Dec 30, 2018
Across a diverse landscape, L.A's hidden homeless live hard lives in fanciful 'homes'
(Photo by Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
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.
November 27, 2018
Whether home is a van, a motel or a garage, L.A.’s suburban poor children learn to survive
(Photo: Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
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
November 20, 2018
Amazon’s Jeff Bezos gives $5 million to San Fernando Valley-based nonprofit to house homeless families
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.
(Copywright: NBC News)
April 6, 2018
Dwayne Johnson Fights Back Tears Recalling Youth When He Lived in Motels and Stole Steaks
(Photo: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)
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
Don't let NIMBYs — or weak-kneed politicians — stand in the way of homeless housing
“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.”