Homelessness to Graduation in South LA

Affordable housing and homelessness

South LA

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

Launched in 2023, Sunnyside 5 builds on two decades of our leadership's legacy of service to South LA. In that time, we saw countless young adults, especially those leaving foster care, fall into homelessness despite striving for education and career success.

Sitting at the intersection of several gang territories in the Westmont neighborhood, we support young people living amid one of the highest homicide rates in LA County and a “high intensity drug trafficking area” with a disproportionate rate of foster care entry. Without support, many young people will struggle to secure a degree or job, keeping them trapped in homelessness, poverty, and system involvement.
In 2021, we decided to tackle this problem directly. With backing from LA County Supervisor Holly Michell’s office, we installed 14 custom housing units onsite at Sunnyside Baptist Church and created our supportive campus. We moved in our first 14 residents during 2023.

Funding will help expand our young program at a critical moment. In May 2025, after two years of intensive support, we graduated our first 5 residents, 100% of whom earned degrees or trade certificates and transitioned to permanent housing.
As word has gotten out about our residents’ success, demand has continued to grow – far beyond our 14-bed capacity. We’re determined to meet it.
During the grant period, we'll house and support 14 live-in residents, and provide immediate wraparound services to 30 additional young adults on our waitlist. We’ll also guide up to 200 younger students from our community who’ve been inspired to pursue college after seeing their older peers succeed. This will help us broaden our impact while we prepare to grow housing capacity and maintain a steady pipeline of residents ready to move in as soon as space opens.
Live-in residents receive healthy meals, life skills coaching, mental health support, academic mentoring, trauma-informed case management, job training, and financial literacy education with matched savings.
Through a unique shared campus model, we integrate a continuum of services. Partners include Heart & Soul Design Communications Center, which provides world-class multimedia education and workforce training; and Rising Communities, which connects residents to CalFresh, Medi-Cal, mental health services, financial assistance, utility assistance, housing referrals, voter registration, and more.

Los Angeles is in dire need of solutions to our homelessness crisis, and young people growing up in our community are at greatest risk. In the immediate term, our work will help 44 young adults from South LA obtain a college degree or trade certificate and escape cycles of homelessness, poverty, and systems involvement.
In the long term, our model can serve as a springboard for replication in other LA neighborhoods with similar needs. From the beginning, our aim has been to provide more than just a temporary place for young adults to live; we help residents become thriving members of their communities, carrying forward this legacy for their own families and neighborhoods. This transformation benefits the entire region by building community safety, economic mobility, and a more equitable future.
Thank you for your consideration for an LA2050 grant. Together, we look forward to having a transformative impact on young adults in Westmont, one of the highest-need regions of South LA.