Meals, Showers, and Support Daily!

Affordable housing and homelessness

San Fernando Valley

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

Los Angeles counted over 45,000 unsheltered individuals in 2024, with an estimated 10,000 in the San Fernando Valley. In 1978, NVCS founder Verna Porter began addressing this issue with a soup kitchen. By 1996, NVCS was officially established to expand services. Recognizing the link between homelessness, mental health, and poverty, NVCS grew its programs. In 2019, we launched the Valley’s first Safe Parking program and began motel outreach, feeding over 200 families in 6 motels. In 2020, our food pantry served 4,000 families weekly via drive-thru. In 2021, we formed an official street outreach team connecting individuals to housing and critical resources. These programs are still in operation and NVCS continuously adapts to the growing needs in our community that we see.

This grant will support North Valley Caring Services’ (NVCS) critical homeless response efforts, including our Breakfast & Shower Program, Motel Outreach Program, and our dedicated Homeless Outreach Team. Collectively, these initiatives serve over 300 individuals each week—from newborns to seniors—by providing meals, hygiene access, basic needs, and vital connections to supportive services. Our on-campus Breakfast & Shower Program operates three mornings per week, starting at 6 a.m., offering participants a hot meal, clean clothing, and access to four private showers. In parallel, our Motel Outreach Program reaches families living in motels—many of whom are experiencing hidden homelessness—with food, hygiene kits, diapers, and case management support. NVCS’s Homeless Outreach Team plays a key role in building trusted relationships with those on the streets or in temporary housing. Trained in trauma-informed care, the team provides consistent check-ins, safety checks, resource referrals, and transportation support. What makes this initiative unique is NVCS’s commitment to dignity, consistency, and holistic care, creating a safe and welcoming environment while helping individuals take tangible steps toward stability and self-sufficiency.

If our work is successful, Los Angeles County will see a more connected, cared-for, and supported unhoused population. NVCS has seen a steady rise in the number of people needing support, making it critical to meet them where they are with compassion and consistency. Our long-term relationships with participants build trust, which is essential to guiding individuals toward housing, employment, and stability. By providing showers, meals, and outreach services, we reduce the daily burdens of survival—freeing up time and mental space for participants to pursue longer-term goals. In the short term,this grant will allow us to expand our outreach, feed more people, and support families in motels with diapers, hygiene items, and transportation. In the long term, we aim to grow our Homeless Outreach Team,increase shower and meal availability, and build partnerships to offer deeper case management services.Our model creates immediate relief and opens pathways to lasting change across LA County.