Service Spotlight: Finding a Caring Home Initiative

Welcome to another edition of #ServiceSpotlight with The Smile Project where we share incredible stories of people doing incredible things in their communities. This week, we are thrilled to share the story of Manan Dua, Founder and President of Finding a Caring Home Initiative (FCHome) in Cupertino, California.

Let’s start in traditional Smile Project fashion. Give us a Happiness!

Manan: Happiness is.. knowing that something I did made someone’s day, or situation, a little easier.

Tell me about FCHome.

Manan: For over two years, I have volunteered with a local crisis line, taking calls from youth transitioning from foster care into adulthood who were facing crises. Repeatedly, I heard from these young people that they knew where shelters, food programs, and other resources were located but lacked reliable transportation to reach them. In response, I founded the FCHome Initiative, an app that provides these youth with free bus passes to these relevant resources and won 1st place in the Congressional App Challenge for CA-18. To date, 1,700 passes have been used across California, Missouri, and Georgia by 650 youth, 250 of whom are now stably housed.

I also organize food drives in areas with high rates of homelessness, such as South San Jose, which have fed over 40 families and introduced 200 new users to the platform. To fund FCHome’s work, I have organized walkathons across the Bay Area that have raised $7,000 while also spreading awareness about youth homelessness, and I have secured Patelco Credit Union as a corporate sponsor.

What is the driving force behind what you do?

Manan: Despite receiving recognition for the work I have done through awards and grants, that’s not what means the most to me. What keeps me going is the feeling I get when someone I spoke with on the crisis line, who I wasn’t able to help get transportation to in the beginning, calls back and lets me know that they were able to get to a shelter to get the wound on their leg fixed, or get a chance to talk to a therapist. That feeling is what pushes me to improve the app and introduce new features to help them, and people similar to them, further and at a greater capacity.

What does service mean to you?

Manan: Personally, I find service to be the act of helping individuals and communities solve their problems quickly, specifically the unglamorous problems that can create measurable impact fast.

Too often, I have seen changemakers set out to solve overarching issues, which is unfeasible due to various restrictions spanning finances, connections, and more. In the unhoused space specifically, I have seen changemakers try to create new shelters, get new bills passed, or raise money for charity. These solutions are helpful, yes, but I believe they take too long to be enacted, leaving these communities in crisis in further limbo.

How can people get involved?

Manan: To learn more or get involved, visit our website: fchome.info.

Do you have a favorite piece of advice to leave us with?

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”

– Theodore Roosevelt