August 9, 2023
Parents Who’ve Fallen on Hard Times are Hopeful as They Prepare Their Children for a New School Year
Starting Monday, students across the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) will begin their 2023-24 school year. As that Aug. 14 date nears, parents are looking forward to their children continuing with their in-person learning.
“I’m excited for them to go back to learning about math and reading because they were behind once COVID-19 hit,” Ode Gonzalez of Woodland Hills said. “It took a toll on them through homeschooling, and they fell behind.”
Gonzalez and her children were just one of more than 100 low-income families who were at the Vagabond Inn Aug. 4 to receive free supplies for the upcoming school year from Los Angeles Family Housing, which included backpacks, shoes, socks and clothes.
August 7, 2023
It's back to school time! Volunteers in Sylmar help families in need with donated supplies, clothes
Summer break is winding down. Students all around Los Angeles are preparing to return to the classroom.
Getting kids ready to go back to school can be a challenge for any family. It can be especially tough for families experiencing, or transitioning out of homelessness. That's where L.A. Family Housing and City National Bank step in... teaming up to help underprivileged students and their parents as they gear up to head back to school.
August 4, 2023
Veterans come home at Summit View
SYLMAR, Calif. — He’s been fine-tuning his life, learning how to live in his new apartment — Donte Aguilar moved in three months ago after years of homelessness.
He’s grateful for the fridge, the stove, closets and the door that closes, but he’s especially grateful for the space to practice his music — Aguilar is learning guitar.
July 26, 2023
New Permanent Housing Opens In Sylmar, Changing the Lives of Formerly Homeless Veterans
A group of formerly homeless Veterans now have a place to call “home.” They are finally coming home to a new permanent supportive housing development in Sylmar. Community members, partner organizations, and civic leaders from across Los Angeles came together to celebrate the official grand opening of Summit View Apartments, which is providing 48 permanent homes for veterans experiencing homelessness.
“Today, when I walk through my front door here at Summit View, I feel something I’ve never felt before in my life: I feel at home. After so many difficult years, I feel like myself again,” said Donte Aguilar, a U.S. Navy veteran and Summit View resident. “Every day, I cook in my own kitchen, take a shower in my own bathroom, and sleep in my own bed. My confidence has gone up. I’m working on rebuilding relationships with friends and family. Thanks to my incredible neighbors and the wonderful staff here at Summit View, I am truly thriving.”
June 29, 2023
LAHSA announces homeless count results; numbers rising despite increased funding
May 15, 2023
Prop HHH finally pays off — more than 6 years after it passed
The bathroom in Olga Rosario’s new studio apartment in Sylmar has an entire shelf dedicated to her seashell collection. “I love the beach,” Rosario, 62, says while showing off the place. In the kitchen area, she gestures across the room. “The sink by the window,” she says, “that’s what I’ve always wanted.”
April 5, 2023
New permanent supportive housing project in Sylmar is now open
SYLMAR, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Los Angeles city and county leaders gathered to celebrate the grand opening of Silva Crossing, a new supportive housing project in Sylmar for formerly homeless and low-income individuals.
"At Silva Crossing, finally I have my own space, my own shower, my own bed and my own kitchen," said Silva Crossing resident Olga Rosario.
The project features 56 studio-bedroom apartments and is within walking distance of grocery stores and pharmacies. Residents like Rosario now have access to a variety of supportive services to help them regain stability.
Vince Williamz’s fall days were filled with dirty looks from neighbors living in the apartment building overlooking Dorothy J. and Benjamin B. Smith Park. Williamz, who has experienced homelessness for seven years, had recently made the Hollywood park his home. At least a dozen tents lined one end of the park, occupied by people in situations similar to that of Williamz, in an orderly row under the windows and balconies of the Hollywood Sycamore Tower apartments. The glares from neighbors would often lead to visits by police officers shortly thereafter, park dwellers said.
On a warm day in late September, Williamz described his difficulties getting connected to services that could lead him to housing. He wished there were an app that could show him available rooms across the region in real time—technology that would reduce the time he put into trying to find a place.
February 6, 2023
Making the homelessness crisis a 'top priority' in Los Angeles
In 2022, more than 170,000 Californians experienced homelessness, according to recent federal data. The state accounted for 30% of the country’s unhoused population. The issue is a top priority for many state and local leaders, including Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, whose first action was to declare a state of emergency on homelessness.
On the first night of the annual Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count, Bass stated, “The only way we’re really going to get a handle on this crisis is if we all have skin in the game.”
On this week’s “In Focus SoCal,” host Tanya McRae meets Gregg Sherkin, a longtime volunteer at the annual count. He is also currently the board chair of LA Family Housing in North Hollywood.
January 10, 2023
L.A. County poised to declare state of emergency over homelessness crisis
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass was the first to act, last month declaring the homelessness crisis a citywide state of emergency, one as calamitous as any earthquake or hurricane. Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson asked his staff to draft a similar declaration hours after he was sworn in.
It’s now the county’s turn.
The Board of Supervisors is expected to approve a motion Tuesday from Supervisors Lindsey Horvath and Kathryn Barger declaring a countywide state of emergency on homelessness, aiming to dramatically speed up the time it takes to provide services to the tens of thousands of people sleeping on the streets.
November 21, 2022
26 ways to volunteer during the holidays in Los Angeles
This season, Los Angeles brims with volunteer opportunities, from delivering gifts to walking Doberman puppies. Soup kitchens, animal shelters and outdoor cleanup crews stretch from Long Beach to Santa Clarita. As toy drives and holiday dinners kick in, the need for volunteers soars, but so does the number of people willing to help.
Nearing holidays tend to spur Angelenos into the giving spirit — and that’s a good thing. Andrew Linares, volunteer manager and alum of the Midnight Mission, a nonprofit that aids unhoused people, said the uptick is partially due to the amount of people who’ve recently moved to the area from out of state. The Midnight Mission has a handful of volunteers who are far from family and seeking something meaningful to do for the holidays.
November 21, 2022
The U.S. Needs More Housing Than Almost Anyone Can Imagine
How many homes must the United States’ expensive coastal cities build to become affordable for middle-class and working-poor families again? Over the past few weeks, I asked a number of housing experts that question. I expected a straightforward response: If you build X units, you reduce rents by Y percent—which means that Washington, D.C., needs to build Z units to become broadly affordable again.
I did not get such a simple answer. “That’s a difficult question with a lot of moving parts,” Jenny Schuetz of the Brookings Institution told me. “Are we assuming that all of these homes drop out of the sky today?” asked David Garcia, the policy director at the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at UC Berkeley. Chris Herbert, the managing director of the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, gave me a long response involving land prices, rental affordability, household formation, and building trends.
November 12, 2022
Column: Fed up with failed leadership, L.A. voters backed mansion tax to help the homeless. Will it work?
The next mayor of Los Angeles appears to be in line for an early Christmas present.
Measure ULA on Tuesday’s ballot, leading by a considerable margin as votes are tallied, would pump a massive amount of money into homelessness prevention and housing. Several thousand new housing units could be created each year, and rental assistance could prevent thousands more from becoming homeless.
November 6, 2022
Letter to the Editor: How to Help the Homeless in Los Angeles
To the Editor:
Re “The Way Los Angeles Is Trying to Solve Homelessness Is ‘Absolutely Insane,’” by Ezra Klein (column, nytimes.com, Oct. 23):
Mr. Klein is absolutely right: It is insane to try to solve Los Angeles’s housing crisis without a radically innovative approach. Fortunately, Los Angeles voters will be able to vote for one on the same ballot as their new mayor. Measure ULA would raise more than $900 million annually to prevent homelessness and create housing. It replaces politics as usual with the urgency and innovation we need.
November 2, 2022
In LA, Mayoral Hopefuls Face Off With the City’s Thorniest Issue
Rick Caruso, the billionaire mall magnate running to be Los Angeles’s next mayor, will spend a total of more than $80 million on mailers, television commercials, and digital ads in pursuit of the city’s top office, a 13-1 advantage in ad spending. Now, in the final weeks of his campaign against U.S. Congresswoman Karen Bass, this media barrage has been joined by 400 paid canvassers who will walk the streets of LA, targeting inactive, low-propensity voters that the campaign believes can be swayed to support an outsider who has never held political office.
October 28, 2022
More L.A. Latinos falling into homelessness, shaking communities in ‘a moment of crisis’
Miguel Meneses and his wife were struggling to get by when the pandemic hit. They lost their rent-controlled apartment in Boyle Heights and moved with their three children to a rental house in Pomona that cost four times as much.
