Our Mission
Bringing Hope & Dignity to The Houseless Community
Thrive2Survive conducts quarterly outreach community resource events staffed by both dedicated team members and volunteers who have experienced homelessness and addiction firsthand. Our approach is rooted in meeting unhoused individuals with empathy and without judgment, providing essential resources such as food, water, sleeping bags, tents, clothing, and bus tickets. However, our primary focus lies in establishing human connections with our homeless neighbors and fostering relationships with them and social service providers in Clark County to ensure access to necessary services.
Hot Meals
Essential Resources
Human Connection
Our vision
Join Us on Our Journey as We Continue to Grow & Provide Essential Support to Our Houseless Community
Our vision for the future is ambitious. We're working on providing financial assistance to families of overdose victims for burial and cremation services. Additionally, we plan to launch monthly popup meals for houseless camps, aiming to educate our friends about the resources and services available to help them improve their lives.
Whether you'd like to volunteer, donate, or partner with us, your involvement can make a real difference in the lives of those we serve. Together, let's help our friends not just survive, but truly thrive.
Our History
Our Story Began in 2018
Charles Hanset had an idea to serve a community meal, provide clothing, and connect resources to our houseless friends. His vision was to set them on a path towards improving their lives and building long-term, supportive connections. Charles gathered a dedicated team, found a location, and organized the first Thrive2Survive community outreach event at the Navigation Center. The event was a huge success, bringing together enthusiastic volunteers and guests to serve around 50 hot meals.
Over the first year, our monthly events at the Navigation Center drew larger crowds, eventually serving approximately 125 people per month. The camaraderie among volunteers and the positive impact on our houseless friends was inspiring. However, when the pandemic struck, our events were put on hold and the Navigation Center closed.
In April 2021, Thrive2Survive returned stronger than ever, with a new energy, fresh volunteers, and a greater need for support. By 2022, we partnered with Living Hope Church as our new event location and were recognized as an independent 501(c)(3) public charity. Our events, now held quarterly, serving over 600 meals at each, and we continue to add community partners, sponsors, and services based on the needs expressed by our houseless community.
Board members
Get to Know & Meet Our Team!
“A leader is a person who finds a way, makes the way, and ultimately shows the way.”
Charles Hanset Jr
Founder/Executive Director
Charles is the founder, and President of Thrive2Survive. He started doing outreach when he got into recovery back in 2017. His main goal was to provide resources to our unhoused community. He would fill up the back of his little Honda station wagon with clothes, food and up to date useful resources to help people get off the streets and build a human connection by using his own lived experiences. He has always asked others to walk along with him so we can be more effective in providing services. Charles genuinely believes what we cannot do alone, we can do together. Currently, he is the Outreach Supervisor for the Recovery Navigator Program for Clark County where he and his team provide rapid SUD (substance use disorder) crisis response for our community to help prevent them from entering the justice system. He also is a voting board member on the Southwest Washington Behavioral Health Advisory Board since 2019. Charles has been on the Clark County Opioid Task Force Steering Committee since it started in 2019.
"Don't be ashamed of your story, It will inspire others."
Nicole Hamberger
Board president
I am honored to be on the board for Thrive2Survive. I have watched this program grow from what it was in the River City Church days to what it is now, and I am simply amazed with what this organization has done. Thrive2Survive's commitment to bridging gaps and connecting our most vulnerable populations to resources and services is one of the most successful community engagement events this community has ever seen. I bring expertise in convening stakeholders, facilitating difficult conversations, and centering and amplifying community voice to the Thrive2Survive mission. Together, hand in hand, our partners can provide the line to safety and wellbeing that so many of our community members are desperately trying to find. Thrive2Surveve is a one stop shop for whole person care, and it's only the beginning of their story.
Christina Suarez
Vice President/Secretary
I am a part of Thrive2Survive because I believe in the hope that giving to our community gives others, especially in the houseless community. I've seen countless scenarios where resources and multiple agencies have networked together to assist individuals in overcoming barriers and challenges. The individuals report back their successes such as getting housing, employment, ID's, veterinary services for their companion or service animals, finding medical care, etc. My role with Thrive 2Survive is Board Secretary and what I bring to Thrive2Survive is compassion, innovative ideas, integrity, energy, cohesiveness, organization, and a ton of fun!
Bryan McGee
TreasureR
My name is Bryan McGee. I have experienced all aspects of life from buying a home to being houseless, being an addict to being incarcerated. While on my continuous journey of rebuilding my life, rebuilding the community that I was raised in, is an integral part of my journey. I've learned to be positive and lend a helping hand when asked or needed. I appreciate being able to be involved with thrive 2 survive because it keeps me engaged with the community and allows me to grow with the community and not just in the community.
"There is a crack in everything; it is how the light gets in" - Leonard Cohen.
Erin Honan
Director of Operations
I am proud to have joined the Thrive2Survive mission as a community partner over a year and a half ago, lending my expertise as a Medicaid and housing specialist. Witnessing the potential to expand our impact, I transitioned to a full-time role dedicated to upholding the organization's integrity and creating new solutions for the houseless and recovery community. My personal and familial journey, marked by experiences with mental health disorders, incarcerations, substance use disorders, overcoming poverty, and long-term disability, fuels my profound connection with the community we serve. I bring a wealth of skills to the team, with a background spanning 20 years in Executive Administration and a bachelor’s degree in psychology and human development. Having navigated the houseless shelter system in New York and establishing the successful outreach housing program, Pathways to Home, for the elderly houseless community, I possess the people power needed to support Thrive2Survive in reaching as many individuals as possible with long-term sustainable solutions. Thrive2Survive's commitment to being a steppingstone for those facing life's challenges resonates deeply with me, and I am honored to contribute to our shared mission.
“Everyone deserves the chance to recover.”
Crystal Drake
Board of Directors
I joined the Thrive2Survive board because I strongly admire the organization's core values and integrity. I firmly believe that a collaborative effort across organizations in our community is needed in order to assist individuals and families and navigate them into recovery from homelessness. I am currently the Program Lead at 415 West Safe Stay Community for Outsiders Inn. I am also a CPC, Recovery Coach, and a CHW(Community Health Worker), However, the most valuable tool I have to support others is my lived experience!
I look forward to Learning and growing with Thrive and I am so excited to see what the future holds!
“The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members” Coretta Scott King
Jess Porter
Board of Directors
When I was 17, my first job out of high school was filing and answering phones for a Psychiatrist in my hometown in Arkansas. It was here that I was inspired to pursue a career as a behavioral health nurse in order to support those with severe persistent mental illness. A decade later I lost family members to addiction and suicide. Even with my knowledge and background, I could not do enough to “save” those I love the most. It was at this point I refocused and began a new career in non-profit community health services focusing on unhoused individuals in active addiction and mental health crises. I learned, and now understand, it takes a community working together to support folks in their recovery journeys. I joined T2S because they take a holistic approach by focusing on community partnerships to support our most vulnerable community members.
“Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.” ― Helen Keller.
Jessica Saldivar
board of Directors
As a new board member of this incredible organization, I am deeply committed to its mission of fostering compassionate and mindful connections within the community, and working to help connect folks to the vital resources available to them. Having personally experienced the challenges of mental health and addiction, I understand the significance of a supportive village to overcome barriers and flourish in life. Through my own journey, I have witnessed the transformative power of a strong and caring community, which has nurtured my resilience and strength. I am apart of Thrive2Survive because I believe that we can make a meaningful impact on people's lives, helping them not just survive, but truly thrive by building a network of empathy, understanding, and assistance, showing that in times of struggle, nobody walks alone.