FAQs


Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is Resolving Poverty?

2. How did Resolving Poverty come about?

3. What is Resolving Poverty's mission, vision, aims, and goals?

4. Why is it "resolving poverty" - why not "resolving homelessness", since that seems to be the objective?


5. Was profit motive always in the plans?

6. How will profits be distributed?

7. To play devil's advocate for a moment, why should others care about alleviating homelessness and poverty?

8. What's your response to claims that helping the poor afflicts them, by positively reinforcing their dependence upon charity and free-handouts?

9. How would you like Resolving Poverty to be utilized?

10. What have you learned most working with those facing homelessness and poverty?

1. What is Resolving Poverty?

Resolving Poverty is a mission-driven for-profit company founded by Suleiman, inspired by his personal experiences with brief periods of homelessness in Texas and Virginia, as well as volunteering at a local shelter in Charlottesville [watch here].

The company exists to do two things:
  • Educate people on the real causes and solutions to homelessness using research-backed insights
  • Take action by funding effective programs that help people get into stable housing

Resolving Poverty operates as a social business by selling apparel [1] and donating 100% of its net profits to Housing First organizations—an evidence-based approach proven to reduce homelessness.

All donations support U.S.-based organizations with strong track records, as recognized by platforms like Charity Navigator [2].

Resolving Poverty: Compassion into action.



2. Where does the money go?

100% of net profits are donated to vetted U.S.-based nonprofits focused on Housing First initiatives. These organizations are selected based on transparency, effectiveness, and ratings from sources like Charity Navigator.



3. How did Resolving Poverty come about?

Resolving Poverty began with personal experience. Between 2014 and 2019, I went through brief periods of sleeping in my car. During my final experience in 2019, I decided to take action and started volunteering at a local shelter in Charlottesville.

That experience sparked a deeper curiosity. I began researching homelessness—watching talks, reading studies, and exploring different perspectives. What stood out most was that there is actually a clear, research-backed solution to homelessness, but it’s widely misunderstood. I felt compelled to share what I was learning.

What started as gathering and organizing information soon evolved into something more: a way to spread awareness at scale. That’s where the idea for Resolving Poverty—and its apparel—came in.

The vision was simple: If people wear the message, they help spread it.

Each shirt becomes a conversation starter—encouraging others to question assumptions, learn the facts, and better understand how homelessness can truly be addressed.

Resolving Poverty was built on a simple belief: awareness leads to understanding, and understanding leads to change.

To learn more click here.


4. What is Resolving Poverty's mission, vision, aims, and goals? 

Homelessness is not just a social issue—it’s a solvable problem when approached correctly.

Mission

Resolving Poverty’s mission is to educate the public on the true causes and solutions to homelessness, while creating simple ways for people to take action.


We do this by combining awareness with action—using apparel as a tool to fund real, proven solutions like Housing First programs.


Vision
Our vision is to help eliminate homelessness—starting locally in Charlottesville and expanding across the U.S.—by supporting programs that provide stable housing to those in need.


How It Works

Resolving Poverty operates as a social business:

  • Apparel sales generate funding
  • 100% of net profits are directed toward housing-focused programs
  • Funds support vetted organizations that prioritize long-term housing stability

Even modest funding can make a real impact—helping individuals stay housed or transition out of homelessness.



Goals

  • Spread awareness through education and conversation
  • Grow the brand to increase funding and impact
  • Support effective, research-backed housing programs
  • Bridge gaps between public understanding, policy, and real-world solutions



5. Why “Resolving Poverty” instead of “Resolving Homelessness”?

Homelessness is the visible problem.
Poverty is the root cause.

Homelessness often happens when people fall through gaps in systems—lack of affordable housing, limited support, or financial instability. Those conditions are deeply tied to poverty.

So while resolving homelessness is a clear and immediate goal, addressing poverty helps prevent it from happening in the first place.

In simple terms:
  • Homelessness is the outcome
  • Poverty is the underlying condition
Resolving Poverty focuses on both:
  • Supporting solutions like Housing First to get people housed now
  • Promoting awareness and long-term thinking to reduce the conditions that lead to homelessness
It starts with housing—but it doesn’t end there.

Ultimately, solving homelessness is a step toward solving poverty, and solving poverty reduces homelessness at its source.



6. Was profit always part of the plan?

No—profit was not part of the original plan.

Resolving Poverty started as an awareness project, with the goal of spreading information and helping directly through a one-for-one model (donating apparel to those in need).

Over time, the idea evolved.

I realized that generating profit—if used intentionally—could create far greater impact. Instead of relying solely on donations or outside funding, a self-sustaining model could continuously fund real solutions.