In summer 2020, Meneses, an Uber driver, fell ill with long COVID symptoms and couldn’t work for months. As the pandemic lurched on, his wife, Sandra Torres, lost the last of the eight cleaning service clients she had left.
October 25, 2022
L.A. Real Estate Agents, Housing Activists Battle Over Measure ULA, the So-Called “Mansion Tax,” Ahead of Nov. 8 Vote
A tight mayoral race will not be the only thing getting attention on Angeleno ballots on Nov. 8. Measure ULA, dubbed “the mansion tax,” will also be up for a vote in the city of Los Angeles, amid opposition from Los Angeles’ real estate industry. If passed, the measure would add a new tax on L.A. property sales north of $5 million to fund affordable housing and homelessness programs.
If the measure succeeds, property sales in Los Angeles between $5 and $10 million would be subject to an additional 4 percent tax rate, while those worth $10 million or more would be taxed at an additional rate of 5.5 percent. To put the tax in context, for a house like the one Shonda Rhimes sold earlier this year in Hancock Park, there would be a $1.155 million tax on the $21 million sale; for Ashley Tisdale, who sold in the Hollywood Hills for $5.9 million, a $236,000 tax.
October 24, 2022
‘Mansion Tax’ Will Be Voted On Nov. 8
Real estate executives are pushing against Measure ULA, a city proposal that if enacted would establish a 4% tax on the sale or transfer of properties in Los Angeles worth $5 million or more and a 5.5% tax on the sale or transfer of properties valued at more than $10 million.
The measure will be voted on in the upcoming Nov. 8 general election and seeks to use the tax proceeds on affordable housing and homeless prevention programs. It is not an ongoing property tax and would be enacted until ended by voters.
Read the full article at the San Fernando Valley Business Journal.
October 20, 2022
Roommate wanted: Homeless people are pairing up as a way around the housing crisis
Even after three years of homelessness, Eric Perkins did not want to move into an apartment with another person who had been unhoused.
"I was real skeptical because of the things I was seeing inside the shelter," he says. "A lot of drug use, lot of alcohol abuse, PTSD, there was a lot of veterans there. ... I was like, 'I don't want to be in a house with somebody like that.' "
But the arrangement suggested by a local housing provider has turned out better than he expected.
Summer 2022 Issue
A New Approach
Before COVID-19, more than 66,000 people experienced homelessness in Los Angeles County, California. This number has only increased in recent years, as rent prices have skyrocketed and families still deal with the economic effects of the pandemic. Fortunately, groups like LA Family Housing (LAFH) are implementing bold, innovative approaches to combat the area’s homeless crisis.
September 7, 2022
LA County homeless count will ripple through nonprofits, political races and government
When the results of the 2022 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count are released on Thursday, Sept. 8, it will mean more than just a number to nonprofits in the trenches, politicians on the stump and affordable housing advocates.
The new data will be bandied about by office-seekers some of whom will criticize or condemn Los Angeles city and Los Angeles County leaders for failing to rectify the persistent problem.
AUGUST 14, 2022
California’s housing-first policies work. Failed homelessness strategies of the 1980s don’t
California programs that prioritize housing ended homelessness for tens of thousands of people last year. Yet, in recent months, a vocal minority of state leaders have called for a rollback of our housing first laws — laws that emphasize permanent housing to people experiencing homelessness without first requiring them to access services or treatment.
July 4, 2022
For LA’s formerly homeless, freedom on the Fourth of July goes beyond national independence
People who once experienced homelessness are celebrating their own kind of independence from it this year, thankful in the freedom that comes with a roof over their heads and regaining “agency” over their own lives.
Jun 24, 2022
Inflation Is Hurting Homelessness Service Providers
Inflation has hit a 40-year high and is affecting the ability of homelessness service providers to provide basic needs like food and shelter.
Over the last 12 months, from May 2021 to May 2022, food prices have risen 10.1%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This means food budgets aren’t going as far as they used to and providers, like Union Station Homeless Services, are having to get more creative, even resorting to creating Amazon wish lists for donations.
May 17, 2022
How Master Leasing Can Help the Affordable Housing Crisis
Rising housing costs and the shortage of affordable housing have become some of the most pressing issues in the country, particularly in big cities like Los Angeles where I work and where we see more and more people falling into homelessness each day.
With COVID-19 rent relief efforts and eviction moratoriums set to expire, we anticipate that the immediate need for affordable housing will only continue to grow.
Read the full article at the National Alliance to End Homelessness.
May 10, 2022
FAQ: How To Vote In LA If You're Unhoused
There are state laws and judicial rulings that support the right of a person who is experiencing homelessness to register to vote. But that doesn't mean the process is easy to figure out.
If you're unhoused and want to vote, this FAQ is intended to help address some of the most common concerns, such as:
no access to a mailing address/way to get mail
loss of identification documents required to register
no outreach on dates and subjects of elections
confusion about polling places
April 28, 2022
Providing Affordable Housing and Support Services
Since its founding in 1983, LA Family Housing (LAFH) has become the largest affordable housing and supportive services provider in the San Fernando Valley and a leader among service providers in Los Angeles. LAFH’s mission is to help people transition out of homelessness and poverty through a continuum of housing enriched with supportive services. The agency operates through four main service areas: street-based outreach, engagement, and intervention; housing services and placement; supportive services; and real estate development. Its team of over 450 staff dedicate themselves to serving over 11,000 of our homeless neighbors annually, providing solutions to end homelessness in people’s lives.
March 31, 2022
Officials gathered in March to break ground on My Angel apartments project in North Hills
New, permanent housing for veterans and people experiencing homelessness is coming to North Hills.
Officials gathered toward the end of March to officially break ground on the My Angel apartments project.
"The owner for 60 years of Angel Appliances donated this property to LA Family Housing to build permanent homes for veterans who have experienced homelessness," said LA Family Housing President Stephanie Klasky-Gamer.
The owner of Angel Appliances is Hal Kassner. The army veteran says the name My Angel was not named after his store. Instead, it is a dedication to his wife of 70 years, Sue.
March 24, 2022
Housing for homeless, veterans planned for site of North Hills’ former Angel Appliances store
Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez and LA Family Housing CEO Stephanie Klasky-Gamer led the way as LAFH broke ground on the construction of My Angel, a new permanent supportive housing complex in the San Fernando Valley’s North Hills area.
The project will convert the former Angel Appliances store — an iconic Valley retailer and service center that opened in 1955 but recently shut down — into 54 permanent supportive homes for veterans and individuals experiencing chronic homelessness. The target completion date is October 2023.
March 22, 2022
Newsom’s new push for homeless mental health treatment lacks details. That has some worried
At the heart of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposal to compel people into court-ordered treatment for mental illness and addiction is a sense of urgency to solve a decades-old crisis festering on California’s streets — even if it means building the plane as it flies.
“We’re coming up with a completely new paradigm, a new approach, a different pathway, and it’s consistent with our values,” Newsom said earlier this month when he announced the Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment Court.
Newsom has not provided a price tag for how much CARE Court could cost, but it would likely be paid for with a portion of the projected $14 billion he wants to spend on addressing homelessness over the next several years. He also pledged swift action in the coming weeks to finalize the proposal and move it through the Legislature.
Mar 17, 2022
Stories of homelessness on the West Coast
Co-director Jon Shenk and Los Angeles Family Housing Outreach Director Eric Montoya, who was formerly unhoused, joined KTLA live to talk about the documentary short “Lead Me Home” that’s been nominated for an Oscar.
The film currently streams on Netflix. It personalizes homelessness by telling real-life stories of those going through it.
March 16, 2022
LA Family Housing’s Stephanie Klasky-Gamer Unpacks Daunting Challenges Facing Homeless Service Providers in LA County
Stephanie Klasky-Gamer: For nearly 40 years, LA Family Housing’s mission has been very simple: to end homelessness in people's lives by providing housing enriched with supportive services. Helping families and individuals transition out of homelessness and poverty has been at the core of LA Family Housing.
When we began as an agency in the early 1980s, we were actually two different companies. One was based here in the San Fernando Valley when a group of concerned citizens came together, purchased an old motel, and converted it into a 30-day shelter where 40 families could stay. It was the first shelter in the San Fernando Valley, so it was very creatively called Valley Shelter.
February 09, 2022
Lack of shelter space limits LA homeless policy
Last summer, the LA City Council passed a new set of laws to regulate street camping at certain locations. Each councilmember can choose spots to ban camping, near schools or parks or driveways. Enforcement was supposed to come with an intensive outreach process to link unhoused people to services and housing opportunities, and ideally move them off the streets.
