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When the world is riddled with huge issues that often make us feel tiny in comparison, it may be easy to feel our impact is minimal, too. But we both know that isn’t the case—especially when we work together. In fact, we have seen countless times this year alone the significant change we can inspire in our own communities through simple collective actions in our daily lives. This quote springs to mind: “Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us every day.” Even as we keep up with the news globally, it’s crucial to remember how much we can affect locally.

This holiday season, we’re bringing you the Everyone In Gift Guide witch includes a bunch of L.A.-based businesses that give back in so many amazing ways to their communities, including advocacy and support for our unhoused neighbors, as well as fantastic minority-owned businesses. Consider getting your holiday shopping done with some (or all!) of these businesses to help people experiencing homelessness and to help strengthen their economic wellness.

We’ve carefully curated this guide with our favorites. Browse through to see lots of cool gift ideas and how your purchases can make a difference.

MADE by Downtown Women’s Center – All purchases from Made, created by the Downtown Women’s Center, will support vital career training and mentorship programs for women who are experiencing homelessness. Many of Made’s products are key ingredients to some lovely self-care, like candles, soaps, and bath salts—or you can peruse some cool clothing and stationery.

Piece by Piece – Piece by Piece’s mission is to provide free mosaic art workshops to residents of Skid Row, South Los Angeles, and surrounding areas who have experienced homelessness and/or are living with economic insecurity. Your support will go directly to offering cultural opportunities to the artists that they would otherwise never be able to experience.

Reparations Club – Reparations Club is more than a bookstore. This Black woman-owned bookshop in Mid City is a creative space curated to show the beauty and power of Blackness.

Nappily Naturals & Apothecary – This Black-owned wellness shop and healing space located in Leimert Park is run by a husband and wife committed to rejuvenating not only your hair and skin, but the community’s understanding of how to avoid harsh chemicals and show love to their bodies.

The Modern Cactus – Diana Lamas’ Los Angeles brand is inspired by her Mexican culture and love of bohemian style. Her affordable line of vegan suede hats are handmade in Mexico and come in two styles—rancher and boater—and a variety of colors. One size fits most.

Tansy – Tansy is about a warm home, celebrating nature, and creativity. They are an eclectic collection of unique, one-of-a-kind art and home décor pieces. Thinking globally, they sell handmade items from individual artists across cultures.

The Foto Shop by Las Fotos Project – Send your loved ones gallery-worthy photo prints from artists who have participated in Las Fotos Project over the last ten years, including Fabila Lopez and Anissa Murillo. Proceeds from sales support the East L.A.-based group, which works with teenage girls, helping them use photography to express themselves, document their communities, and build valuable skills.

Goddess Mercado – Come to this monthly pop-up event designed to uplift local Latina vendors in the Los Angeles community. You can find all sorts of incredible goods every second Saturday of every month from 10–4pm.

Lil’Libros – Lil’ Libros celebrates Latin American culture and important figures in its history. Their books honor beautiful stories like the life of Mexican painter, Frida Kahlo, and Cuban music icon, Celia Cruz, in English and Spanish with rich and colorful illustrations—while also introducing concepts like first words, numbers, colors, shapes, and biographies.

A Place Called Home – A Place Called Home provides children and teens in South Central L.A. with love, safety, training, and opportunity. Donating is a gift that will never stop giving.

Search to Involve Pilipino Americans – Search to Involve Pilipino Americans is a community center that offers services such as utility assistance and housing to underprivileged populations. This holiday season, S.I.P.A. is collecting gifts, toys, gift cards, food, and new clothing items to donate to low-income families.

As One Charity – One Church International’s outreach ministry group, As One Charity, visits L.A.’s Skid Row and Hollywood on a weekly basis to provide food, water, clothes, hygiene products, and reading materials to our unhoused neighbors. For the holidays, As One Charity is accepting clothing, food donations, blankets, gift cards, water, and toys, along with gift boxes for adopted families. 

Eso Won Books – This independent Black-owned bookshop’s specialty is literature chronicling the Black experience. Check out the awesome selection for both fiction and nonfiction. 

Malik Books – This African American bookstore in Baldwin Hills Crenshaw sells new and used books, gifts, and more, while hosting events such as book signings from some incredible authors.

