Stopping Homelessness Before it Starts

Affordable housing and homelessness

San Gabriel Valley

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

Eviction prevention is one of the most effective and humane ways to address homelessness. Most experiencing homelessness in LA County (68%) are doing so for the first time. From February 2023 to April 2025, over 210,000 eviction notices were issued in LA, 94% due to non-payment of rent averaging under $4,000. In Pasadena, where 57.4% are already rent burdened, housing insecurity and evictions are expected to rise after the Eaton Fire eviction moratorium ends July 31. Recognizing that prevention is as critical as intervention, our Eviction Prevention and Rental Assistance Program (EPRA) serves approx. 100 vulnerable households each year, helping prevent displacement through short-term rental funding and supportive services. This early intervention, often just 1–4 months of assistance, can stabilize families and avert the far greater costs and trauma of homelessness.

EPRA provides short- to medium- term rental assistance to individuals and families at risk of eviction or homelessness. In addition to financial assistance, we offer case management services that help clients address barriers to housing stability, such as financial management, employment, childcare, and access to mental and physical health care and other community resources. Our team includes a bilingual staff member fluent in both Spanish and English, enabling us to provide language support to better serve our Spanish-speaking clients.
In the last fiscal year we provided direct rental assistance to 97 families (196 individuals including 65 children), covering a total of 274 months of rent. Our staff vetted over 650 requests for assistance. Approximately 15% of those households were funded by EPRA and about 40% were referred to local partner agencies for services that met their specific needs. The program maintains a recidivism rate of under 5 percent.

If our work is successful, Los Angeles County will see fewer individuals and families entering homelessness for the first time and more residents remaining stably housed. By intervening early with short- to medium-term rental assistance and supportive services, EPRA helps address urgent needs and stabilize households to prevent eviction and homelessness. This reduces the burden on county emergency systems and homelessness resources while promoting community stability. Success means more families stay in their homes, more children remain stable in school, and more residents avoid the trauma and long-term consequences of homelessness. EPRA demonstrates that investing in prevention is both more humane and cost-effective than responding to homelessness after it occurs, supporting a healthier, safer, and more resilient Los Angeles County.