Jun 18 2014
Today was not your typical day at the White House. Five years after one of the worst economic crises of our lifetimes, DIY is in full force on the Rose Lawn for the first-ever White House Maker Faire (#NationofMakers). By building and tinkering, the Maker movement is changing the face of work and manufacturing across America, and the President is on board.
Marc Roth and The Learning Shelter—fiscally sponsored by the Institute for the Future—are part of this inventive economic transformation. His is not your traditional job-placement program or story; The Learning Shelter is prototyping new forms of opportunity, bridging the gap between modern technology and homelessness.
President Obama said today that DIY and maker activities give us the sense that “we are at the dawn of something big.” And that “as a country we ought to be doing what … Marc is doing every day …. making sure that more Americans have the skills and opportunities to land a job in a growing industry or to create entirely new industries.”
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Nov 24 2014
Happy Holidays from The Learning Shelter and its participants!
We'd first like to thank everyone who helped make The Learning Shelter possible for an initial class of 5 homeless. The first class came out of our pilot program on August 15, 2014. All 5 found job placement after the program!
We've got update videos coming out soon featuring Marc and some of our participants, their stories, and what they're doing now, so look out for those soon. Sign up for our email list or follow us on Facebook to receive those updates!
Dec 8, 2015
In November 2011, Marc Roth spent the last of his savings on new work clothes. Two months after moving to San Francisco in search of a sales-engineering job, he had finally secured employment, and a six-figure salary, at a Web development company. But when Roth reported for his first day of work, the company stalled. Two days later, they told him he no longer had a position.
The lost opportunity was just part of a string of bad luck. Roth’s car—his home at the time—was robbed and its windows broken. He had to quit his temporary job, at a pizza restaurant, because nerve damage prohibited him from standing for extended periods of time. Finally, on December 1, Roth found a bed at a city homeless shelter. Roth applied for welfare and began moving between shelters. That’s when he overheard a conversation about TechShop, a workshop whose members receive access to tools, education, and other resources. Roth spent nearly all of his city-assistance cash on a membership.
By then, Roth was staying at the Multi-Service Center South shelter, which kicked out its residents at 8 a.m. Others complained, but Roth loved it. “Every morning I would be smiling outside of TechShop, waiting for the doors to open at 9 a.m.”
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