But KCRW has found the outreach is patchwork, and it’s difficult to get a clear picture of what assistance is even available, or how often people are moving indoors under the new policy versus shuffling from one street corner to another.
“It was meant to be accompanied by a street engagement strategy,” says Stephanie Klasky-Gamer, president and CEO of the nonprofit LA Family Housing. “That didn't happen.”
January 18, 2022
Activists Want A Pause on Encampment Sweeps As COVID Surges In Homeless Shelters
Homeless services providers and advocates are calling on L.A. leaders to put encampment cleanups on hold as COVID-19 outbreaks surge in shelters.
"We just can't enforce that they move indoors when there isn't a place to go,” said L.A. Family Housing CEO Stephanie Klasky-Gamer, adding that the organization's interim housing sites are all under quarantine, as are others.
Under an ordinance known as 41.18, L.A. City Council members can target encampments in their districts for cleanup, if outreach workers offer shelter to unhoused residents first.
January 4, 2022
MEET THE GANGSTER-TURNED-MURALIST OUT OF BOYLE HEIGHTS WHO SURVIVED L.A.’S ‘DECADE OF DEATH’ AND NOW MAKES ART THAT UNITES BLACK AND BROWN COMMNUNITIES
Award-winning poet Alyesha Wise recited these words from her piece, “For us, the Congregation,” in an inauguration ceremony on November 17, 2021, in a garden courtyard directly below a mural of herself. The inspiring event commemorated the completion of two technicolor murals painted by the prolific artist Fabian Debora. Located at 69th and Main Streets in South Los Angeles, the murals feature Wise and the equally illustrious poet Felicia Montes on the front facade of a new apartment complex that offers permanent housing for formerly homeless families.
December 09, 2021
East LA native’s blanket drives bring warmth to families in need
Gomez’s blanket drives began on Black Friday nine years ago. She was on her couch and in a bad mood. All she saw on social media was people celebrating their own, personal shopping scores and jealousy was getting the better of her.
“I was grouchy, mad that I could never shop on Black Friday, and then I realized: I had a blanket, I was watching cable, rent was ready to be paid and life wasn’t so bad,” Gomez said. She felt selfish and even a bit annoyed at the people taking advantage of Black Friday deals for their own benefit.
So she decided to do something about it.
Gomez made a post of her own, asking if people would be willing to meet her at a park, where she would collect blankets and socks and find a place to drop them off. A friend offered their bar as a drop-point for the blankets, and Gomez was stunned by the turnout.
The bounty of blankets and socks were delivered, by hand, to Comunidad Cesar Chavez, an East LA transitional living facility.
November 23, 2021
Giving for All Seasons
Michelle and Nicole Artinian have dedicated their careers to helping families find their dream homes. As the Artinian Realty Group of Corcoran Global Living, the sisters serve clients across the Valley and the greater Los Angeles area, focusing on residential real estate. Yet they also recognize that housing is a complicated issue, and far too many Angelenos are unhoused or struggling to keep a roof over their heads. They wanted to find a way to help those less fortunate neighbors, too.
“We have a huge passion for giving back in as many ways as possible,” Michelle explains. “During the winter holidays for the last eight years, Nicole and I have helped by adopting a family. However, we wanted to find an organization we could work with throughout the year and not just during the holidays. Finding an organization that gives back to the community we live and work in was also extremely important for us.” After researching different local charities, they were thrilled to discover LA Family Housing (LAFH), a North Hollywood–based nonprofit that helps people transition out of homelessness and poverty. One of the largest providers of housing and homeless services in Los Angeles, LAFH serves more than 11,000 people per year and places more than 2,000 into housing annually, operating 26 properties that offer temporary, permanently affordable and permanent supportive housing throughout the Valley and across L.A.
October 6, 2021
California Put Homeless People in Hotel Rooms. Then What?
Project Roomkey, made possible by the pandemic, sheltered thousands of people. Here's how it both succeeded and failed.
Listen to the full episode on “The Times: Daily News From the L.A. Times”.
September 28, 2021
Permanent Homes and Ongoing Support for Angelenos Experiencing Homelessness
The mission of LA Family Housing can be summed up in one sentence, according to President and CEO Stephanie Klasky-Gamer: “Our goal is to permanently end homelessness in people’s lives.”
Since the 1980s, the organization has lifted economically disadvantaged people out of poverty and homelessness. Doing so has entailed everything from paying off back rent and negotiating with landlords to lease their units to LA Family Housing program participants. The organization now owns and operates 27 properties and is in the process of developing 13 more. Those additions will expand LA Family Housing’s number of apartment units by nearly 700. Although the organization also develops and operates interim housing, making permanent homes available to Angelenos in need remains the priority.
September 13, 2021
Stephanie Klasky-Gamer Keeps Hope in Los Angeles
Stephanie Klasky-Gamer walks through the Irmas Family Campus.
Portrait by Philip Cheung
The cupcakes were a big part of 2020. They started arriving on Stephanie Klasky-Gamer’s porch each week, delivered by a friend and bakery owner determined to maintain pre-pandemic volumes to keep her staff employed during COVID-19. Since the bakery had fewer customers than it otherwise would, Klasky-Gamer got the surplus sweets.
As president and CEO of LA Family Housing (LAFH), one of the largest providers of housing and homeless services in Los Angeles, Klasky-Gamer can always find a use for free desserts. Lately, the busy leader and lifelong advocate has been hand delivering them to residents of LAFH properties, participants of the agency’s services, and to staff working across the city to show her appreciation for their dedicated work.
Klasky-Gamer is a hands-on leader with a big heart. She was once a teenage volunteer during the 1980s at LAFH’s Valley Shelter in North Hollywood. That site was demolished in 2016 to make way for LA Family Housing’s $40 million, 80,000-square-foot headquarters, the Irmas Family Campus at LA Family Housing. The campus embodies LAFH’s mission and vision.
June 29, 2021
L.A. Housing Nonprofit Finds New Ways to Reach More Supporters
LA Family Housing has been helping homeless people for more than three decades. The Los Angeles organization buys motels and hotels and converts them into apartments that provide both temporary and permanent housing. It also offers a wide range of support services to help vulnerable people gain access to food, mental and physical health care, and other assistance that helps them avoid homelessness.
When the pandemic struck last March, LA Family Housing officials had to scramble to change how it carries out its work and persuades donors to support the organization. Some of the new approaches have worked so well that the nonprofit plans to make the changes permanent, both in its programs and in fundraising.
“We’ve found not just new ways of providing services, but we’ve increased our assets enormously in these last 15 months,” says Stephanie Klasky-Gamer, LA Family Housing’s CEO. “How we reach out to the philanthropic community to support that level of expansion is a whole other way that we’ve changed.”
Read the full article at Chronicle of Philanthropy.
Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) today announced it recently made over $150,000 in energy efficiency upgrades at four affordable housing communities owned by LA Family Housing, located in North Hollywood and Van Nuys. SoCalGas installed high-efficiency boilers, 120-gallon storage tanks for water storage, pipe insulation and more, assisting more than 220 residents. The work is part of SoCalGas' Energy Savings Assistance (ESA) program's Common Area Measures (CAM) effort to cut energy use and costs as well as improve the health, comfort and safety of residents living in low-income multifamily properties.
"SoCalGas is pleased to provide these no cost upgrades for the residents at the LA Family Housing properties," said Gillian Wright, senior vice president and chief customer officer at SoCalGas and LA Family Housing Board Chair.
Homeless services officials estimate that on average it takes them four to six months to complete the cumbersome process for filling a vacancy in one of the thousands of supportive housing units in Los Angeles County, leaving hundreds of units vacant for weeks on end.
The bureaucratic barriers responsible for that backlog come in a plethora of paperwork: different application forms to request housing vouchers from each of the county’s 19 housing authorities and different rental applications required by the dozens of housing providers.
Now the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority has launched a digital app to cut through that paperwork. Called the universal housing application, it allows caseworkers to fill out a single digital form for every purpose. That form auto-fills basic information about the client from LAHSA’s Homeless Management Information System.
LAFH President & CEO Stephanie Klasky-Gamer addressed viewers at Home Together.
LAFH went #live for Home Together on Thursday night, a virtual event that raised awareness and funds for LAFH's work to build more affordable homes and support Angelenos on their journey out of homelessness.
