Make It Work Circular Solutions to Homelessness

Access to tech and creative industry employment

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

Although the primary problem of homelessness is the lack of affordable housing, the root cause of homelessness is the economic inequality driven by histories of biased and exclusionary policies creating generational poverty. With over 75,000 unhoused individuals in LA County, and homeless service providers overwhelmed and unable to do more than provide band-aid assistance, citizen-driven solutions are needed urgently to create new pathways for economic stability for more people.
Since 2015, the number of unhoused women has risen a shocking 63% from 13,643 to 22,328 (LA Times). This increase is not slowing down. Having volunteered for three years now in the Job Services Department at the Los Angeles Mission, I have firsthand experience working with individuals re-entering the workforce and I understand many of their challenges. Effective employment pathways need to include communities of support to help individuals recover an understanding of what they are truly capable of.

The Story Pillow program is a pioneering enterprise uniting Skid Row, the Garment District, DTLA businesses, and the surrounding community into collaborative action to confront and transform the systemic economic disparities fueling homelessness.
We empower women in recovery at the LA Mission by providing them with training in our 8-week workshops to craft high-quality products from dead stock fabric headed for landfills from the garment district to sell to the hotels surrounding Skid Row. Practical training (including financial literacy classes) is combined with story-sharing exercises, free-drawing, color & design exploration for an integrative process that focuses on both skill and personal development. From cozy pillows to stylish accessory bags and durable totes, these items serve as tangible expressions of hope & renewal, and bridges to otherwise siloed demographics. No particular skills are required to participate other than willingness. Participants will be able to apply for a role in subsequent projects as peer-facilitators. Our aim is twofold: to cultivate a new cadre of skilled workers and entrepreneurs who have traditionally faced barriers to employment & forge partnerships with established manufacturing entities to secure larger contracts from private enterprises and government agencies. This initiative not only promotes environmental sustainability but also empowers participants through economic independence and a platform for personal and communal healing.

Make It Work is a transformative idea poised to revolutionize how we address the homelessness crisis in our city. Rooted in the belief that connection is the cornerstone of change, Make It Work and the Story Pillow Program are dedicated to reshaping our urban landscape into a beacon of resourcefulness, sustainability, equity, & prosperity. We are a city of innovation and storytelling, so why not use these traditions to create NEW industries on the backs of those that need re-imagining to create profitable engines for desperately needed solutions? When our program is fully operational (Story Pillows are only the beginning) LA County becomes the place people travel to for inspiration on how to transform the unhoused crisis in their own cities. We are innovating a new vision for how cities build collaborative bridges, resuscitating hope for our shared humanity. The pilot program was infused with magic - the magic present when someone sees what they are capable of. We ALL need this magic.

We collected data in our 4-week pilot program assessing participants’ level of engagement and interest in participating in future workshops, which was useful in determining viability of the program from the participants’ perspective. There will be numerous data collection points through the 8-week programs to ensure we gather qualitative and quantitative data allowing us to continually track success and where we need to focus our attention to implement changes, to respond quickly, and to keep our stakeholders informed of our progress and where we may need support. LAM has an in-house data collection team that utilizes a state of the art CRM system that will be utilized to track individual process, assessments, and case mgmt notes specified to the metrics chosen above. As the program is integrated into existing structures, our data strategy will build on best practice in qualitative/quantitative data metrics matched to CA EDD and Federal Dept of Labor standards for workforce devel.

Our parent entity, The Los Angeles Mission, will provide the infrastructure and facilities to support program participants with wrap-around support, case management, assistance with job search and readiness through their job center, legal barrier removal, problem solving and housing navigation. The Make It Work Program will eventually be developed into a budgeted capsule program and a unique offering within the workforce development program LAM is currently developing.
LAM is providing program participants through the Anne Douglas Center, and will assist with outreach, partner development, fundraising, and community events to share the products we are making in the Story Pillow workshops.