Bloom & Plume Coffee – This Black Family Business in Echo Park is not just a coffee shop, but a brand built around uniting people and their community. You’ll definitely want to check them out if you’re into coffee, flowers, or anything cool.

Hot And Cool Cafe – This small business serves as the backdrop for some amazing creative works, including art and live music. We recommend picking up a few bags of their delicious coffee.

Sip & Sonder – This Black women-owned coffee house in Inglewood is the place to go for beautiful coffee beans, teas, and one of our favorite things—community building. 

Dime Nail – Enjoy a unique nail care experience in the Miracle Mile. You’ll walk away with wearable art that helps you feel as great as you are. 

Union LA – Shop for off-the-beaten-path, high-end global brands that are guaranteed to punch up any wardrobe.

Süprmarkt One-for-One – When there’s not a pandemic afoot, Süprmarkt pops up in Leimert Park offering low-cost, wholesome grocery markets. For now, they’re focusing on CSA-style boxes brimming with healthy, local, organic produce. A gift subscription covers two boxes: one for your gift recipient to enjoy, and a second that will be donated to one of the 2 million people in Los Angeles living in a food desert.

Honey Mamas – Honey Mamas’s cocoa truffle bars break all the rules. They are made to nourish you with plenty of super food ingredients while also tasting indulgent and delicious. 

No Us Without You Meal Sponsorship – $33 to feed a family of four for a week. No Us Without You has stepped up amid the pandemic to feed and care for the very people who so often feed and care for the rest of us—undocumented hospitality industry workers. Share what you might have spent on a single holiday dinner with a friend at an L.A. restaurant, and you’ll cover the costs of feeding a family for a week.

Consider donating to the organizations below this holiday season:

The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights – Founded in 1986, L.A.-based CHIRLA provides direct services to local immigrant and mixed-status families, including legal services and representation, health and social services referrals, in-language education programming, and policy advocacy.

LA Mission – Every December LA Mission hosts their annual Christmas dinner for our neighbors experiencing homelessness. Lines wrap around the block as families enjoy a true winter wonderland and receive a meal, toys, shoes, and health care. Los Angeles Mission feeds over 5,000 people on Christmas.

A Better LA – A Better LA was founded in 2003 by NFL coach Pete Carroll to support community-based solutions to restore peace, save lives, and link individuals in the inner city to resources they need in order to succeed. During the period between 2003 and 2014, A Better LA funded community-based non-profits led by former gang members who had turned their lives around and dedicated themselves to reducing gang violence. They continue to have a powerful impact on the communities they serve.

With a 90% success rate for keeping people stably housed, supportive housing has proven to be one of the most effective tools for combating homelessness. The integration of permanent affordable housing with onsite services creates an environment where tenants with a wide range of challenges or traumas can get back on their feet and succeed. That is why we developed the 222 Housing Pledge.

In March of 2018, L.A. City Council members unanimously pledged to support the development of at least 222 units of supportive housing in each of their districts by July 1, 2020. That is 3,330 units, at the time, one third of the city’s 10,000 unit goal. Not only did the pledge increase pressure to create much needed housing, it served as a reminder that there are people experiencing homelessness in every corner of L.A. and every district must do its part.

Of the fifteen Coucilmembers, nine of them achieved the goal: Gil Cedillo, Nury Martinez, Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Curren Price, Herb Wesson, Mike Bonin, Mitch O’Farrell, Jose Huizar and Joe Buscaino. Meanwhile Paul Krekorian, Bob Blumenfield, David Ryu, Paul Koretz, Monica Rodriguez, and John Lee (who replaced Mitch Englander) failed to achieve the goal, while some came closer than others.

While progress is certainly worth celebrating—more supportive housing has been approved in the 2016-2020 period than the previous three decades combined—it is imperative that we hold elected leaders accountable to their promises, and for their responsibility to each of their constituents, so many of whom are experiencing housing insecurity and homelessness. While this pledge has now concluded, we will continue to push for these needed supportive housing units across all L.A. council districts and the larger county.

En español.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve shared a series focusing on the stories of people across Los Angeles who have been affected by the pandemic.

People like Alejandro, a UCLA student whose education has moved online.

