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Jodie Francisco, SRES, a real estate agent with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties in Sherman Oaks, Calif., has always felt called to help solve the problem of homelessness. “My job is to house people, and it’s always bothered me that we have this huge homeless population—and it keeps getting bigger,” she says. “I’ve learned that homelessness is a complex problem that can’t be solved easily, but I’m going to do what I can to help.”
Francisco has spent over a decade working with various organizations in Los Angeles County to help eradicate homelessness. Each year, she helps organize a toy drive that was started by her local radio station to benefit LA Family Housing, which offers transitional and permanent housing options to the homeless. She spent time coordinating the donations for LA Family Housing’s “Winter Wonderland,” an annual event held for families who rely on the organization’s services. “I work the event most years as a volunteer elf,” Francisco says. “The families get to see Santa and make crafts. There’s movies and popcorn. They also get to pick out a few toys and have them wrapped for the holidays.”
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The radio station is no longer a part of the Beatles-themed toy drive, but Francisco decided to keep it going on her own. Now she coordinates the entire effort, hosting it at a local restaurant and seeking donations from local businesses. “Last year, I just thought I’d reach out to Ringo Starr’s camp and let them know I was doing the toy drive. I thought why not?” she says. Their response completely shocked her. They sent over a slew of items, including Beatles box sets, socks and backpacks, a yellow submarine guitar case and a limited-edition Raymond Weil watch. “It was incredible! We ended up doing a silent auction for those items and raised $2,200 for LA Family Housing on top of the toy donation.
Last year, Francisco also managed to bring in Lawrence Juber from Paul McCartney’s band, Wings, who performed an acoustic set at the toy drive event.
Francisco also volunteers with the Get Together Foundation, a California-based nonprofit focused on providing resources to underserved youth and families, including securing housing. Francisco serves on various fundraising committees for the organization.
In addition to her volunteer work, Francisco focuses on eradicating homelessness through her local government and advocacy work with the California Association of REALTORS®.
Each year, Los Angeles County does what it calls a “homeless count,” taking stock of the number of unhoused people living on the streets to help quantify the need. Francisco has long volunteered with the LA Housing Services Authority, which is responsible for the count.
Back in 2018, when the count was completed and returned to the authority, Francisco noticed a major discrepancy. “The count noted that there were 34 people living in the basin area near Lake Balboa, which is a huge park in Los Angeles with a large homeless population. I knew that number was wrong.”
Francisco organized a small team of volunteers to perform her own count. “We counted between 500 and 600 people,” she says. She brought the numbers back to the county in an accountability effort—and she has served as the chair of the county’s homelessness committee ever since.
Francisco is heavily involved in advocating for housing at the local level and helping people understand housing-related legislation. For CAR, she serves as the key contact on housing issues for two state senators.
Francisco says she knows her effort alone won’t solve homelessness, but “it’s just part of what I do. I want to try to make a difference. Whether it’s educating people on the [legislative] bills, giving back to the community or working with the local housing authority. I just have to do what I can to help figure out a way to solve this problem.”
