The World Is Solving Homelessness. Why Isn't LA?

While Buenos Aires redesigned their entire homeless response system during an economic collapse, Greater Manchester cut rough sleeping by 42% through prevention, and Lisbon is moving people from streets into jobs — Los Angeles approved $843 million in homeless spending that includes nearly $200 million in cuts. The world knows what works. The only thing LA lacks is the will to try.

Homelessness, Letters to the HousedPaul AsplundMarch 3, 2026LettersToTheHoused, SecondGraceLA, EndHomelessness, HousingFirst, LosAngeles, HomelessnessResponse, 2028Olympics, SystemicChange, RadicalHope, HousingJustice, IGHVanguard, CommunityAction, TraumaInformed, SocialJustice, OlympicLegacyComment

We Were Born For Times Like These (Right?) from Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund of SecondGrace.LA

I spent the first 33 years of my life in Minnesota. Watching the fascist ICE raids in a place I know so well has hit me hard. But I stay hopeful—not that things will calm down, but that we were born for times like these.

Letters to the Housed, Radical Hope, Immigrant RightsPaul AsplundJanuary 19, 2026RadicalHope, SocialJustice, CommunityAction, Immigration, ICE Raids, ActivismComment

Part 2: Day 2 - The Energy of Creation from Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund of Second Grace LA

Day 2 of LA County's design lab: 100 participants prototype solutions for HSH. Data ownership, breaking silos, and power-sharing with lived experience emerge as central themes.

Homelessness, Letters to the Housed, Radical HopePaul AsplundOctober 6, 2025HSH, LACounty, DesignLab, DataOwnership, LivedExperience, SystemicChange, CommunityCoDesign, RadicalHope, HomelessServices, ServiceCoordinationComment

Part 1: Building Solutions from the Ground Up: Inside LA's Homelessness Design Lab from Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund of Second Grace LA

Inside LA County's groundbreaking design lab where 100+ participants are rebuilding homeless services from scratch. A firsthand account of human-centered design reshaping HSH to replace LAHSA.