San Francisco Bay Area

AREA SERVED

The San Francisco Bay Area is a combined area of 7,051,906 people across nine counties. The region has an average official poverty rate of 10%, and estimates indicate that 1 in 5 people are unable to meet their basic needs in some counties.

BACKGROUND

Rey Faustino was inspired to start the organization and founded this original chapter through his experience growing up in a working-class Filipino immigrant family in Los Angeles. While his parents worked multiple jobs to make ends meet, like many new immigrants, his family still faced the challenges of meeting their basic needs, such as health care, educational programs, and immigration services. Knowing where to go for help was simply too hard.

After moving to the Bay Area to work at a nonprofit organization serving low-income high school students, Rey saw that very little had changed in the social service sector in 20 years. While technological advancements and companies like Facebook, Google and Yelp were thriving, nonprofit and social services continued to use three-ring paper binders, and technology was not being used to benefit vulnerable communities. Rey founded One Degree to ensure everyone has access to the critical, life-saving resources he and his family needed.

Los Angeles County

Los Angeles County, California, has a population of approximately 10,105,722 people, and an official poverty rate of 17%. An estimated 25% cannot meet their basic needs here in the most populous county in the United States.

The Los Angeles Department of Health Services (LA DHS) brought One Degree to the county in 2017 as part of its Whole Person Care program. The program is a five-year initiative that brings together health and social service providers across the county to build a more community-centered system of care. The One Degree platform makes it easier to coordinate care for low-income and at-risk Angelenos.

As a full-service chapter, the One Degree team worked closely with LA DHS to build a comprehensive database of 8000+ resources, which is also available for free to any community organization, government agency, or nonprofit in LA County. Practitioners across the county also have access to One Degree’s robust features for professionals, which enable them to make, manage, and keep track of social service referrals for their patients and clients. Learn more about full-service chapter packages.