"The event — produced by Tawny Harrison, creative technology agency PXL and creative production agency Core Creative Labs which designed a digital stage — was broadcast via a custom website as well as on Facebook and YouTube. Entertainment came via musical performances from Darius Rucker, Boney James, Ledisi and The Linda Lindas. As part of the event, "Home Together" provided guests with the opportunity to enhance home viewing by ordering meals from restaurant partners including Angelini Osteria, Big Sugar Bakeshop, Dulan’s on Crenshaw, Gasolina Cafe, Golden Rice Co., Hotville Chicken, Maker Wine, Nick + Stef’s Steakhouse, Oui! Cheese, Petrossian Restaurant & Boutique, Redbird and Socalo." - Chris Gardner
If you weren’t able to attend Home Together, you can still watch the show online.
Nick + Stef’s Steakhouse is on the menu for Home Together
LA Family Housing is excited to partner with some of the best chefs in L.A.
"The Home Together experience will offer special menus and drinks from restaurant partners Angelini Osteria, Big Sugar Bakeshop, Dulan’s on Crenshaw, Gasolina Cafe, Golden Rice Co., Hotville Chicken, Maker Wine, Nick + Stef’s Steakhouse, Oui! Cheese, Petrossian Restaurant & Boutique, Redbird, and Socalo. Up to 50% of the proceeds from each purchase go directly to LA Family Housing."
Home Together 2021 will celebrate our courageous participants and staff while raising critical funds to support the lifesaving work of LA Family Housing. Your continued support allows us to respond to the increased urgency of the homelessness crisis due to COVID-19.
Daniele Venturelli/Getty Images; Michael Kovac/Getty Images; Jason Kempin/Getty Images; GP Images/Getty Images
LA Family Housing is finalizing the details for its 2nd annual virtual fundraiser, "Home Together," booking a slew of celebrities, elected officials and high-profile performers along with host Matt Rogers.
The program includes Ted Danson, Kristen Bell, Darius Rucker, Ledisi, L.A. City Council member Nithya Raman, L.A. County Supervisor Holly Mitchell, and event co-chair Blair Rich.
The organization, which seeks to help people transition out of homelessness and poverty through a continuum of housing enriched with supportive services, will present the event on April 29 as a way to raise awareness and funds for its work to end homelessness in L.A. County. Event co-chairs include Blair Rich, Karen Brodkin, and Zeeda Daniele.
February 26, 2021
Meta Housing Corp. Begins Affordable Development in LA
MULTIFAMILY DEVELOPMENT IS EXPECTED TO GROW IN CALIFORNIA AS THE ECONOMY REBOUNDS AND HOUSING DEMAND GROWS AGAIN. PHOTO: SEAN GALLUP/GETTY IMAGES
At 47,800 square feet, Silva Crossing will include 53 studios sized at 400 square feet, and three one-bedroom units with about 550 square feet, as well as ground-floor retail. Y&M Architects designed the project. KPRS is the contractor.
“There is a demonstrated shortage of housing for persons who are experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles,” said Kasey Burke, president of Meta Housing. “Silva Crossing will provide these individuals with a safe and stable living environment while offering case management and other supportive services that are so greatly needed in this region.”
February 18, 2021
Advocates push to prioritize homeless population for COVID-19 vaccine
LAFH is operating two COVID-19 vaccine locations to help reach the unhoused populations as well as conducting outreach with street medicine teams to ensure that the vaccine is available to both sheltered and unsheltered people experiencing homelessness who are eligible for the vaccine.
Andrew White III receives a COVID-19 vaccine from registered nurse Rhoda Ang at a vaccination site set up in the parking lot of the Los Angeles Mission in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021. The vaccine was administered by Los Angeles Department of Health's Housing for Health division for selected individuals, including homeless seniors. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) ASSOCIATED PRESS
“'What is great about this pilot is that they are recognizing their unique community strategies,' said Stephanie Klasky-Gamer, president and CEO of LA Family Housing. 'They’re working with us as a local provider. We know our region really well, we know how to connect with our participants, and we know what sites are more accessible than others.'"
The conversation surrounding COVID-19 vaccines brings to light the larger issue of health and medical services for individuals experiencing homelessness.
“Homelessness in the richest country on earth is a moral issue, and a moral crisis,” Watts said. “We really have the resources to ensure that people are safely housed, but we have chosen not to. And we have seen in this pandemic how that endangers the whole of public health.”
Mayor Eric Garcetti joined Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, and LAFH during a virtual celebration for the grand opening of the West Valley's first Bridge Housing site, which is meant to provide transitional housing to people experiencing homelessness. Before his remarks, Garcetti broke into an original rendition of ‘My Favorite Things.'
"The Willows, in Canoga Park, opened to residents on Feb. 1 and will provide them with resources including case management, space for animals, and larger quarters for couples. The 75-bed facility is the first Bridge Housing (site) to accommodate opposite-sex couples.
(It) was named “The Willows'' for the Tongva nation, which “nurtured'' the site and used to construct their homes out of willow branches, according to Los Angeles Family Housing's Stephanie Klasky-Gamer, who said her organization received the blessing of Tongva Chief Anthony Morales to build the facility.
The (site) was designed with trauma-informed principles, including skylights for natural sunlight to help residents with mental health issues and depression. Residents are also able to bring emotional support and service animals with them to the facility, which has a cat and dog room outfitted with kennels and hammocks."
Natosha Johnson moves inside her new home in North Hills.
(Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
LA Family Housing is proud to be part of the success of Project Homekey, a state program that has purchased and rehabilitated buildings for homeless individuals. The speed and flexibility the state offered local governments have resulted in one of the largest expansions in shelter for homeless people ever, making possible the rapid rehousing of families like Natosha Johnson's.
"In total, a little over 95 projects totaling 6,000 units are planned to be purchased or have been purchased by municipalities or housing authorities, according to state officials. In Los Angeles, the city and county will add about 1,800 units — 1,000 in the city, the rest outside it." - Benjamin Oreskes | Staff Writer (L.A. Times)
“What I think was so extraordinary about this process was the ability to achieve pace and scale and open up units so quickly,” said L.A. Family Housing’s president & CEO Stephanie Klasky-Gamer.
Cynthia Caldwell, a neighbor of Jeffrey “Animal” Pereira in the homeless encampment along the Los Angeles River in Atwater Village, reaches out to touch his photo on Sunday during a vigil at Bond Park.
(Nick Agro / For The Times)
"Those friends gathered Sunday in a sliver of a park on Los Feliz Boulevard to recall the life of Jeffrey Pereira, 54, who died Friday in his encampment nearby on the banks of the L.A. River."
- Doug Smith | LA Times
This year marks the 30th Annual Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day. National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day takes place each year on the longest night of the year, the winter solstice on December 21st. It's a time to remember those we have lost this year and strengthen our resolve to work for a world where no life is lived or lost in homelessness.
“Pereira was one of the more than 1,200 people who died on the streets of Los Angeles in 2020. Unlike so many, he was neither unknown nor alone.”
With the incredible support of our City Council President Nury Martinez and CD 6, LAFH made the holidays bright for our 40 families that just two weeks ago moved into Parthenia Place — L.A.’s first Project Homekey site operated by LA Family Housing and owned by the Housing Authority of Los Angeles
“‘By bringing Christmas trees, food for everybody, lunch for today, food for the holidays and generous donors to LA Family Housing -- has allowed us to buy thousands of presents for all the children we serve,’ Stephanie Klasky-Gamer, from LA Family Housing said.”
Parthenia Place is the first permanent housing complex purchased by the city through Project Homekey, and with the help of our partners, we’re making it a merry time for a positive transition and a wonderful holiday season.
December 02, 2020
40 Homeless Families Move into San Fernando Housing Complex.
Parthenia Place is L.A.'s first Project Homekey site dedicated to housing individuals experiencing homelessness. It's a brand new permanent supportive housing apartment complex for 40 families and Transition-Age-Youth.
“… 14 motels and apartment buildings have been purchased throughout L.A. to provide 750 units and rooms for those seeking housing, including Parthenia Place and two motels in Council District 6.”
LAFH partnered with the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles, City Council President Nury Martinez, and L.A. City Mayor Eric Garcetti, to create this supportive housing building.
Homelessness in Los Angeles - Suzanne Stein
L.A. is home to more than 60,000 individuals experiencing homelessness. As COVID-19 continues to impact the mental, physical, and socioeconomic health of individuals, the needs are ever-increasing.
LAFH in addition to several partner organizations - organization like The People Concern, and Weingart Center - are doubling down on our outreach, housing, and all-around supportive services to provide our most vulnerable Angelenos with the assistance they need to remain, healthy, safe, COVID-19 free.
"These local homeless charities—worthy of your money and time—are on the front lines of the crisis." - Malia Mendez
To see how LAFH is making a direct impact in our mission to #endhomelessness, please visit our COVID-19 response page.