Or Angelica Gonzalez-Harris, who is now dealing with the reality of risking her health as an essential worker since she works at a gas station.

Others like Danny Garcia, a street vendor, are struggling with the economic loss of people staying indoors.

Theo Henderson, the creator of “We, the Unhoused” podcast, is currently experiencing homelessness and lacks a safe place to quarantine.

All of these residents have different stories, but they are all people whose lives and livelihoods are threatened by the high cost of housing in our communities.

And they are not alone.

Millions of renters across Los Angeles are at risk of eviction, a threat echoed in a recent Luskin study from UCLA. 

That’s why we created a petition demanding rent and mortgage forgiveness, which to date has been signed by over 7,000 advocates. 

Join us and share your story.

Press coverage in the Los Angeles Times, L.A. Daily News, and Spectrum News 1.

On May 7, we co-hosted our first-ever virtual Stories From The Frontline event, sponsored by the John and Marilyn Wells Family Foundation. Host Christine Singer-Luna, of “What’s Up, Whittier?” facilitated a wonderful hour of story-telling and introduced the speakers—amazing advocates working to end homelessness, many of whom have experienced homelessness themselves.

We heard from some of our partners at homeless service organizations about why they are so moved to work on behalf of those without housing, and from people who have lived outside about the life-changing impact that housing and services had on their lives.

There was a time when CSH Speak Up! Advocate Mary Martinez was unable to walk due to health complications. Housing gave her hope. “Once I was strong enough to get on my own, they gave me housing. Once I got in my housing, I went back to school. I got my certificate to be a peer specialist, a wellness outreach worker and there was no more room for drugs in my life.” Of course, she shared her victory story with a big smile while wearing high heels.

Speak UP! Advocate Keri Bales and Lori Derrington, a former resident of Whittier First Day shared courageous stories about their pathways to housing. Lori turned her experience into art, making t-shirts to help inform people of the reality of life on the streets. She reminded us, “We can all benefit from learning from each other. After all, my success wasn’t my success without help from the community.”

Keri shared that support and community can come in a multitude of forms. It was Keri’s dog that supported her through domestic abuse and homelessness, so she was determined not to abandon her best friend in the pursuit of housing. “I told the outreach workers, my dog’s going with me and they said PATH in Hollywood has a bed and a kennel and they’re waiting for you… So they packed me up and got me out and that was the beginning of a beautiful life.”

We were inspired to hear our very own San Gabriel Valley Everyone In organizer Allison Henry speak to her reasons for becoming an advocate. “Falling into homelessness is so easy…I want to be part of the solution. I want to advocate for those who can’t always advocate for themselves. I want to be the informed voice.”

Kawika Smith, an ambassador with Imagine LA, shared his journey from childhood homelessness to a full scholarship to Morehouse College. Kawika remembers being asked to speak to his 5th grade class, “I told my story and everyone in class was crying because we all found out that day that mostly all of us had experienced homelessness. It was very emotional but it was also a reality check that just because someone doesn’t show the signs, doesn’t mean that it’s not there.”

Constanza Pachon, the CEO of The Whole Child, taught us about the impact that homelessness can have on children and families. No one needs to remind Constanza of how wide-spread homelessness is for children. She’s dedicated her life to fighting it, and she has a plan. “We strongly believe that the best way to curb intergenerational homelessness is by rapidly rehousing children and their families and by providing mental health services to lessen the traumatic effect of homelessness.”

Fighting to end homelessness is a colossal task with challenges at every turn. TK Monzon, CES program director for Whittier First Day, reminded us of how important it is for homeless service providers and advocates to stay positive. “We like to celebrate the little wins because it’s really crucial in having hope or looking to that better day.” Mike + Loren, local musicians who know what it’s like to live on the street, gave us a taste of that positivity when they shared a song about overcoming challenges.

Most of the speakers shared very personal stories of overcoming unique hardships, but all their stories had one thing in common: ultimately it was a human connection that led them to the opportunities that changed their lives. It’s for this reason we celebrate the advocates who, everyday, choose to put someone else’s well being ahead of their own, to live with compassion and to put that compassion into action.

