About Facing Homelessness

Facing Homelessness began its journey in 2010, with a belief that we can and will end homelessness when we invite community to be a part of the solution. The power in humanizing homelessness is that it allows all of us to see the beauty of each person living on our streets, rather than fixating on the complexity of an issue that overwhelms us. This realization became evident to our founder, Rex Hohlbein, when he began inviting folks living homeless into his architecture office for conversation. He shares that, “The negative stereotype against the homeless was not matching up to the beauty of those I was meeting.” From those encounters Rex began the Facing Homelessness Facebook page, sharing black and white photos with stories of people he was meeting. In 2013, what began as a passion project on social media took shape as a nonprofit organization, powered by three staff and the compassion of community. To this day, Facing Homelessness honors a simple purpose: To invite all of us to come closer, and to contribute our unique passions and skills toward the effort of ending homelessness.