November 06, 2020
Homeless Students Get Help with Virtual Learning
Erica Richardson sits with her two sons.
As COVID-19 continues to ravage the processes and rework procedures of daily life of parents, students, and teachers in families experiencing homelessness, LA Family Housing and partner organizations are stepping up with a new program geared toward education and supportive services called “Kids First.”
“The program is part of an effort led by Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez and other nonprofits, including LA Family Housing, to give education, health care, food, and housing support to students and their families for a full school year.”
Tutors will visit family motel sites two days a week, which will help a total of more than 50 families experiencing homelessness .
Parent Erica Richardson is living with her two sons. Lonnie (11) and Jayden (9) at a motel in Van Nuys. The family became homeless when Erica lost her job and was unable to afford rent. Erica said that times are rough and expressed her worries over online learning and the education of her two sons, but also mentioned that their constant support helps the family get through it together.
"When I get down on myself, they are like, 'no, you're not a bad mom,'" Richardson said. "And I'm like, that really speaks volumes to me right now."
November 02, 2020
LA’s Homeless Getting Involved in Election, Using Their Vote
The voices of some of LA’s unhoused neighbors got a chance to be heard on Tuesday at the LA Family Housing campus Vote Center. LAFH’s Leading the Vote Home initiative proved that many people living on LA’s streets didn’t even realize they had a right to vote.
“They felt if they didn’t have an address, they didn’t have the opportunity to cast a ballot, and there could be nothing further from the truth,” said Stephanie Klasky-Gamer, President and CEO of LAFH.
“This site of our campus was the first homeless shelter that we ever opened in the early 80s,” she continued. Voters like Shay Hall were able to register on site and cast a provisional ballot. Hall wanted to get back in the booth because he missed the Presidential election last time. He says he fell off the voter rolls and wants to see changes across Los Angeles. “I wish we could clean up homelessness a lot, and maybe we could improve on housing. We’re having a rent crisis,” Hall said.
“In this election, ALL of our voices matter.” - Stephanie Klasky-Gamer
Under California’s Project Homekey program, eight projects to create permanent housing options for individuals experiencing homelessness were awarded $55.6 Million.
“Six of the projects are in the city of Los Angeles, and would offer up 243 units, which includes five motels and an apartment, and two additional projects proposed by Los Angeles County would create 145 units. These projects were part of the fourth round of awards announced under the program, and adds to six other projects that received funding in a previous round in the Los Angeles County area.”
This program is similar to the Project Roomkey program, which will be ending soon. Linda Richter, a Project Roomkey & LAFH participant said that being in Project Roomkey helped her get back on her feet after she lost her housing due to medical bills.
“‘Los Angeles has such a critical problem with homelessness,’” she added. “‘You see tents on the corners and under the freeways. It’s just … it’s just heartbreaking, and you think, what is going to happen to these people?’”
September 28, 2020
How Three Providers Are Conducting Voter Engagement Efforts
“The National Alliance to End Homelessness recently connected with partners across the country to learn more about their voting efforts. From responding to the call to action for voter engagement efforts at the Alliance’s Nationwide Townhall, to addressing racial injustice and voter suppression efforts due to COVID-19, Homeward Greater Richmond Continuum of Care, LA Family Housing, and Pathways to Housing DC stepped up to ensure their clients were registered and encouraged to vote.”
LAFH was inspired by the spread of inaccurate information and lack of access to unhoused individuals as direct forms of voter suppression. Coupled with the COVID-19 crisis, our most vulnerable populations were not even considered for group outreach efforts, so LAFH decided to take matters into our own hands.
Together with partner organizations, we’ve hosted more than 8 events, registered individuals experiencing homelessness to vote, and educated our most vulnerable neighbors about their right to be hear, counted, and valued.
Read the full article at the National Alliance to End Homelessness
September 02, 2020
Dodgers Foundation Awards More than $1 Million in Grants Aimded Social Justice, COVID-19 Relief
The L.A. Dodgers Foundation announced Wednesday that it is recognizing nonprofit organizations that are providing dire need to Angelenos during COVID-19. Additionally, the Dodgers are awarding more than $1 million in grants to said organizations that are addressing communities impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and social injustice.
"Our nonprofit partners are on the ground doing significant work to uplift neglected communities,'' said Chaitali Gala Mehta, the foundation's chief operating officer. "The impact of the pandemic and ongoing racial injustice has redirected our charitable dollars in 2020 to organizations that are supporting Angelenos in dire need. Our commitment to investing in local nonprofits continues during a time when every dollar counts."
LAFH was awarded $15k to provide food, clothing, and basic necessities for 400 families experiencing homelessness.
Residence on Main - 69th and Main St.
Residence on Main, a roughly $30-million project located at the southwest corner of Main & 69th street is receiving it’s finishing touches. Under the supervision of LAFH, the Coalition for Responsible Community Development, and designs by Y&M Architects, the project is on track for opening in 2021.
“The four-story edifice will offer 50 studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments, reserved for chronically homeless Angelenos, transition-aged youth, and families.”
Rents will range from $509 to $1260 per month and will be made available to household earning between 35 and 50 percent of the area median income.
In addition to housing, the project includes a garden, a courtyard, community spaces, and a 25-car garage.
LAFH President and CEO Stephanie Klasky-Gamer is joined my Mayor Eric Garcetti, Assemblymember Luz Rivas, Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) CEO Heidi Marston, LAFH Board Chair Gillian Wright and Housing & Homeless Deputy Molly Rysman.
Each winter, The National Guard armory in Sylmar was converted into a shelter ran by LA Family Housing for individuals experiencing homelessness, providing them a reprieve from the harsh elements.
Under the supervision of LA Family Housing and with the help of amazing partners, staff, and county elected officials, the once sparingly used facility will now be used to provide 85 women with a safe haven of supportive bridge housing during their journeys out of homelessness.
The Arroyo will not only provide a safe haven for individuals experiencing homelessness, but also features a yoga room, exercise equipment, and an outdoor seating/eating area.
The project relied heavily on Measure H funds but also received more than $3.6 Million from the City of L.A.
“… in the San Fernando Valley, the Sylmar facility will only be the second such shelter to open. City leaders hailed the opening of a shelter in North Hollywood earlier this month, which has 85-beds, the majority of which are for men, and the rest for women.”
Residents will move in to the building later this month.
Thursday night, LA Family Housing partnered with DTLA restaurant, Angelini Osteria, Big Sugar Bakeshop, and In Good Taste for Home Together — a virtual event to raise funds, awareness, and recognize front line staff who are working everyday to provide supportive services to individuals experiencing homeless.
Actor and comedian P.J. Byrne was joined by actors Kristen Bell and Ed Helms, who provided both entertainment and information on LAFH participants. The night also featured four-time Grammy award-winning artist India Arie, and L.A. City Council President Nury Martinez.
“With 980 attendees across four platforms — the unique event web page, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter — Home Together met its fundraising goal of $250,000 raised the night of the virtual event on Thursday, June 25. Combined with the $1 million already raised for April 2020 LAFH Awards gala (canceled due to COVID-19), LA Family Housing raised a total of $1.25 million in support of their work to end homelessness in Los Angeles.”
Read the full recap at LA Weekly
June 26, 2020
Kristen Bell, Ed Helms, India Arie Unite for Virtual Benefit to Fight Homelessness in Los Angeles
On Thursday night, Kristen Bell tossed on a ruffled purple shirt and Zoomed in from her living room. Ed Helms strummed a guitar while singing a twangy cover of “Freeborn Man” by Jimmy Martin. India Arie performed “Strength, Courage, & Wisdom” with her virtual band members supporting her from their individual homes. And JD McCrary showed off a glimpse inside his bedroom and an a capella rendition of “This Little Light of Mine.”
These festivities were part of LA Family Housing’s virtual “Home Together” Fundraiser, hosted by P.J. Byrne. LAFH, which strives to help people on the streets of Los Angeles find shelter and support, typically throws an annual gala in April; this year, coronavirus had other plans. But that wasn’t enough to stop the founders from raising awareness — and funds — for the organization’s many initiatives.
June 23, 2020
As Efforts Collapse to Place homeless in Hotels, L.A. Officials Propose New, $800-million plan
As COVID-19 continues to impact L.A. County, officials Tuesday unveiled an $800-million redesigned plan to reinforce housing measures for vulnerable Angelenos experiencing homelessness.