Elise Buik, President and CEO of United Way of Greater Los Angeles, closed out our event with a call to action. “Now more than ever, our neighbors that are living on the streets need us and your participation today shows that you want to be a part of helping them and helping us as we really look towards long term solutions, to get our neighbors into safe places during this crisis, and ultimately get them into the housing they deserve.”
We hope you were able to join us and that you were as moved by our incredible speakers as we were. Stay tuned for our next Stories From The Frontline on June 30, and keep an eye out—we’ll be sharing all kinds of ways you can continue to advocate for your neighbors, no matter where you are.

You can watch the full Stories From The Frontline event here.

Before the pandemic hit, you may have noticed some posters around your neighborhood with the question, “What are people doing to end homelessness?”

We put these posters up on buses, in alleys, on trains, and billboards throughout Los Angeles.

And despite so many of us staying home in self-isolation, we received thousands of texts from people who had seen our posters and wanted to learn more.

From the bottom of our hearts, it has been a privilege to share with you some of the stories of outreach workers who are providing life-saving services night and day across our county.

Now more than ever, the work of homeless service providers is essential.

Outreach workers were doing this work before the COVID-19 crisis struck, and will continue to provide vital services through it. They were already on the front lines, providing food, shelter, medical support, and safety for our most vulnerable. Now they are also helping to locate seniors and others on the streets who are especially vulnerable to COVID-19 and provide them with motel vouchers to get them to safety.

Many people don’t know about the outreach workers and everything they do to end homelessness. Every single day, 133 people move from homelessness into housing. That’s a huge victory that often goes unnoticed. It is our responsibility to make the public aware of this work so that everyone sees the value of it and continues to invest in real solutions.

You’ll be hearing more from these outreach workers in the weeks to come, but for now here’s one more look at what drives our real-life heroes.

Antelope Valley

“Sometimes we, as a population with housing, do not understand why people are homeless. It could be that they lost their home, their jobs, divorce. One of the major things that I see is housing. It is really difficult for people to rent on their own- I could be homeless tomorrow, you never know.”

–Audrey, Outreach Worker, LAHSA

“I know it might sound silly, but I’m trying to end homelessness. I don’t know how I’m going to do it but I’m still trying to figure out a way. I get home every day exhausted from this but it’s a good exhaustion. It’s not draining just knowing that I’m trying to make a change.”

–Eddie, Outreach Worker, LAHSA

San Fernando Valley

“In 2014, I was the only outreach worker here. Since then, there are 150 outreach workers in [this region]. Helping people is a process of trust-building, of us keeping our word, which is very important in the work that we do.”

–Eric, Outreach Supervisor, LA Family Housing

“I advocate for the homeless because I used to be homeless five years ago. I want to help the community, to give back what I was given. I was out there for five years and I had no idea that there was help out there, but then I met Eric.”

–Sonia, Peer Advocate, LA Family Housing

San Gabriel Valley

“People think all homeless are drug addicts and lazy, that’s the stigma surrounding homelessness. I meet people all the time who had jobs and homes and then had family members die and they couldn’t keep up with the bills, so they became homeless. I was homeless on these same streets of Pomona, so I like being able to come back to the city and give back.”

–Renee, Housing Navigator, Union Station Homeless Services

Central L.A.

“Our community members are some of the most vulnerable and I don’t like how on the news people often criminalize them. Homelessness is not something to be criminalized. These are people with needs and they just need care.”

–Yvette, Case Manager, The People Concern

“My clients are some of the most generous, resilient people that I have ever met. They look out for you, especially if you come on a regular basis- they have our backs and they look out for us. Once you get that trust from them, you have it for good. That’s why I love what I do.”

–Ngozi, Case Manager, The People Concern

“We wear a lot of hats, and I don’t think there’s enough hours in the day to get done what I want to get done. So we do what we can and what we are able to do, and as long as people are homeless, we’ll be out here.”

–Javier, Substance Use Specialist, The People Concern

West L.A.

“I do this because I have a personal connection, I’ve been homeless and struggled with substance use in my past, and when I was in the middle of that I had people who reached out to me and helped me. They were willing to listen to me, direct me, and get me the help that I needed. To me it’s just a way to pay it forward, and it’s something that’s really an honor for me to do.”

