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2022 Grants Challenge

HALA for Homelessness Prevention

Our core program, the 90-Day Shelter was created as an opportunity for families experiencing homelessness to receive temporary housing and case management. Parents remain unseparated from their children, they receive overnight accommodations, 3 meals per day, access to shower & laundry facilities, and dedicated case managers. We resolve the barrier of being unhoused, then help parents enroll their children in school, assist with resume building, employment search, and ultimately increasing the family's income and securing permanent housing.

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What is the primary issue area that your application will impact?

Housing and Homelessness

In which areas of Los Angeles will you be directly working?

San Fernando Valley

County of Los Angeles

In what stage of innovation is this project, program, or initiative?

Expand existing project, program, or initiative

What is your understanding of the issue that you are seeking to address?

Due to the COVID19 pandemic, we have witnessed an increase in homelessness since the eviction moratorium was lifted. Many still owe back rent due to loss of employment and income. This has made securing permanent housing a great obstacle for those households that are not chronically homeless but solid family units that are trapped living on the streets or couch surfing due to no fault of their own. There are hundreds of once hard-working community members, now arms-length from barely sustainable human basics such as rent, gas, and groceries. Thinking of homelessness, we typically call to mind a single person, suffering from a substance disorder or mental health challenges. That is chronic homelessness. We rarely envision the difficulties families face when living paycheck-to-paycheck, but an unforeseen medical bill, car repair, or employment termination can quickly lead to eviction, then living in your vehicle. It really is that simple.

Describe the project, program, or initiative this grant will support to address the issue.

Through our outreach team and community partners, we connect with families that are living in their vehicles and even camping tents. Funding would support our 90-Day Emergency Shelter program. This is the inspiration for the organization as it provides unsheltered households with safe, secure overnight shelter off of the street, access to laundry & shower facilities, and the opportunity to meet with case managers on a daily basis. Although we serve all family configurations, a great number of our clients are single parents (87%), this includes veterans and single fathers, some of those families are fleeing domestic violence situations (34%). In addition to temporary shelter and in an effort to meet the growing needs of our community, Home Again LA (HALA) provides households with intensive counseling and case management, housing advocacy, financial literacy workshops, employment resources, rental assistance, and finally transitional housing with the ultimate goal of permanent housing. The most difficult part of climbing out of homelessness is generating enough income to save for the initial costs of securing housing, as most landlords require salaries to be at least 3x the rent amount. Removing that hurdle and advocating for our clients by providing cash payments directly to landlords with the help of this grant, would ensure our families are given an equal opportunity to secure and retain employment for at least 6 months and succeed despite their previous setbacks.

Describe how Los Angeles County will be different if your work is successful.

Home Again Los Angeles (HALA) is an award-winning nonprofit providing temporary shelter to households experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles County since 2010. Over the past twelve months, 96% of the families served by HALA have transitioned to and remain in housing and have increased their annual household income. We believe the opportunity for a more stable community becomes greater with self-sufficient households contributing to our economy. We are dedicated to helping families in need by offering one year of supportive services after exiting the program, allowing households to become financially independent and confident in their own ability to support their families. By continuing to offer these services, we help Los Angeles County thrive with more community members returning to the workforce, and more children enrolled in school, enabling families to escape the cycle of poverty and remain together as one household, therefore decreasing homelessness in LA County overall.

What evidence do you have that this project, program, or initiative is or will be successful, and how will you define and measure success?

HALA uses pre-surveys that include a family's vision of success and what that means to them. We are a supportive organization that helps families understand how to contribute to their future. The 90-Day Shelter program was created with major benchmarks in mind and the amount of time it takes to achieve said benchmarks such as the date employment is secured, and the date housing is secured. Each family member works 1:1 with a case manager, developing a strategic plan to return to work, locate affordable housing and increase household income. We use an internal software to track enrollment dates and growth of household income. When families exit the program, they receive one year of supportive services. We are proud of the results of our hard work & our commitment to bringing families home again: In 2020 185 families received access to shelter and supportive services; 175 remain housed In 2021 282 families received access to shelter and supportive services; 275 remained housed to-date

Approximately how many people will be impacted by this project, program, or initiative?

Direct Impact: 400

Indirect Impact: 700