As Los Angeles gears up for the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics, we are faced with a critical decision. The experience of Paris serves as a cautionary tale, highlighting the consequences of prioritizing spectacle over the well-being of the unhoused community. However, it also presents an opportunity to take a different approach - one that turns these events into positive agents of change, rather than catalysts for displacement.
Read MoreNow is the time to unify in the spirit of determined, organized, peaceful yet radical resistance.
We will not back down on our rights nor our dignity. Instead, we will harness the stress (fear, anxiety, anger, malaise) into affecting positive change and lovingly, firmly, persistently setting and maintaining our boundaries. We will not succumb to fear.
Read MoreIn these challenging times, it's more important than ever for our community to come together. By donating our time, connecting with one another, and finding ways to be of service, we can cultivate hope and positivity that has immediate and long-lasting benefits for our individual and collective wellbeing.
Read MoreHelp is available. Listed are people and organizations dedicated to providing quality, radically compassionate services throughout Los Angeles. Here you will find helpful information to access these offerings.
Read MoreIn the heart of downtown Los Angeles’ Skid Row, a neighborhood that has long been synonymous with homelessness, the unhoused outnumber the housed, and poverty and despair seem to permeate every corner. But amidst this landscape of struggle, something remarkable is happening. A vibrant community response is emerging, one that is challenging conventional wisdom about how to address homelessness and offering new models for change.
Read MoreBut as the homelessness crisis has grown, so too has the realization that these scattered efforts, however heroic, are not enough. To truly make a dent in this issue, we need coordination.
Read MoreThe concept of "Housing First" has been a guiding principle in the fight against homelessness for decades. It's a simple idea: provide permanent housing as quickly as possible, and then offer supportive services as needed. While this approach has proven effective in many contexts, the homelessness crisis in Los Angeles has revealed a troubling reality: Housing First isn't enough, especially when there's no housing available.
Read MoreIn the struggle against homelessness in Los Angeles, the language we use and the stories we tell have a profound impact. The prevailing narrative often portrays the unhoused as helpless victims or societal burdens, focusing on their deficits and challenges rather than their inherent worth and capabilities. But a transformative shift is underway, led by advocates and community leaders who are challenging us to see the humanity, resilience, and potential in every person experiencing homelessness.
Read MoreMany years after recovering from homelessness and building a great life, I started working on the streets, first in SF and now in LA, bringing direct services, such as hygiene, laundry, haircuts, clothing, etc., to people who had lost their homes…
Read Moreaffordable housing. Two recent studies determined that the U.S. has a total shortfall of 3.8 million market-rate homes, a number that doesn’t even include the shortfall of affordable housing. This shortage represents not just a market failure, but a moral one. It is a crisis that disproportionately impacts the most vulnerable members of society, including the poor, the disabled, the elderly, and communities of color.
Read MoreAmidst the staggering homelessness crisis in Los Angeles, with over 70,000 individuals without a home, it's understandable to feel overwhelmed. However, a powerful force for change is emerging: the community itself. Across the city, neighborhood organizations are harnessing the strength of grassroots action, uniting housed and unhoused residents, businesses, faith groups, and nonprofits to confront homelessness head-on. These collective efforts demonstrate that when a community comes together, real transformation is possible.
Read MoreLet me put my stake in the ground—homelessness can be eradicated, and it's up to us to choose whether we continue to let it persist or rise to the occasion and end it. This essay is a heartfelt exploration of the possibilities, challenges, and transformative power of community-driven solutions in our journey to end homelessness.
Read MoreWalk through any neighborhood in LA, and you'll see fellow Angelenos without a place to call home. Mothers caring for children. Veterans who served our country. Hard workers who lost a job and couldn't find a new one. They are our neighbors, with dreams and aspirations, now struggling to survive.
Read MoreI couldn't be happier to help create Second Grace LA, the online community committed to ending homelessness in Los Angeles County. You know, and I know, the only real solution is a massive community response - thousands of Angelenos rising together to help the people living outside at the end of their streets—our unhoused neighbors.
Read MoreI spend several hours a day steeped in this world and consume everything I can about the issues that create and sustain homelessness. I’m looking for hopeful, fair, and solution-oriented articles, essays, and interviews. It’s fascinating and a lot of work, so I thought it would be good to share some of the best articles I’ve found (and not behind paywalls when I can find them).
Read MoreWhen I first sat down to create this space, I didn’t think things would move this fast or go this well. I have no complaints, but it derailed my best-made plan for writing regularly, so apologies. It’s been a minute.
Read More“One Saturday morning, he didn’t get in contact with me. And I didn’t hear from him on Sunday. And Monday afternoon, I got a text from one of his friends...”
Read MoreAs there are many paths to homelessness—job loss, health crisis, divorce, and domestic abuse, to name the four most significant—there are also many paths to reclaiming the dignity and agency required to move forward—maybe as many paths as there are people. These are four of the steps on that path that I think made the difference for me.
Read MoreFor the next few months, I’m going to share what I’ve learned working with thousands of people on the streets. I’m going to highlight the work of the most innovative and successful programs serving the unhoused residents of Los Angeles and San Francisco.
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