–Jose, Case Manager, St. Joseph Center

“[Homelessness] is a complex intersection of issues- whether it comes to stagnant wages, affordable living, housing costs, basic social service safety nets for folks, dealing with community trauma. There is a rich history of socioeconomic struggles behind this crisis.”

–Breanna, Mental Health Specialist, St. Joseph Center

“Coming from a low-income family, we weren’t homeless but we did a lot of couch surfing and we could’ve been homeless. Growing up here and seeing the community now, rent inflation and lack of affordable housing has really impacted the community. It makes me want to continue to do the work and be an advocate for the people experiencing homelessness.”

–Dawan, Director of Outreach and Engagement, St. Joseph Center

South L.A.

“If we don’t do this work, who’s going to? It’s going to take everybody in Los Angeles to reach out to somebody that’s homeless, that just needs somewhere to lay their head. Everybody deserves that. I think the misconception is that this is everybody else’s problem. It’s not everybody else’s problem, it’s our problem.”

–MaryAnn, Outreach Worker and Substance Use Specialist, PATH

“We try to do a lot of trauma-informed care. It’s asking “what happened to you?” not “what’s wrong with you?” We talk to people and humanize them. We ask them what their life has been like up to this point, how they got to where they are, and how we can help them get to where they want to go.”

–Michael, Mental Health Specialist on METRO Transit Team, PATH

“I love my job. I always envisioned trying to help people because I have been at a point where I felt like I didn’t have any services available to me and I don’t want people to feel like that at any time in their life.”

-Jose, Substance Use Counselor, SSG-HOPICS

East L.A.

“I enjoy this job very much, it’s actually a perfect job for me, it’s a perfect career. I genuinely enjoy helping people. The best part of my job is when I actually get to see somebody get housed. Usually I meet people when they are on the streets, so to see them moving into their own unit is the best part of the job.”

–Amos, Outreach Worker, PATH

“We link our homeless population to any community service there is. Sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. We just meet them where they’re at and try to help them in all their needs. Whatever it takes. It’s a team effort- we collaborate with one another and we all want the best for our homeless population and that’s what works.”

–Jose, Outreach Navigator, PATH

“This work is a passion of mine because I have personal experience with homelessness. When I was young my dad got deported, and me and my mom and my sister were homeless for a few months. I think it’s a really big issue right now in Los Angeles, with the housing crisis and everything, and sometimes we just have to hold hope for these individuals that have run out of hope.”

–Bryan, Outreach Worker, PATH

South Bay

“Truly getting someone housed is a team effort. No one individual or one organization can do it, we need the support of one another. Getting someone housed is one of the victories that we have here, it’s very rewarding, and it makes me feel well.”

–Howard, Outreach Specialist and Housing Navigator, Harbor Interfaith

“Our goal is to help people link to services. I’m part of a team with social workers, substance use counselors, nurses, and we help people connect to whatever they need. The most important thing is to treat them as a person.”

–Gabriela, Outreach Worker, Mental Health America of Los Angeles

April is National Sexual Assault Awareness Month and we want to put some statistics in the context of our homelessness crisis, as so many of our neighbors living outside are affected.

Although sexual violence is among the most underreported crimes, available statistics reveal that one of every five women, one in six men, and nearly half of all transgender people have experienced sexual assault in their lifetimes.

And for people without stable shelter, the data is even more alarming.

According to a recent study from Downtown Women’s Center focused on assault rates among women experiencing homelessness, 42% report that they have been sexually assaulted in their lifetimes, and 27% have experienced sexual assault in the last year.

What we can learn from the data is this:

• There is a high correlation between people who have experienced sexual assault and those who now are experiencing homelessness. We also have learned from many advocates who have experienced homelessness about how sexual assault can lead to substance abuse, addiction, and physical and psychological trauma. Lastly, people who lack access to shelter are at higher risk of sexual violence than people who have stable homes.

• The impact of trauma can be deep and long-lasting. Services that offer support are critical, whether counseling, yoga, or art healing. Within the framework of our homelessness crisis, this also is why solutions like supportive housing are so important, as they include programs designed to help survivors of trauma cope and heal.

