Formerly homeless, Brent helps others get off the streets

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Skid Row Housing Trust is home to friends, family members, and neighbors who are recovering from long-term homelessness and working towards a better life. Los Angeles faces a staggering homelessness crisis, so your continued support of effective and compassionate programs is more important than ever.

Our housing helps people like Brent, a proud father and grandfather whose struggle with addiction and depression cost him his job and apartment. Brent‘s two adult sons helped him however they could, encouraging him to seek treatment and housing. A healthy home and professional support from the Trust helped Brent recover and find fulfillment assisting others who face similar hurdles. As a Peer Advocate, Brent now mentors new Trust residents who are transitioning from homelessness into permanent supportive housing. He recently moved into an affordable apartment in the community, and is able to spend more precious quality time with his family.

Donate to Skid Row Housing Trust in honor of Brent and his sons, who show the strength and persistence of the Los Angeles community. It won’t be easy or simple, but homelessness is a crisis that we can solve together.

Support Skid Row Housing Trust this Mother’s Day

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Kim, a mother of four, struggled with addiction and homelessness throughout her life before moving into an apartment at Skid Row Housing Trust. Kim doesn’t think she would have been able to reconnect with her family if it wasn’t for the stability and peace offered by permanent supportive housing. Kim is working to hard to improve her life, taking life skills and job readiness classes so that she can be there for her children.
The Trust provides people who have struggled with chronic homelessness more than just four walls and a roof. We create compassionate communities for those who need it most so that they can heal and reconnect with family and loved ones. Now, more than ever, we need your support.
In honor of Mother’s Day, donate in honor of someone who has helped you succeed, giving others the chance to build relationships that will help them lead happier, fuller lives.

On skid row, rebuilding a dream one mosaic at a time

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Piece by Piece, a partner of Skid Row Housing Trust, is featured in the Los Angeles Times to demonstrate the impact of funding for the arts. Piece by Piece offers low-income and formerly homeless individuals free mosaic art workshops that develop soft skills, build self-confidence, and create opportunities to earn income.

The Hilton Family’s Spiritual Entrepreneurship

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Barron’s Penta:

Hilton’s homeless program is not just good philanthropy, it’s changing lives for the better.

Donate to bring our neighbors home.

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Having struggled with mental illness her entire life, Evelyn was homeless on and off for 20 years. She occasionally found employment during periods of wellness, only to lose her job again during an episode of illness. When living on the street, Evelyn isolated herself from her adult children so that she wouldn’t burden them with her difficult struggle to survive. “Mental illness can be invisible because you look fine,” said Evelyn. “People can’t see how sick you really are.”

Evelyn was referred to Skid Row Housing Trust’s permanent supportive housing a year and a half ago. Not only does Evelyn now have a safe and stable home, but also a team of onsite staff that work collaboratively to help her address the underlying mental health conditions that led to her being homeless. “If the property manager at my building doesn’t see me for a day, she notices,” said Evelyn. “She’ll stop by my apartment or check-in with my case manager. Everyone is watching out for me.”

For the first few months after she moved into permanent supportive housing, Evelyn rarely left her home because she didn’t trust that it would be there when she returned. Now Evelyn participates in support groups, spends time with her children and grandchildren, and volunteers twice a week at an outreach center for women that helped her while she was homeless.

Your donation will help Skid Row Housing Trust create more homes for men and women experiencing homelessness and increase the supportive services that help residents like Evelyn heal, reconnect, and succeed. By 2020, the Trust will build or renovate 1,200 homes in Los Angeles, and all of them will have on-site staff and programs that help our residents break the cycle of homelessness. We are sincerely grateful for your continued generosity and encourage you to invest in permanent homes and support – the key ingredients to ending homelessness for good.

Give online now at skidrow.org/give.

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Evelyn with her son Charles at the Star Apartments.

Transforming the Past

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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.

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Kenneth’s tattoo before and after The Order’s cover-up.

Marinello Salon Day

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Every second Wednesday of the month, Marinello School of Beauty offers free haircuts, styling and manicures to Skid Row Housing Trust residents. It is a great opportunity for the Marinello students to gain experience while giving back to the community. Residents receive a day of pampering that helps them gain confidence. “You can see how proud residents feel about getting a haircut or a shave,” said Brent Smith, a Peer Advocate. “To see someone with a smile like they have makes me feel the joy that they are feeling. I’m so glad that I can be a part of this.”

“With a place to live, I can work towards a better life.”

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Haniff is celebrating the start of a new career this Thanksgiving. Four years ago, Haniff’s life was ripped apart when his mother suddenly passed away. In between jobs, the death of his mother triggered a period of depression that rendered him unable to seek new employment. Haniff, a longtime resident of South Los Angeles, started sleeping on friend’s couches when money ran out, and eventually he turned to shelters on Skid Row. Haniff struggled to treat high blood pressure and kidney disease without the stability of a permanent home, and his health declined as he lost hope for the future.

Last year the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services referred Haniff to Skid Row Housing Trust’s Star Apartments, moving him into permanent supportive housing designed for people living with chronic health conditions. With both a medical clinic and a wellness center on site, the Star Apartments was a sanctuary where Haniff could heal.

With the foundation of a permanent home and a supportive community, Haniff graduated from L.A. Kitchen’s culinary job training program, and he was recently hired as a prep cook. “It wears you down moving from place to place, and you can’t find a sense of normal. You can’t do anything but exist,” said Haniff. “Now I have a refuge and a routine. With a place to live, I can work towards a better life.”

Help more people struggling with chronic health and mental health conditions escape the cycle of homelessness by supporting Skid Row Housing Trust’s innovative permanent supportive housing. Please consider making a recurring monthly donation to fund evidence-based programs that help residents build healthier futures. Take part in permanently ending homelessness in Los Angeles by giving today.

The Six for Veterans

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Listen to KNX 1070‘s piece on The Six, Skid Row Housing Trust’s latest permanent supportive housing development focused on the needs of veterans who are struggling with homelessness.

Amos Sandifer: The Newly Housed

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KCRW: Who lives on Skid Row—on and off the streets? KCRW’s Lisa Napoli brings us this portrait from the heart of the neighborhood: San Pedro Street. In this portrait, Lisa finds out how one man got off the streets—and what challenges remain.