Today, Resolving Poverty operates as a social business:
  • Revenue is generated through apparel
  • 100% of net profits are directed toward housing-focused programs
  • The goal is long-term, scalable impact
Profit isn’t the end goal—it’s the engine that makes the mission sustainable.

This model is inspired by the concept of social business, popularized by Muhammad Yunus, where profit is used to solve social problems rather than maximize personal gain.

Money is not in short supply. People live in an ocean of money. Only poor people cannot get a sip of it. The world has created a series of bubbles filled with people who ignore what is happening in the lower bubbles. The uppermost bubble is the one where all the wealth is concentrated, while the lowest bubble has the most people and the least wealth. Over time, the uppermost bubble has fewer and fewer people with more and more wealth, making the wealth monopoly more and more extreme. — Muhammad Yunus


7. How will profits be distributed?

Resolving Poverty follows a simple and transparent structure:

1. Cover essential costs
Initial revenue is used to recoup operating expenses and sustain the business (e.g., production, logistics, wages).

2. Reinvest to maintain operations
Ensuring the company can continue growing and generating impact over time.

3. Donate 100% of net profits
All remaining profits are directed toward vetted Housing First programs with proven results in reducing homelessness.

Financial support is one of the most direct and effective ways to address homelessness—helping fund housing, services, and long-term stability.


*Transparency is important. Revenue data, impact statistics, & evaluations are due to be made public at the end of each year.


What's the best way to be a part of the solution, and honestly? The best way is to give money to the issue. We need resources. We need financial resources to pay for housing services, which end homelessness. We need financial resources to pay case managers that provide the supportive services in housing. That's one of the most powerful ways that you as a community member can be a part of the solution - is doing that and volunteering at these organizations as well, is also fantastic and highly needed […]. If you feel compelled, give money to these programs because it really helps. — Anthony Haro, Executive Director Of Thomas Jefferson Area Coalition For The Homeless (source)



8. Why should others care about alleviating homelessness and poverty?

Because it affects all of us—whether we realize it or not.

Homelessness impacts:
  • Public safety
  • Local economies
  • Healthcare systems
  • And the overall well-being of our communities
But beyond that, it’s a human issue.

If real, proven solutions exist—and they do—then choosing to ignore the problem means allowing preventable suffering to continue.

The good news is:
Progress doesn’t require massive action from a few people.
It comes from small contributions made by many.

Whether it’s:
  • Supporting effective programs
  • Spreading awareness
  • Or simply learning the facts

Every step helps move the needle.

When homelessness is reduced, communities become safer, healthier, and more stable—for everyone.

A better question might be: if we have the ability to improve lives and strengthen our communities, why wouldn’t we?



9. Does helping the poor create dependency?

It’s a fair concern—and one worth addressing honestly.

In some cases, poorly designed systems can create dependency. But the most effective approaches to homelessness—especially Housing First programs—are built to do the opposite.

Research consistently shows that when people are given stable housing first, they are more likely to:
  • Find and maintain employment
  • Improve their physical and mental health
  • Reduce reliance on emergency services
  • Rebuild independence over time

Housing First is not just about providing relief—it’s about creating a stable foundation from which people can regain control of their lives.

In many cases, the real barrier isn’t a lack of motivation—it’s a lack of stability.

When stability is restored, people are far more capable of moving forward.

Resolving Poverty supports solutions that are proven to work, with a focus on long-term outcomes—not short-term handouts.

The goal isn’t to create dependence—it’s to restore independence.


Initially, critics feared Utah would lose tons of money by giving the homeless permanent housing, and that doing so would just "incentivize mooching," as (Hasan) Minhaj put it. However, state officials found Housing First actually saving the government money over time, especially as it encourages people to become more self-sufficient sooner. […]
Moreover, Housing First homes are not free: New tenants have to pay $50 or 30% of their income to rent each month (whichever amount is greater). [...]
Between shelters, jail stays, ambulances, and hospital visits, caring for one homeless person typically costs the government $20,000 a year. Providing one homeless person with permanent housing, however — as well as a social worker to help them transition into mainstream society — costs the state $8,000, The New Yorker reported in September. [3] [4]



10. How should Resolving Poverty be used?

Resolving Poverty exists to equip people with the knowledge and tools needed to address homelessness and poverty across society. By sharing research and real-world success stories from cities, organizations, and leaders, the platform highlights what actually works.


These ideas can be adapted and applied in other communities—turning awareness into action and progress.


