WeTransfer, Headspace Create License to Operate Through Erasing Medical Debt

As tech companies continue to become a fixture in many U.S. cities, the juxtaposition between the fast-paced growth, high-rises and even higher salaries can be difficult to fathom next to the growing homelessness problem many of these same cities face. A recent L.A. Times article shared how homelessness in Los Angeles is on the rise – up 16 percent over last year in the city. Now, two companies are looking to assuage the issue in the communities they operate in.

Tech companies WeTransfer and Headspace recently came together for a different type of collaboration. Last month the two organizations announced they would partner to pay off nearly $30 million of medical debt for those facing financial hardship in the Los Angeles area. The idea for the effort came when Amsterdam-based WeTransfer opened a U.S. headquarters in Los Angeles in 2016 and quickly saw the impact of the growing homelessness problem in the surrounding community. Getting to one of the roots of a complex issue, the company found “60 percent of U.S. personal bankruptcies are due to medical debt, and consequently a leading source for homelessness.”

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