Tragically, the way people view sexual violence and homelessness can be similar—the inference that the “other” person must have done something wrong to have been raped or to be living on the streets. Let us be absolutely, unequivocally clear: Just as no person wants to be raped, no person wants to experience homelessness. This mentality is as lazy as it is harmful.

That is why it’s important to look at any person experiencing homelessness as a person who deserves compassion and humanity, and as a person who does not deserve to live on the streets, because nobody deserves to live on the streets.

With the stay-at-home guidelines in effect, there is concern among advocates that people seeking to escape situations involving sexual assault may have no outlet or support. Although there isn’t a perfect solution, many organizations have set up hotlines and other services specifically for those affected and in quarantine.

Sexual assault is a problem that is directly related to our homelessness crisis and is a toxic part of our global culture that needs to be addressed through education and policy. It’s abundantly clear that we cannot end homelessness until we address the violence that affects so many of our neighbors and loved ones living outside.

More resources here:

National:
https://rainn.org (800-656-HOPE, ext. 4673)
https://1in6.org/helpline

Local:
https://www.peaceoverviolence.org (213-626-3393)
https://ywcagla.org (877-943-5778)

How to show support:
If someone you know has been sexually assaulted
How friends and family can support healing

During the past few weeks, we’ve introduced you to some of the incredible outreach workers helping to end homelessness across L.A. County.

You’ve met medical professionals, housing navigators, peer advocates, mental health experts, and nearly all of the different specialists that encompass holistic street outreach.

But in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic, this work becomes so much more critical.

We shared Audrey and Eddie’s work in the Antelope Valley, and introduced you to MaryAnn, Jose, and Michael, who are helping link their clients to services in South L.A.

Next up, you’ll get to know Elyse and Joseph, two former volunteers who fell in love with outreach work and decided to make it their career.

Joseph works for Exodus Recovery, an organization focused on providing psychiatric and substance use treatment, on the E6 team in Northeast L.A.

Don’t worry about the letter or the number. What E6 teams do is multifaceted intervention, prevention, and engagement with our neighbors experiencing homelessness. That means anything from securing medicine, to helping people apply for housing.

Made possible by voter-approved funding, E6 teams are part of a countywide outreach system that has engaged more than 9,000 people living outside, connected 4,000 people to needed services, and helped place over 600 people in housing.

Before beginning his current job, Joseph volunteered on Skid Row for seven years. At an open mic he helped organize for Skid Row residents, Joseph met a woman who he would later end up working with as her case manager with Exodus Recovery. It was that connection, and her talent as a singer that helped Joseph develop a trusting relationship and ultimately match her with services.

“I do my best to address people as people experiencing homelessness, because when we say words like ‘homeless’ it kind of reduces the person from a human being, versus a person that has a diverse, complex kind of situation.”

Speaking candidly with Everyone In, Joseph reflects on the misconceptions of trauma and addiction in relation to homelessness.

“My purpose is to help in my community. I work in the area that I grew up in and that my family grew up in, and my family, too, has suffered from substance use, addiction, and trauma. I’m still in that fight trying to help the people that are here now, trying to build community and build solutions that can last generations.”

We’re deeply grateful to see Joseph’s work to not only help with the immediate needs of his clients, but also to build systems that will end homelessness in Northeast L.A. for good.

Elyse has been working at The Center in Hollywood for about 2 ½ years as an outreach case manager. The Center is dedicated to ending isolation for people experiencing homelessness by providing trauma-informed care, as well as programs and activities that foster community connections and create pathways to housing.

As soon as you enter The Center, you feel the warmth and graciousness of the people who work there. Speaking from the beautiful patio where coffee and yoga is often served, Elyse speaks glowingly of her team.

“I honestly believe that this is the most magical place in Hollywood, maybe even Los Angeles. There’s so much love here, it’s incredible.”

Just like Joseph, Elyse came to her role after serving as a volunteer for several years providing outreach along the Arroyo River and falling in love with the community there.

“I love my clients,” she says. “I love walking side by side with them. I love helping them meet their goals and I honestly think this is the most important job that I could be doing right now.”

Some of the daily tasks that Elyse does to serve her clients? Helping get documentation for permanent housing or services, setting up medical appointments, and matching them with the immediate housing when available.

