledge, and hope that can, when combined, build a better life, the less likely they are to return to the same situation later in life. 

Harnessing community support and volunteer power

The wonderful work Dawn and her team do wouldn’t be possible without the companies, churches, and volunteers who step up to the plate to help deliver these services and resources. 

“We're always looking for businesses and organizations to partner with us so we can continue being sustainable. And there are so many ways—we have programs—a business can do team building and we bring everything to them,” Dawn says, “They can do a fundraiser, and it's fun. They look good, and it's a great way to build community support.”

H.E.L.P. is always looking for volunteers willing to use their gifts and talents at events and behind the scenes. From blogging to graphic design, any skill can find a place to support the cause, no matter the volunteer's age.

“We're very, very family-oriented—it’s really nice to show, because people will come and bring their kids to volunteer, and they'll be like, ‘Really! Some kiddos don't get that meal after they leave the school grounds? They don't get to pick out their own backpack?’” Dawn says. 

Dawn aims to empower families to involve their kids, and instill that drive to contribute into the next generation to keep the community support alive.

How have you stepped into your potential for impact? What events in your life called you to step into a new direction?

Be sure to check out Dawn’s full episode for further insight, and learn more at HelpingtheHomelessNow.org!