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.
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.
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.
A Star Turn from Los Angeles County Newsroom on Vimeo.
Los Angeles County Newsroom visited the Star Apartments to talk with residents and staff to learn more about the innovative complex. Named one of TIME’s best inventions of 2015, the Star Apartments is a product of Skid Row Housing Trust’s pioneering partnership with Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, which identifies and refers individuals to the Star who were homeless and frequent utilizers of its emergency health services. Watch to find out why the Star is a nationally recognized model studied by organizations and local governments seeking to address the root causes of homelessness in their communities.
On February 24th, nonprofit leaders from around the country visited the Star Apartments as part of the Bank of America Neighborhood Builders program. They met with Trust staff and partners to learn about the innovative design and cross-sector partnerships that make permanent supportive housing projects like the Star Apartments possible. Attendees toured resident units, common areas, and wellness facilities, and visited the Los Angeles County Department of Health Service‘s ground floor offices and medical clinic. There attendees met with Marc Trotz, Director of Housing for Health, who explained how the Department of Health Services is working with Skid Row Housing Trust to link homeless patients to housing.
Following the tour, Bank of America hosted a panel in the Star’s garden to explore how partnerships between public institutions and private nonprofits can better address homelessness. Panelists Elise Buik, United Way President and CEO, Mark Loranger, Chrysalis President and CEO, Jan Perry, Los Angeles Economic and Workforce Development General Manager, and Mike Alvidrez, Skid Row Housing Trust CEO, discussed how leaders throughout the community can collaborate to develop effective solutions to the most pressing issues.
Bank of America Neighborhood Builders program strengthens nonprofit leaders and supports nonprofit organizations through grants and leadership development, creating a national network of peers focused on permanently addressing social issues. It is the nation’s largest philanthropic investment in nonprofit leadership development.
Cobbling together financing for and building low-income housing is a Herculean feat. Yet veteran developer Skid Row Housing Trust topped itself in May, when it opened the 69-unit New Pershing Apartments. The $28 million project at Fifth and Main streets transformed the old Pershing Hotel, built in 1889, and the Roma, from 1905, into a single five-story structure. The design from Killefer Flammang Architects managed to make the complex modern while preserving the Victorian façade. It is instantly a model for both low-income housing and any future historic building renovation.
Los Angeles County Supervisors Mark Ridley-Thomas, Sheila Kuehl (left) and Don Knabe (right) celebrate the commendation with Skid Row Housing Trust’s CAO Monique Davis, CEO Mike Alvidrez, Director of Asset Management Jo-Anne Cohen and COO Tonja Boykin.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas presented a commendation to Skid Row Housing Trust to celebrate our innovative Star Apartments. The building was recently named one of the 25 Best Inventions of 2015 by TIME Magazine for launching permanent supportive housing into a new era of design for health, wellness and community revitalization. The Star is a nationally recognized model studied by organizations and local governments seeking to address the root causes of homelessness in their respective communities. “Enhancing the pipeline of quality affordable housing for all residents, especially our most vulnerable, has become one of the most pressing issues of our time,” said Supervisor Ridley-Thomas. “The homeless crisis that exists in Los Angeles County requires a bold new vision and Star Apartments is a defining example of what can and must be done.”
Star Apartments is the product of Skid Row Housing Trust’s pioneering partnership with the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (DHS). DHS funds case management and supportive services at Star Apartments, and in exchange it identifies and refers individuals to the Star who are homeless and frequent utilizers of its emergency healthcare services. This partnership not only saves lives, but also saves the public millions of dollars that would otherwise be spent on inpatient and emergency care.
Designed by the world-renowned and award-winning Michael Maltzan Architecture, Star Apartments is an iconic building that aims to inspire residents and the surrounding community. A LEED for Homes Platinum development, the Star features 102 units of permanent supportive housing terraced above a Health & Wellness Center, which includes a community kitchen, art room, running/walking track, and exercise space. Residents can also enjoy a raised community garden, and multiple outdoor patio spaces for group activities. On the ground floor, the Star houses a clinic operated by DHS, which serves both Star residents and the surrounding community. It is also headquarters for DHS’ Housing for Health Division, a ground-breaking team that is committed to funneling resources towards the most critical determinant of health: housing.
On Jan 4, members of the California State Senate held a press conference to announce the “No Place Like Home” initiative.
Mike Alvidrez, president of the Skid Row Housing Trust which owns and manages The Star Apartments, began the press conference by saying “permanent support of housing works and it saves money.” He mentioned that the SRH Trust has been working with the homeless for over 25 years and in its management of The Star Apartments and other properties, their approach has been homelessness is a reversible circumstance and that everyone in a community has a role to play in ending homelessness.
Construction is complete for the Six Apartments, a new affordable housing complex in MacArthur Park targeted at veterans and chronically homeless individuals.
LA Downtowner: For the last 25 years, the Skid Row Housing Trust (SRHT) has been committed to converting SRO’s (single resident occupancy) and otherwise dilapidated hotels into high quality apartments for Downtown’s homeless. Their ‘Housing First’ philosophy sees providing housing as the first step in ending the homelessness cycle.