Wendy Brown, 58, who spent three years sleeping on sidewalks, walks through the hallway where she now resides at the Cadillac Hotel in Venice. As part of Project Roomkey, she is sleeping in a $240-a-night room off the boardwalk.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
“The three-year program proposed by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) would employ a combination of bridge housing, rental subsidies and rehousing services, all leading to permanent placements for 15,000 people who are considered most vulnerable to COVID-19 because of their age or health conditions.”
The plan outlines $600 million of new funding, on top of $200 million from existing homeless programs. Monetary sources for the new proposed plan are currently unavailable as Measure H funding is taking a critical hit due to COVID-19.
“Other elements of the plan include a 50 percent increase in LAHSA’s prevention program, beefed-up tenant protections and efforts to more quickly fill vacancies in existing supportive housing, which sometimes remains empty for months after tenants leave.”
India Arie (courtesy of India Arie)
LA Family Housing is excited to announce that Grammy award winning artist India Arie is joining us for our Home Together virtual event!
This event will raise awareness and funds for LA Family Housing’s work to end homelessness, and celebrate our frontline staff and program participants.
“Since the Stay At Home order was enacted, LA Family Housing has moved more than 450 people indoors, provided 1,300 meals a day to families in need, and partnered with L.A .County to temporarily convert four motels to new shelters for people at risk of being infected with coronavirus.”
Additional guests joining us to raise funding to end homelessness include Ed Helms, Kristen Bell, and more!
The virtual event will take place on Thursday, June 25 @ 7 pm PST. To RSVP please, visit lafh.org/hometogether
A young man who was raised in a group home and has been homeless since age 18, on the street in New York.Credit...Anna Watts for The New York Times
At any given time in the united states there are more than 500,000 individuals who are experiencing homelessness. This staggering number not only reflects a larger housing problem, but also is exacerbated by the current protocols and temporary measures taken by the United States to help support homelessness.
“The federal government could render homelessness rare, brief and nonrecurring. The cure for homelessness is housing, and, as it happens, the money is available: Congress could shift billions in annual federal subsidies from rich homeowners to people who don’t have homes.”
The palliative care of the current solutions to homelessness in the U.S., however, is geared toward temporary and intermittent solutions like shelters, day-care centers, showers, etc.
“Reframing the debate — asking what is necessary to end homelessness — is an important first step for New York and for other places that are failing this basic test of civic responsibility.”
Under the supervision of LA Family Housing, 43 high-risk people who had been living at a freeway underpass were placed in the safe environment of a local hotel.
Read the full article at Medium
April 18, 2020
L.A. RACES to save 15,000 homeless people from coronavirus - one hotel room at a time
Omar Spry of the Los Angeles Housing Community Investment Department pushes a cart of bags into a West L.A. hotel that has been turned into housing for homeless people during the coronavirus pandemic.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
LA County officials have launched a new effort to relocate more than 15,000 individuals experiencing homelessness to hotel and motels to stop the spread of COVID-19.
There are about 60,000 individuals experiencing homelessness in LA County - As a vulnerable population that is more susceptible to not only the spread of coronavirus, but also heightened effects of the virus, it’s important to provide increased resources and prevention.
‘“Moving quickly is critical. If LAHSA can secure 15,000 rooms and fill them, it could prevent 1,400 hospitalizations and 350 deaths, according to an analysis by Randall Kuhn, the UCLA researcher who led a study on how many homeless people could die from COVID-19.’”
To aid in isolation and help lessen the overall spread of the virus, LA Family Housing has taken responsibility for a total of 126 motel and hotel rooms.
More than 100 RVs are parked at Dockweiler State Beach in Los Angeles to house people who have tested positive or have symptoms of COVID-19. Many of the patients are homeless.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
As the risk of spreading COVID-19 rises, LA county is hastily compiling multiple housing shelters, isolation locations, and coronavirus resources for vulnerable populations like individuals experiencing homelessness.
‘“The L.A. County Office of Emergency Management, which is responsible for providing space for patients to quarantine or isolate themselves, had 460 rooms ready this week — including 112 trailers at Dockweiler State Beach — and is preparing to open another 442 rooms. Only 51 people were using them as of Tuesday. More will be used as more people are confirmed to have COVID-19 or possible exposure to the disease, the agency’s Director Kevin McGowan said.’”
To aid in isolation and lessen the overall spread of the virus, LA Family Housing has converted its community room and its computer room into sleeping areas, has set 15-minute meal times, and has provided/implemented necessary preventative safety procedures.
LA Family Housing enlisted the help of its young Hollywood action committee to assist in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic including “Pose” actors Ryan Jamaal Swain and Troian Bellisario in addition to Sports Illustrated model, Hunter McGrady.
‘“Amidst the COVID-19 crisis LA Family Housing remains open and committed to supporting our homeless neighbors,' Bellisario said in a post to her 12.6 million followers. ‘But we can’t do it alone. You can help provide meals, supply disease prevention items [and] equip our outreach team. Donate today.’”
LAFH has implemented several structural/safety protocols in its programming to address cornavirus, including educational outreach on the street, protective safety equipment, necessary quarantine areas, hot meals distributed daily and laptops to families with children.
March 23, 2020
coronavirus: LA county opens up temporary shelters to house homeless
Parks and gym recreational facilities across Los Angeles have been closed down and transformed into temporary housing for Homeless neighbors.
Facilities are fully staffed including medical personnel providing regular health evaluations and temperature check-ups to shelter participants; and buses that pick-up individuals looking for shelter. Only residents and staff are allowed inside shelters.
“As of Monday afternoon, there are eight centers opened across the area with early numbers indicating about 1,600 people could be housed.”
The effects of COVID-19 and the fear of transmitting it to vulnerable populations, like individuals experiencing homeless, has encouraged service staff to adhere to new safety protocols.
“Throughout Los Angeles, outreach workers such as Montoya and Green Team members are still trying to understand how to do their work in this time of pandemic.”
Safety equipment and preventative supplies are in short supply as service providers scrounge for availability in an effort to slow the spread and contain the outbreak.
“Last week, Mayor Eric Garcetti announced that the city would convert 42 recreation centers into temporary shelters, providing 6,000 new beds …”
The Foster Youth to Independence program was created, introduced, and passed by Congress within four months.
“It’s a monumental lift that’s never been done before, and that’s why it’s so important to do this right,” he said.
The HUD program is providing 24,000 vouchers to young adults across the nation who left the foster care system, mostly within the last year. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates that more than 23,000 young people age out of foster care each year.
The National Center for Housing and Child Welfare estimates about that 25% of these young people experience homelessness within four years of leaving the foster system and an even higher percentage are precariously housed.
December 4, 2019
MAYOR GARCETTI, LAUSD ANNOUNCE EXPANSION OF PROGRAM TO ASSIST FAMILIES COPING WITH HOMELESSNESS, HOUSING INSECURITY
Mayor Garcetti today announced that 500 homeless families with students in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) system will receive Section 8 vouchers — an invaluable resource in the fight to get Angelenos off the streets and into housing.
“Angelenos are coming together to confront the homelessness and housing crisis, from opening A Bridge Home Shelters across the city to cutting red tape getting in the way of urgently needed affordable housing,” said Mayor Garcetti. “For decades, our schools have been overlooked in this fight — and today is an important first step as we work to ensure students and their families are met with opportunities and not obstacles.”
November 5, 2019
Watch: A homelessness and housing town hall
California’s affordable housing shortage has become a full-blown crisis and the numbers are staggering. Meanwhile, the state’s growing homeless population is straining public health systems.
LAFH President & CEO Stephanie Klasky-Gamer joined a panel organized by CalMatters, The Milken Institute and The Los Angeles Times during a town hall that examined the many factors leading to explosive rates of homelessness, and the steps that local and state leaders are taking to both accelerate housing development and navigate the legal and moral maze of helping the tens of thousands of people who live in squalor on California’s streets.
October 15, 2019
Empty Garages: The Answer to California’s Housing Shortage?
The LA-Más units have roomy, contemporary designs. Credit: Stephen Schauer, via LA-Más
According to a recent report by the California Housing Partnership, the state needs 1.4 million more affordable rental homes to meet current needs. The housing crisis in California means that architects and builders have had to get creative, and Steven Dietz said he is up for the challenge.
Garage conversions, granny flats, backyard cottages, in-law apartments, guesthouses, crash pads: In California as of 2017, they’re all “accessory dwelling units,” or ADUs, and state laws regulating their construction have been relaxed. Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law this month that further encourages their construction.
As students across the Los Angeles Unified School District headed back to classrooms Tuesday, district officials heralded a new partnership with city and county housing agencies aimed at providing support to a number of housing insecure and homeless families in the northeast San Fernando Valley.
