Urban Access for Returning Citizens

Affordable housing and homelessness

County of Los Angeles (select only if your project has a countywide benefit)

Pilot or new project, program, or initiative (testing or implementing a new idea)

Justice-impacted individuals face major barriers to reentry due to a lack of stable housing and reliable transportation. In L.A. County alone, over 30,000 people are released annually into communities with limited housing and transit access. Studies show the difference between reoffending and success often comes down to access. Housing-focused reentry programs save lives. Every $1 spent on housing-focused reentry services generates $1.83 in public safety benefits. Consider Marcus, a 38-year-old man from South LA, released after serving 12 years. Homeless, he moved between shelters, struggled to attend parole check-ins without bus fare, and was rearrested within 6 months due to a technical parole violation. In contrast, Tamika, a mother of 2 supported through a reentry program that provided transitional housing, a bus pass, and was enrolled in job training. She now works full-time at a hospital. The difference wasn’t motivation—it was access.

This is a comprehensive reentry program designed to support justice-impacted individuals with immediate access to 24/7 housing, care management, and workforce development. Often people are released from prisons—often during off-hours, with no shelter, no transportation, and no guidance. This lack of support fuels cycles of homelessness, joblessness, and recidivism.
Our program changes that by offering safe, staffed housing around the clock, along with care managers who connect participants to healthcare, behavioral health, and essential social services. We provide life skills, budgeting education, resume and interview prep, professional clothing, and transit support to ensure access to job opportunities.
What sets us apart is that our team reflects those we serve. We have lived through incarceration and understand the challenges firsthand. With empathy, dignity, and practical tools, we walk with each participant to build a stable, purpose-driven life—and help stop the revolving door of re-incarceration. Giving our clients two simple tools such as transportation and housing, allow them to be able to concur the barriers that they face upon release. Other resources such as food and clothing are often the easiest to acquire. Studies show stable housing and access to transportation have the most significant impact and address the greatest barriers for most individuals and in particular for those released from incarceration.

Through our project impact, Los Angeles County will see a measurable reduction in homelessness, recidivism, and instability related to reentry. In its first year, the program will support 89 justice-impacted individuals with 24/7 interim housing, care management, job readiness training referrals, health and behavioral health connections, and family reunification. Participants will gain safe shelter and the tools needed to rebuild their lives with dignity and purpose. By removing key barriers like housing insecurity and lack of transportation—major drivers of reoffending—we foster long-term stability. As we scale to serve 1,000+ annually, we will grow a workforce of staff with lived experience, deepen cross-sector partnerships, and relieve pressure on emergency services and jails. Our work transforms reentry from a cycle of crisis into a pathway toward stability, employment, and lasting opportunity across Los Angeles County.