Grounds for Change: Employing the Unhoused

Affordable housing and homelessness

Antelope Valley

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

L.A. County’s homelessness crisis affects 75,312 people, with 75% of the chronically homeless struggling with mental illness or substance use. In the Antelope Valley, the crisis is especially urgent—homelessness rose 42% in 2024 and has more than doubled since 2018. Current approaches successfully place people indoors, yet employment and community connection must happen simultaneously with housing placement. Many housed individuals still lack meaningful work, social bonds, and a sense of purpose—critical elements for sustained independence. While housing is vital, it is only the first step. Without parallel pathways to employment and community connection, housing alone cannot end homelessness. Street Company addresses this gap through transitional jobs in our social enterprises, helping people rebuild skills, confidence, and belonging. By providing structure and purpose beyond just providing housing support, we offer a more complete path to long-term stability.

Our Innovative Approach: As an organization founded by the homeless with 100% of current employees who have experienced homelessness or are currently homeless, we are uniquely positioned to prevent recidivism, lower barriers to finding employment, and help participants achieve long-term health and stability. We provide unhoused individuals throughout Antelope Valley with comprehensive programming including peer-led, paid transitional employment, mentorship, linkages to medical, and asset-based system navigation services.
Our paid 12-week transitional employment program, which is peer-led and trauma-informed, occurs on site at our coffee-roasting social enterprise, CASTERS COFFEE, and provides critical job skills training that can be utilized in any entry-level job. We use 100% of coffee sales revenue to employ unhoused individuals in Antelope Valley. In weeks 10–12 of the program, we conduct job searches, mock interviews, resume workshops, and employer introductions. Our System Navigator, a formerly homeless program graduate, also provides participants with asset-based system navigation helping participants obtain IDs, enroll in benefits, access medical and behavioral health care, and secure housing. Our strength-based case management model tackles root causes—so employment sticks. Then, post-graduation mentorship sustains community ties and promotes job retention. Funding will be used toward supporting our transitional employment program and wages for the System Navigator.

If successful, LA County will shift from managing homelessness to transforming lives. Unhoused individuals will begin with housing, but thrive through meaningful employment that reveals their potential and fosters lasting stability. Employment is not just a next step—it’s essential to both economic and social success.
Short term, we’ll support 30 unhoused individuals through transitional jobs, subsidized job placements, improved health, and long-term career goals exploration through our peer-led social enterprise model.
Long-term, we aim to scale CASTERS COFFEE across LA County. From $10K in 2022 to $240K in annual sales, our growth reflects rising demand. A new partnership with Morrison has placed our beans in hospital cafeterias, with projected revenue of $40K/month in 2025. This grant will help us meet the demand from unhoused individuals waiting to join our program—fueling expansion, sustaining impact, and ensuring more people move from homelessness to purpose-driven employment.