“I think a common misconception is that it’s really easy for people to go inside, get a job, or get out of homelessness. It’s really not that simple. For somebody to do that there has to be proper programming in place, there has to be housing, there has to be interim housing, bridge housing, all of these components have to be in place for somebody to be able to do that. It’s a systemic thing.”

These systemic issues are what people like Elyse and Joseph are trying to change through outreach. Our role as advocates is to support their work by fighting to create more housing, more funding for services, and more awareness and urgency around solutions needed to end and prevent homelessness.

Joseph and Elyse are two heroes out of thousands of people working to get Everyone In across Los Angeles.

Because of people like them, 133 people move from the streets into housing every single day.

Learn more by checking out our FAQ page here.

Roughly 2,000 people recently joined us on a video call to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on our housing and homelessness crisis. We were joined by homeless service providers, outreach workers, and community leaders who shared information about what is being done to support people who are living on the streets or at risk of losing their homes due to the pandemic.

Denise Ramirez is a Peer Case Manager from HOPICS and updated us on what going out into the community is currently like: “As outreach workers what we’re seeing is a great need for access to information. So our teams are still going out, they’re still hitting the streets and continuing to outreach to individuals.”

Meredith Berkson, Director of Policy and Systems at the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, told us that the emergency shelters being set up across L.A. are critical. “You can’t shelter in place and self-isolate if you don’t have a place to sleep,” she said.

The community is clearly concerned about how the pandemic makes access to services and health resources even more difficult for people living on the streets. Before and during the call, we received question after question asking what people living outside were supposed to do, how they could access food, shelter, counseling, and other necessary resources.

Pastor Lisa Williams from San Pedro United Methodist Church expressed how we’ve gone from one crisis to another. “Up until three weeks ago our unhoused crisis was the greatest humanitarian crisis, it was what kept me up, and I’m sure most of you up at night, especially when it rains,” she said. “And now this crisis has just been exacerbated and grown.” And if the lack of resources and information weren’t enough, Pastor Lisa shared that people in the encampments she visits have been feeling a sense of abandonment.

It was clear from the turnout and the thoughtful questions that this community is rallying around our most vulnerable neighbors during this time of crisis. We all have questions and are wondering how to share updates with people living on the streets, and learn what they need from us. As Eric Ares, Manager of Homeless Systems Change from United Way of Greater Los Angeles put it, “What’s really important right now is information going both ways, really being in contact with outreach teams that are hearing what are the most basic needs that folks on the streets are experiencing.”

So many have asked about the best ways to help out while practicing physical distancing. One of the ways people can help is by calling one of their elected officials at the city or county level and urging them to provide more support to our most vulnerable neighbors. Senior Director of Impact Initiatives at United Way, Tommy Newman stressed how critical contacting our representatives is: “When those elected officials get those phone calls, when they get those emails, it matters, it makes a difference, it leaves a mark.”

In addition to United Way of Greater L.A.’s Pandemic Relief Fund, people are being encouraged to donate needed supplies directly to their local service agencies. 

This is an adjustment for all of us, but community and coming together is where we thrive. As Dr. Norman Kim of Ayana Therapy shared, “We are profoundly social creatures, so social distancing goes against who we really are at our core.” Physical distancing has shifted the way we function in our daily lives, including how we show up for people experiencing homelessness. Our community is strong. It looks a bit different now, for the safety of everyone, but the key is sharing this critical information that changes by the day. As Bill Pickel of Brilliant Corners reminded us, “It’s really important to stay connected, even if virtually, and to share information.”

And for those who want to help but are unable to make any kind of financial contribution, please stay connected. Join us for future calls, and keep an eye out for our emails with suggestions of how to stay involved through our online workshops or other advocacy opportunities. As Chris Ko of United Way of Greater L.A. said, “The ways you could’ve helped three weeks ago are still the ways you can help now.” Homelessness was a crisis before COVID-19 and we will have that much more work to do in the weeks and months ahead. 

We’re so grateful to the hard-working service providers who shared their valuable insights, and to the overwhelming support and interest from all of you, without whom our work would not be possible. As our friend and CSH Speak Up! Advocate Zondre Johnson said, “The moment you walk away, help walks away too.”

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