The Bay Area's push to end homelessness reached new heights on Saturday.
A slew of mayors and tech executives rappelled down the 236-foot Adobe headquarters in San Jose.
Downtown Streets Team, a nonprofit that uses an employment-driven approach to combat the epidemic of homelessness, organized the daylong fundraiser titled “Downtown Drop Down: Go Over the Edge to End Homelessness,” according to a statement.
The goal?
To educate people about homelessness plaguing the Bay Area and other parts of the state, and collect $275,000 to support those who don’t have the means to keep a roof over their heads.
"Downtown Streets Team has a very inspiring model," San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo said. "We're actually having former members who have been working cleaning out cities getting hired now by Groundwerx, Caltrans and other employers, and they're finding their path to self-sufficiency through work. It's wonderful to see."
The primary push is to help homeless people in San Jose, Sunnyvale, Palo Alto, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Hayward, San Rafael and Novato, the statement said.
Local
More than 90 people, including Assemblyman Ash Kalra, Liccardo, Sunnyvale Mayor Glenn Hendricks, Palo Alto Mayor Greg Scharff, Councilman Raul Peralez, Supervisor Cindy Chavez, and Adobe Executive Vice President Mike Dillon, rappelled down 16 floors of the 345 Park Avenue building. Executives from Google and Nextdoor were also on hand.
Live music and dance performances and food trucks were part of the lineup.
