More than six years ago, Kevin F. Adler walked the streets of his San Francisco neighborhood with an unusual purpose: He wanted to get to know its homeless residents.

During that time, he met a man named Jeffrey, who had been a missing person for 12 years.

After posting on social media, Adler was able to reconnect Jeffrey with his family, who had not seen him in more than 20 years.

"I started having conversations with folks on the streets, and over and over again, I heard people say, 'I never realized I was homeless when I lost my housing, only when I lost my family and friends,'" Adler said.

The experience inspired Adler, whose own uncle was homeless for 30 years, to create a program called Miracle Messages to help reunite other unhoused individuals with their loved ones.

Today, the program has reunited about 500 families across the U.S., according to Adler.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Miracle Messages expanded its programs to take its help even further. It started matching unhoused individuals with members of the community to help build relationships.

Then, it raised money to pilot a universal basic income project for the homeless.