Douglas Guthrie, president and CEO of the Housing Authority for the city of LA, said the agency will grant 50 Section 8 housing assistance vouchers to LAUSD households as part of a pilot program in coordination with LA Family Housing and Mayor Eric Garcetti’s office, in hopes of duplicating the venture in other parts of the district.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, both involved in homeless issues for years, have proposed a new approach, in which the state would establish a right to shelter and make sure there’s a bed for every homeless person now camped on streets, riverbeds and parks.
This is a change in direction because for several years, the focus has been on building permanent supportive housing rather than temporary shelter. But the more radical part of the proposal is this:
Once beds were available, homeless people would be forced to move inside.
July 31, 2019
What It’s Like to Live in Your Car
On Tuesday, over strenuous objection from advocates for the homeless, the Los Angeles City Council voted to reinstate and extend rules that bar people from living in their vehicles in many parts of the city.
The law, which expired at the beginning of the month, prohibits dwelling in vehicles at night on any residential street and at any time within a block of parks, schools and day cares.
The move comes as cities around the state grapple with homeless populations that — despite increased spending on services — are growing.
July 25, 2019
Giving Shelter
Shortly before she found out she was pregnant, the father of Maria Carrillo’s baby died unexpectedly. Facing some hard choices, she decided to keep the baby, which resulted in no other option but to move back in with her mother.
Her appendix burst during the pregnancy and Ceasar Carrillo was born prematurely, diagnosed with hydrocephalus from the impact and spent the first month of his life in an incubator. At two months he endured his first head surgery. Ceasar is now 3 years old, suffers seizures regularly and is under the constant and dedicated care of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.
A homeless shelter that had been operating for 30 years out of a former motel and bar completed its transformation this week into a sunshine-filled campus that will soon begin offering health, housing and other services to thousands of people in the San Fernando Valley who are now living on the streets or in shelters.
The new LA Family Housing campus clusters together a family center, shelter and permanent housing with office space for job counselors, housing navigators, legal service staff and other partners.
The close proximity of a range of services and housing means that instead of needing to take a bus to get to a doctor’s appointment, it might only be a short walk to an exam room in another part of the campus.
Read the full article at The LA Daily News
More about The Irmas Family Campus
Looking at the pressing shortages of low-income housing in each and every state in the country, it’s hard not to come to the conclusion that NIMBY homeowners are winning the fight against new housing, and especially against affordable housing. But there’s one potential foe that reactionary homeowners are ill-equipped to dominate: their own neighbors. Other homeowners, that is, who have elected to house Section 8 voucher-holders in their backyards.
That’s the proposal by LA-Más, an urban-design nonprofit in Los Angeles, and other organizations involved in The Backyard Homes Project. Led by designer Elizabeth Timme and public-policy expert Helen Leung, LA-Más has previously worked on placemaking projects and convenience-store redesigns that highlight healthy food options. Now, Timme, Leung, and their partners hope to finance and build backyard homes, or accessory dwelling units (ADUs), for homeowners who agree to rent them initially to Section 8 voucher-holders for a minimum of five years.
Michael B. Jordan and WWE star Ronda Rousey were just two of the powerhouses that gathered in Hollywood Thursday night for the LA Family Housing’s annual fundraising celebration.
The live-auction event, which brought together hundreds of top industry executives, philanthropists and government partners, aimed to raise $2 million for LAFH, which builds permanent housing and supportive services for the city’s homeless. In a rallying effort to meet the event’s goal, Jordan and Rousey, alongside families directly impacted by LAFH’s services, took the stage to express the importance of the non-profit’s work.
“I learned at a very young age that people who own less are not less than,” Jordan said on stage. “The people who we help should not be defined by what they lack. Homelessness is not an identity or the result of someone’s mistakes. It is a result of a broken system, people falling through the cracks, racism and discrimination, a lack of affordable housing, and years of unfair pay.”
The “Black Panther” star wasn’t the only one to touch on the stigma attached to homelessness. Blair Rich, president of worldwide marketing at Warner Bros. Pictures and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, and actor PJ Byrne, the event’s emcee, also pointed to misperceptions of the homeless as one of the leading challenges facing the community.
“So many people look at homeless people and are like, ‘Just pull yourself up from your bootstraps, go get a job, and get off the street.’ That is not the answer,” said Byrne. “For so many people it happens because of medical bills. They get certain diseases, they’re bed-ridden and can’t pay their rent so they find themselves on the streets with their children. And sometimes you just need that helping hand to get off the streets into a home, reboot, and start your life again.”
According to Rich, who’s chaired the annual fundraiser for the past ten years, such a reboot can be made possible through an innovative model that successfully moved over 2,000 people into permanent housing in the last year. LAFH has 24 properties across Los Angeles, and a campus opening next month offering more than just housing. “I can’t stand the injustice that the stigma of homelessness brings with it which is that it’s an unsolvable problem and people are just trained to look away and people don’t think there’s a solution,” Rich said. “It’s not like a disease without a cure — we actually do know what to do so we have the model and it’s building permanent housing and matching that housing with supportive services like health care, tutoring and job training.”
Bringing together stars such as Jordan and Rousey is one way LAFH brings more attention to the city’s homeless crisis, said Mark Ridley-Thomas, the LA County Supervisor and the honoree of the night.
“I am just very proud that they are here because they get it,” Ridley said when asked about Hollywood’s involvement with the organization. “And many of them have their own journeys, their own stories. Some of those who we celebrate as celebrities have themselves been homeless.”
Rousey spoke of her own tumultuous beginnings in her speech, recounting the times she had to sleep in her car due to instability in her home life. “Like many others here tonight, I was not born into money or privilege,” Rousey said. “I spent more than enough nights sleeping in my car but I was lucky and I found a way to work myself up the economic ladder.”
The Olympic medalist ended her speech on a high note before the night’s bidding began, though. “I believe in advantageous disadvantages,” she said. “There is power in reaching our lowest lows because it not only shows us what we’re capable of enduring but also what we have the ability to rebuild ourselves from. I believe that rock bottom is the most solid foundation from which to build your life.
Feb 13, 2019
Stephanie Klasky-Gamer and the Prevention and Diversion of Homelessness
Stephanie Klasky-Gamer describes LA Family Housing’s Prevention & Diversion programs, and process for placing housing throughout the city, which has an unprecedented rate of community acceptance. You’ll also hear Stephanie’s experience with a woman who had come the end of her options, but who is now flourishing thanks in part to an individualized approach that determines what is needed to become permanently housed.
These are anxious times for Stephanie Klasky-Gamer and the people her organization, LA Family Housing, helps lift out of poverty and homelessness.
Throughout the 35-day government shutdown, the chief executive worried that some 400 families — or about 1,600 people — wouldn’t be able to stay in their federally subsidized houses and apartments, and that LA Family Housing wouldn’t recoup the $250,000 it had spent to prevent mass evictions from the federal government.
And now that the government has reopened, she is worried that another shutdown will put those same tenants at risk again and that landlords will be less willing to work with the poor and homeless people her organization serves.
JAN 23, 2019
On a night when temperatures dipped into the 40s in Los Angeles, Mayor Eric Garcetti joined thousands of volunteers documenting the area’s homeless population.
The mayor was joined by other government officials at a permanent supportive housing facility in North Hollywood run by L.A. Family Housing. More than 7,000 volunteers are expected to participate in the annual documentation, which continues through Thursday.
Every day, hundreds of people in Los Angeles County work homeless outreach — building relationships with homeless residents, and working with them individually to enroll in programs and services already available for help. It’s a major part of LA’s anti-homelessness efforts, but they can’t end homelessness on their own, as KPCC’s housing reporter Matt Tinoco reports.
As vehicles scream down Burbank Boulevard, Eric Montoya of LA Family Housing pulls his car over and leads a group of outreach workers on a narrow path through thick bush. A clearing opens, revealing two treehouses along a creek. Nearby rows of tents line a creek, and trash piles high.
Beyond the tree-shaded comforts of suburban living, miles from the 20,000-square-foot mansions, the hilltop castles, the $40,000 private schools, and the gated glory, L.A. residents by the thousands live in motels, vehicles, shelters, shared homes and 400-square-foot garages.
The things I heard as a kid, and repeated to my own kids, don’t apply for a lot of L.A.’s public school students. There is no quiet place to do homework. There is no private space without distraction. Los Angeles kids, like their parents, make do.
