Announcement from CEO Mike Alvidrez

Dear Friends,

After 27 years at Skid Row Housing Trust, including 13 years as Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer, I have decided to step down as CEO next year to allow new leadership to advance the Trust’s mission.

I have made this decision with a sense of fulfillment that many of my professional efforts have been realized. The public perception of supportive housing has forever changed thanks to our partnerships with renowned architects to design beautiful residential and community spaces that foster reconnection, healing, and dignity. Housing First, a model that Skid Row Housing Trust began piloting in the early 2000s, is now a nationally-recognized best practice for serving homeless individuals that many once thought to be “unreachable.” And the Trust’s affiliate Property Management Company is a model of blended management that puts a premium on keeping our formerly-homeless tenants successfully housed long term.

Additionally, there is increasing public awareness of the value that permanent supportive housing brings to our communities. Skid Row Housing Trust advocated strongly for the passage of both Prop HHH and Measure H, which will provide significant local support for both capital development of supportive housing as well as the intensive wraparound services needed to help stabilize the lives of formerly-homeless people in permanent supportive housing. Nevertheless, the disheartening increase in our region’s homeless population is a call to action to redouble our collective efforts to end homelessness, and today the Trust is well situated to answer the call.

It is time for me, the executive team, and the Board of Directors of Skid Row Housing Trust to plan a successful transition of the Chief Executive Offer role.  I have communicated to our Board that I will stay on as CEO for at least another year so that a succession plan can be finalized and a thorough, intensive search for the most qualified person to assume the role of CEO can be accomplished.  It is the Board’s and my joint decision to continue to stay on at the Trust as an ambassador after the successful succession.

It has been the honor of my professional life to lead such a wonderful organization that is unafraid to take on one of the most challenging issues of our time – ending homelessness.  Skid Row Housing Trust has become known for its innovation in housing production and services delivery, its thought leadership, and its commitment to finding decent and humane solutions to homelessness.  Without reservation, I am supremely confident that the Trust will maintain its leadership role in the coming years.

The Trust will send out public notifications when it is ready to accept applications for the CEO position.  In the meantime, I am looking forward to an exciting final year as CEO and in making a successful hand-off to my successor.

My deepest gratitude to everyone who has supported my efforts and those of Skid Row Housing Trust. Thank you helping us touch the lives of tens of thousands of homeless and low-income men and women with your generous confidence and support.

Very Truly Yours,

Mike Alvidrez
Chief Executive Officer

Grand Opening of The Six

TheSixRibbonCuttingMayor Eric Garcetti, Councilmember Gil Cedillo, State Senate President pro Tempore Kevin De Leon, and US Congressman Xavier Becerra helped the Trust officially unveil The Six, welcoming new residents home. With 52 apartments and studios for formerly homeless individuals, it is the Trust’s first development with permanent supportive housing specifically for veterans. In the military, “got your six” means “I’ve got your back.” The Six has space for onsite supportive programs to help residents achieve health and wellness, and its courtyards and common areas are peaceful sanctuaries that connect with the surrounding community. Designed by Brooks + Scarpa Architects, The Six is expected to receive LEED Platinum Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

Located in MacArthur Park, The Six is the Trust’s first building completed outside of Downtown Los Angeles, showing that our successful model, based on Housing First, Harm Reduction, and Design Equity, can be applied to neighborhoods across the region. We are expanding our work to create more supportive and affordable housing options for the 44,000 people who are homeless throughout Los Angeles County.

The-Six---dusk

U.S. Green Building Council Announces LEED for Homes Award Winners

Outstanding Affordable Project: Star Apartments, Skid Row Housing Trust, LA, Calif. This innovative, 102-unit permanent supportive housing development provides healthy and sustainable homes with social services to disabled men and women experiencing homelessness. Designed by the award-winning firm Michael Maltzan Architecture, this LEED Platinum project includes an onsite medical clinic, a 15,000 square foot Health and Wellness Center, and the new headquarters of the LA County Department of Health Services’ (DHS) Housing for Health Division.

Star Apartments is Modular Building Institute’s October Building of the Month

Skid Row Housing Trust Wins $750,000 Grant to Help End Homelessness for the Most Vulnerable

Skid Row Housing Trust Breaks Ground on the New Genesis Apartments Marking the Next Evolution of the Solution to Chronic Homelessness

Ninety-Five Formerly Homeless Residents Move from the Streets into New Homes as Skid Row Housing Trust’s New Carver Apartments Opens

FHLBank San Francisco Joins in Celebrating the Grand Opening of Abbey Apartments for the Homeless in Downtown Los Angeles