Episode 12: "Embodiment of Love - Making Dignity Moves" with Elizabeth Funk

Guest: Elizabeth Funk – Social entrepreneur, former tech executive (Yahoo, Microsoft), and founder of Dignity Moves, which builds interim housing to end unsheltered homelessness. Her contagious optimism drives systemic change, learn more at dignitymoves.org.

Setting: Recorded at Dignity Moves’ first site, 33 Gough in San Francisco, a vibrant example of hope amidst urban challenges.

Summary

Smoke sits with Elizabeth Funk at 33 Gough, Dignity Moves’ pioneering San Francisco site, to explore her journey from tech to transforming homelessness solutions. Elizabeth, a YPO ally, pivoted from microfinance—proving for-profit models can uplift—to leading Dignity Moves, born from a YPO group’s frustration with ineffective systems. They reveal how unsheltered homelessness, costing $80,000 per person annually, can be solved for less with interim housing, slashing trauma (17% mental illness at homelessness onset doubles in weeks). Elizabeth’s data-driven optimism—backed by successes in Santa Barbara and San Jose—challenges bureaucratic metrics prioritizing permanent housing over immediate shelter. Her “solve it” ethos, rooted in love and pragmatism, creates high-vibration fields that lift residents, like a hubcap artist finding worth via Etsy. This episode embodies love in action, urging listeners to pick a finite problem and act. Explore Dignity Moves at dignitymoves.org.

Learnings

• Pick a Finite Problem: Elizabeth’s advice—tackle a solvable issue like unsheltered homelessness—offers a blueprint for impact, achievable through focus and optimism.
• Challenge Broken Systems: Use clear-eyed analysis to rethink metrics, as Dignity Moves did, prioritizing interim shelter over costly, slow permanent housing.
• Leverage Love’s Field: Create high-consciousness environments (like 33 Gough’s pancake breakfasts) to spark residents’ inner divinity, fostering hope and agency.
• Act Without Permission: Elizabeth’s “ask forgiveness, not permission” approach—launching 33 Gough despite opposition—shows bold action shifts paradigms.
• Blend Profit and Purpose: Her microfinance success proves for-profit models can scale social good, a lesson for Dignity Moves’ emerging public-private funds.

Universal Truths

• Consciousness Drives Impact: High-vibration fields, like Dignity Moves’ love-infused villages, elevate souls, aligning with Smoke’s Hawkins-scale insights.