Read the full article at The Los Angeles Times
This article is the third in a four-part series. Read the other articles here:
Part 1: Hidden in L.A. suburbia, wrenching poverty preys on children and destroys dreams
Part 2: For the principal with the most homeless students in L.A., the reality of poverty is personal
Part 4: For children trapped in poverty, breaking free is getting harder
A $5 million gift from Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ philanthropic fund will allow a San Fernando Valley-based organization to buy up property to temporarily house an additional 150 homeless families.
The funds will be used to buy property in the “greater Los Angeles area” to provide short-term housing “in the heart of residential neighborhoods, allowing each child to connect to community resources like schools and parks that are so critical while their families find stability,” said LA Family Housing CEO Stephanie Klasky-Gamer.
The nonprofit will then “leverage” the additional real estate “in order to build additional permanent housing for our participants,” she said.
August 19, 2018
LA Family Housing was featured in an hour-long special that takes a look at homelessness in Los Angeles on Dateline NBC. Watch the episode by clicking the image below.
April 6, 2018
The Inspiration Award winner shared the stage Thursday night with L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti and first lady Amy Elaine Wakeland at the L.A. Family Housing Awards in West Hollywood.
At one point during his Inspiration Award acceptance speech, Dwayne Johnson choked up, forcing him to pause and say, "I see ... it's going to be one of those kind of nights."
And it was that kind of evening. A night during which two grown, high-profile men (Johnson and L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti) chased away tears against the backdrop of an electric fundraiser that pulled in a record-setting $1.65 million for LA Family Housing.
February 27, 2018
“Homes end homelessness.” That was the simple and ultimately persuasive slogan of the Proposition HHH campaign in 2016. In November of that year, an overwhelming 77% of Los Angeles city voters opted to raise their own property taxes to pay for $1.2 billion in homeless housing — 10,000 units to be built over a decade. Politicians exulted in the win and vowed that after years of short-lived strategies and half-hearted measures, they would finally address the crisis with the resolve and the resources needed to bring it under control.
January 9, 2018
After years sleeping on LA streets, housing comes as a shock for some Valley homeless
Even with the keys to his new studio apartment grasped tightly in hand, 73-year-old John Leroy McCullah was still trying to process what was happening.
The previous night, he was laying in a rain puddle on a Sylmar street corner. The next morning, mud still clinging to his sneakers, he signed paperwork to move into a newly built housing complex in North Hollywood.
After being homeless for 15 years, the thought of finally having a permanent roof over his head seemed to McCullah like something out of the surreal television show “The Twilight Zone.” A part of him was bracing for a rude awakening or sudden change in fortunes.
“I wish I could have said a lot of superlatives and everything,” he said, “but I’m in a state of shock.”
![IsidoraKeys[1451].jpg](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/577dbf51bebafbf9bab9803c/1507140415323-WLK934IACEO5LZI63MQW/IsidoraKeys%5B1451%5D.jpg)
Exciting Measure H news: the County of Los Angeles will convert the Sylmar Armory from an emergency winter shelter into year-round bridge housing for women operated by LA Family Housing!
“We are proud to be involved in this important development to provide women experiencing homelessness access to gender-specific bridge housing in order to expedite their path into permanent housing,” said LAFH President/CEO Stephanie Klasky-Gamer. “The County's conversion of a winter shelter into new Bridge Housing shows their commitment to do things differently if we intend to see different results. The primary goal is to see women - and all people - permanently end homelessness in their lives.”
L.A. County considers another path on homelessness: prevention
An LAFH client discusses her future after Bridge Housing
The calls on the hotline reflected life at its messiest: A single mom who left her boyfriend and was living in a motel. An out-of-stater who came for a job that fizzled. A low-income family with medical bills and a three-day eviction notice.
The callers had one thing in common. They were not homeless — yet. When they reached the referral line at L.A. Family Housing in North Hollywood, the pained response once would have been, “If you wake up in your car tomorrow, call back,” said Kris Freed, vice president of programs at the nonprofit agency.
That’s because traditional services for homeless people — shelters, housing assistance and case management — have one fundamental requirement: that the recipient is verifiably homeless. Now, a new and largely unproven approach is emerging as a major element of Los Angeles County’s homeless initiative. Those drafting plans for the Measure H sales tax funds approved by voters in March have proposed spending more than $40 million over the next three years to prevent people from becoming homeless in the first place.
While strong winds at Los Angeles Family Housing’s 18th annual Awards at first almost threatened to blow the whole event away, the humanitarian spirit of its attendees held strong as the evening came together beautifully. Ice Cube and Zach Braff were among many notable attendees Thursday night at The Lot in West Hollywood as LAFH raised funds and awareness to continue its fight against homelessness in Los Angeles.
Holly Marie Combs, Missi Pyle, and Cameron Boyce were among the other celebrities who walked the yellow carpet before enjoying food from several different Los Angeles restaurants including Button Mash and Trap Kitchen. Afterwards, guests made their way inside for the awards ceremony and charity auction. The event was initially planned to be located on the rooftop at The Lot, but windy weather forced organizers to improvise and move the proceedings to the ground floor, including the reception itself which was held in the parking garage.
Los Angeles County voters on Tuesday gave the green light to a quarter-cent sales tax increase intended to raise an estimated $355 million a year to pay for an ambitious plan to battle homelessness.
The vote follows the approval last November of an L.A. city ballot measure to issue $1.2 billion in bonds to fund the construction of homes and shelters.
With the cash in hand, how should it be spent?
"It's the first step towards ultimate victory," said Rev. Andy Bales from Union Rescue Mission. "Don't feel like, 'Hey, we've crossed the finish line.'"
Stephanie Klasky-Gamer of Los Angeles Family Housing added, "Because it's all so new, it's a bit of building the plane as we're flying it that's going to happen."
Take Two talked with these two advocates for the homeless about how they would like to see taxpayers' money spent, and how the process will work.
February 28th, 2017
TERA'S STORY
Tera is a single mother with two small boys who escaped homelessness thanks to help from L.A. Family Housing. She describes the hopeless and helplessness of having np place to live, and what it means to finally have an apartment she and her sons can call home. Featured in KCET's SoCal Connected Special: The Way Home.
January 5th, 2017
What's our best bet for breaking the cycle of family homelessness?
Stephanie Klasky-Gamer, president and CEO of LA Family Housing joined Andy Bales, CEO of Union Rescue Mission in downtown L.A., and KPCC correspondent Rina Palta to talk about the solutions on the city, county and state levels, and whether they'll be enough.
RINA: WHEN WE HEAR THAT WE'RE AT THIS CRISIS POINT OF FAMILY HOMELESSNESS, MORE SO THAN IN THE GREAT RECESSION, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE POSSIBILITIES FUELING THIS?
Klasky-Gamer: It's always an economic crisis – a loss of hours in full-time work, someone going from a 40-hour a week job earning $10 an hour going down to 38, or it could be a two-headed household working and they still can't afford a typical apartment in Los Angeles. So I think there's always an economic crisis that's tied to family homelessness.
DECEMBER 25th, 2016
Rams' Tavon Austin, Robert Quinn bring holiday joy to single mother of six
LOS ANGELES -- Tavon Austin thought about his mother on Wednesday afternoon. He always does, but on this day it was different.
The Rams wide receiver was standing inside a four-bedroom apartment in a neighborhood called Sun Valley, nestled in the northwest section of Los Angeles. Austin and teammate Robert Quinn had spent more than $20,000 from their own bank accounts to furnish this place for a single mother named Rebecca Carter who had just been reunited with her six young children and was doing her best to put six years of periodic homelessness behind her.
Carter walked in, and her eyes lit up -- and Austin thought back to Baltimore, and Cathy Green, and all the odd jobs she worked to provide for four children, and the drive Austin felt to someday pay her back for it all.
"My mom was pretty young, and she did what she could do," Austin said. "We had six people in the house [his grandmother lived there, too], so I know how this feels. It put the drive in me to get to where I want to today. That’s how I looked at it, that’s how I approached it and that’s how I took it. Hopefully one of them little boys in there take it the same way that I took it. 'I’m going to get Mommy out of here. I’m going to get us out of here.' That’s what I did."
May 9th, 2016
Dave Curry, right, visits his friend Russell Badgwell in Tujunga Wash, the place he used to call home. Curry received a Section 8 voucher from LA Family Housing and now lives in an apartment. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
July 5th, 2016
A heavy equipment operator demolishes the former Fiesta Motel in North Hollywood on Thursday. The motel served for 30 years as housing for some of the San Fernando Valley's homeless. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)
June 9th, 2016
THE CAMPUS AT LAFH
February 16th, 2016
Stephanie Klasky-Gamer, president of L.A. Family Housing, says she’s “beyond excited” over the project. David Crane - Staff Photographer