Episode 113: Veronika: Breaking the Cycle of Homelessness Through Empowerment and Employment

Veronika Scott, founder of the Empowerment Plan, joins the 1 Girl Revolution Podcast to share her inspiring life story and to talk about the incredible work that The Empowerment Plan does to help those experiencing homelessess and how they’re breaking the cycle of homelessness through employment. Veronika herself grew up in a family that struggled with addiction and homelessness, so she knows the difficulties that so many are experiencing first-hand. 

When Veronika got into the College for Creative Studies she was so excited to break the cycle and to “become someone new.” But her own life experiences would bring her college life and career full circle, and she would find a way to empower and support others experiencing homelessness through a life-changing college project — and now her career. 

Amidst the financial crisis just after 2008, Detroit was often seen as “dead” never to come back from the depths. TIME magazine published a cover story that pretty much said, and I’m paraphrasing – Detroit is dead. 

It was around this time that Veronika’s professor challenged her and her fellow classmates to create something that would serve a need in the community as their final project.

Veronika returned to her roots and visited a couple of shelters in Detroit – and spent time with those experiencing homelessness and after many trials and errors — she created an innovative winter jacket that could be turned into a sleeping bag. 

Through that “final project”, Veronika ended up creating The Empowerment Plan, an organization that is breaking the cycle of homelessness through employment, while also making and giving away tens of thousands of the winter jackets that transform into sleeping bags. The Empowerment Plan has created jobs for over 100 people to date and helped them transition out of homelessness, impacted over 275 children’s lives, and delivered over 50,000 jacket/sleeping bags. 

For more information on Veronika and The Empowerment Plan, please visit their website.
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