KCRW: The Los Angeles City Council is weighing two separate measures to fund solutions to homelessness. One likely applicant for those funds will be the nonprofit developer Skid Row Housing Trust, which has built supportive housing by some of LA’s leading architects. Can good architecture and planning help re-integrate the formerly homeless back into society?
On June 23rd, we raced paper boats across City National Plaza Fountain to raise support for Skid Row Housing Trust! We raised over $50,000 for permanent supportive housing that breaks the cycle of homelessness, a record for the event. Thank you to Psomas and all the wonderful sponsors, volunteers, participants, and donors who made this fun-filled event possible. View photos online highlighting the event, and check out the great PHHHOTO booth at http://phhhoto.com/p/paperyacht.
Tasty treats and beverages were served by The Pie Hole, Pink’s Hotdogs, Tito’s Vodka, and Boomtown Brewery. Silent auction items were donated by Rotelli Cyclery, Skingraft, LA Downtowner, The Standard, ACE Hotel, Warby Parker, Tanner Goods, Wheelhouse Coffee, Panel Wallets, and many more. This year’s sponsors included:
Bocarsly Emden Cowan Esmail & Arndt LLP
Eminent Resources, Inc.
California Community Foundation
Geoffrey Arrobio
Nabhi Yousef
John Pallante
Arad Vejdani
ArchPaper: Estimates for 2015 released by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority put Los Angeles County’s homeless population at 44,359 individuals, with 17,687 of the 25,686 homeless residents of the City of Los Angeles being completely unsheltered.
STAT News: The job sounds impossible: solve the health care crisis in the massive and desperately sick homeless population of Skid Row, which sprawls across dozens of blocks just south of downtown.
ArchPaper: A recent count by Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) put the growing visibility and proliferation of homelessness in L.A. County into stark terms. Reporting a 5.7 percent increase in overall homelessness, the report counted 46,874 homeless individuals this year compared with the 44,359 counted in 2015. Within that statistic, LAHSA detailed 34,527 people living on the streets full-time, up from 31,025 doing so one year prior.
Conrad N. Hilton Foundation President & CEO Peter Laugharn, California Community Foundation President & CEO Antonia Hernández, and Weingart Foundation President & CEO Fred Ali announced their partnership to accelerate permanent supportive housing alongside Skid Row Housing Trust CEO Mike Alvidrez, LA City Councilmember Gil Cedillo, and Joe Sims, a resident of the New Genesis. Photo courtesy of the California Community Foundation.
The proposal also calls upon the City of Los Angeles to create new, local revenue streams to fund the increased production of permanent supportive housing, and to build upon Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Executive Directive 13 to dramatically reduce development timelines for permanent supportive housing.
“We know that permanent supportive housing has a proven track record of helping those most in need, while saving government and tax-payer money,” said California Community Foundation President & CEO Antonia Hernández. “By moving frequent users of services like emergency rooms and shelters into apartments that provide much-needed social services, we’re helping our homeless neighbors stabilize and eventually become self-sufficient.”
Mayor Garcetti, Councilmember Gill Cedillo, and Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson also spoke in support of the initiative. The foundations’ support will leverage Mayor Garcetti’s commitment of $138 million to combat homelessness over the next year. The coalition aims to build on this momentum and encourage the City to develop long-term solutions to homelessness.
“Homelessness touches every corner of our City, impacting all of us,” said Mayor Garcetti. “To combat the crisis, my 2016 budget will include a historic $138 million investment to drive forward our homelessness strategies, but as we bring record levels of City investments to the table, we also need all hands on deck. These foundations are leading the private sector by partnering with us to do more for those who need our help the most. I applaud their work.”
In addition to remarks from CEO Mike Alvidrez, New Genesis resident, Joe Sims spoke about the impact that permanent supportive housing has had on his health and wellbeing.
Photo courtesy of the California Community Foundation.
CEO Mike Alvidrez was on PBS SoCal to discuss solutions to homelessness in Los Angeles, appearing alongside Union Rescue Mission CEO Rev. Andy Bales.
We’ve partnered with The Order, a Downtown Los Angeles tattoo parlor, to offer free tattoo cover-ups to Trust residents. Tattoos, particularly those gained in prison, can be lasting reminders of a painful past. By transforming tattoos that are a source of stigma and shame, a cover-up can represent redemption, acceptance and hope. Kenneth, a Peer Advocate at the Trust, was the first to visit The Order for a tattoo cover-up. Now a mentor who teaches creative writing to residents, Kenneth received the tattoo while incarcerated. Kenneth was proud of his transformed tattoo by the end of the process, lighting up the whole room with his smile.
Read more about the partnership in LA Downtowner.
Kenneth’s tattoo before and after The Order’s cover-up.
CEO Mike Alvidrez was interviewed yesterday by NBC LA, responding to Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announcement of a $8.76 billion spending plan for the 2016-2017 fiscal year that sets aside $138 million to address homelessness.