Los Angeles Affordable Shared Housing for Men

Housing and Homelessness

Applying a proven model or solution to a new issue or sector (e.g., using a job recruiting software or strategy to match clients to supportive housing sites, applying demonstrated strategies from advocating for college affordability to advocating for housing affordability and homelessness, etc.)

Uncle Dave's Housing has successfully provided affordable and safe housing for thousands of men in Los Angeles for the past 12 years. We seek to be a partner in ending the homelessness crisis on our streets. Our housing is just not a place to live or an address for those coming from jails, prisons, hospitals, the streets, or treatment centers. We strive to make our homes as beautiful and comfortable as possible. We want our clients to be proud of where they live and respect the house they live in. Our family-like model of living helps the men learn the necessary basics for the next step in their life whether it is to obtain employment, benefits or another type of help. Often, if one guy is going to school or has a job, others will follow their examples. Shared living teaches them to become more responsible in the basics of keeping the house. Our success rate of men getting their own place or reuniting with their families increases every year.

This grant will be used to open our eighth house for Uncle Dave's Housing. It will provide a place to call home for our unhoused population. We work with many probation and parole officers to obtain funding to pay for their monthly rent of $600.00. We also work with the Department of Social Services to put those on General Relief into the Housing Subsidy program that pays their monthly rent. If someone does not have funding from local agencies we often will work with them until they receive their social security or disability benefits or their first paycheck. 25-30 beds can be placed into this new house.

We can help another 25 men have a place to call home along with a family-like environment. It will essentially continue to help hundreds of others as the original guests will move out to the next step in their lives. The need for affordable housing is paramount in Los Angeles. We strive to provide a place people want to live in. The only rules are no drugs or alcohol at the property. This is independent living where they have the freedom to come and go as they want. We hope to make a dent in the homeless population by providing more housing.

We keep a daily census of each man that lives at our properties. Upon entering one of our houses we fill out an application that specifically asks how they heard about us or who referred them. The application also requires they provide any criminal information such as if they are on parole or probation and if they take any medications including what psychological medications. Our census provides the exact move-in date of each guy. All applications and contracts with the guests are uploaded into our business One Drive. When someone moves out we notate on their original application/contract the reason for moving out to help us keep records of where they go when they move out.