Over time, the mission and vision of Resolving Poverty have expanded to include:

  1. Selling apparel to fund meaningful impact
  2. Providing clothing to individuals in need
  3. Donating 100% of net profits to Housing First programs
  4. Educating the public on the root causes of homelessness, including systemic factors such as housing, education, and economic inequality
  5. Raising awareness of proven solutions, including effective use of public funding and community-based housing initiatives
  6. Developing tools for local engagement, such as a location-based search feature to connect users with organizations, leaders, and initiatives in their area (coming soon)
  7. Sharing ongoing updates and research, including news, data, and policy developments related to homelessness and poverty


Search database
Beyond being a clothing brand, Resolving Poverty aims to develop a location-based search tool that allows users to enter their zip code or city and discover relevant advocacy groups, organizations, and local leaders working to address homelessness and expand affordable housing.

This tool is designed to make it easier for individuals to take action—whether through community involvement, policy engagement, or supporting initiatives that drive meaningful change at the local and national levels.


RSS Feed

Resolving Poverty plans to implement a news tracker on the homepage, featuring the latest articles and updates related to homelessness, Housing First, and poverty. This feature will keep the site current with relevant developments on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.

Business model

The business model for Resolving Poverty is currently being tested and refined. As data is gathered, this section will be updated with the most effective and sustainable approach.

At present, three potential models are being evaluated:
  • One-for-one model (each purchase supports a direct item donation, alongside profit contributions)
  • Profit-donation model (a portion or all net profits are directed toward housing programs)
  • A hybrid of both approaches
Ongoing analysis of costs, margins, and overall impact will determine which model best supports long-term growth and maximizes contributions to Housing First initiatives.



11. What have you learned from working with those facing homelessness and poverty?

Working with individuals experiencing homelessness has changed how I see the issue—and people more broadly.

I’ve learned that homelessness is not just an individual problem. It’s deeply connected to larger systems—housing, access to opportunity, support networks, and education. Many people aren’t lacking effort or desire—they’re lacking stability and access.

I’ve also learned that anyone can be affected. Homelessness is not limited to one type of person or background—it can happen to people from all walks of life under the right circumstances.

Most importantly, I’ve seen the power of support.
When people are given stability—especially through housing—they are far more able to rebuild, grow, and move forward.

And on a personal level, I’ve learned that helping others is not just beneficial for those receiving support—it also brings a sense of purpose, perspective, and responsibility to those giving it.

At its core, this work is about recognizing our shared humanity—and doing what we can to support one another.

The more I’ve learned, the clearer it’s become: with the right support, change is not only possible—it’s common.


At Harvard, I soon learned that if I really wanted wisdom, I'd better listen to the powerless. I began to learn something about humility. It's not an easy virtue to learn when you've been to all male schools and worked in large corporations, or if you've been to business school and earned big incomes. But at Harvard, as I sat in class and hung out with women, men, and Asians and Indians and Europeans and homosexuals, I became friends with all sorts of people. I spent my time in class and outside discussing very important philosophical and theological issues, as well as ordinary stuff with people who were different from me. Very different.

I began to sense beauty of it all. The richness and firmness and solidarity of "complex beauty".


Particular disproportions greatly add to general beauty, Edwards wrote in his essay "The Mind". The more complex the beauty, the more apparent its disproportions, the more intense that beauty becomes, the greater its excellency. Edwards realized that such apparent "disproportions", when viewed from higher ground, turn into "COMPLEX BEAUTIES".


That made perfect BUSINESS sense to me. Up close, all those different skin colors, religious beliefs, cultural traditions, and genders mixed in one place can look pretty chaotic. But you had to see those customers from different perspectives, you had to listen to different points of view. Surely, if I wanted to sell natural toothpaste or deodorant to a diverse population, I would have to have feedback from a diversity of sources. If I wanted to serve my customers and treat them respectfully, then I'd better know something about them.


Like every other company, my managers and I had been inclined to hire in our own image. We were looking for a kind of sameness, the comfort of the familiar. What we had forgotten was that pure, unadulterated iron is not strong enough to build bridges. Only when it is combined with other alloys -- with different metals, "impurities" -- does iron become steel. Sameness, like a dozen red roses, does have its beauty. But complex beauty, Edwards teaches, is more intense. The greater the complexity, the greater the excellency, according to Edwards. The effort to resolve complex differences, recognizing their not-so-obvious relations, standing back and seeing how it all fits together like wild flowers in a field, is to watch apparent discord turn into something that is not only genuinely beautiful but a model of excellency. 


— Tom Chappell, "The Soul of a Business"

 


If you're in trouble, or hurt or need - go to the poor people. They're the only ones that'll help - the only ones. -John Steinbeck