When anger consumed my love for working with unhoused neighbors after losing a friend, three wise elders reminded me why we serve: not to make a difference, but to be made different. This personal story explores the journey from compassion fatigue back to love-centered service, moving from trauma-informed to healing-centered engagement. Discover practical steps for rediscovering joy in helping professions and why community connection is the antidote to burnout.
Read MoreLast fall, when Trump launched his first salvo against LGBTQIA+ rights, I expanded the purview of SecondGrace.LA and wrote a quick primer on actionable items and information we could take to support our communities. Since then, millions of words have been written about Trump attacking the rights of all our "vulnerable populations"—truly a bully picking on the people he sees as weak
Read MoreWe could end homelessness in our lifetime if we provided three simple things: a living wage, affordable housing, and universal healthcare. I remember the day I came to this realization. I was writing a presentation, a variation of the same one I had given dozens of times, full of heart-rending statistics, followed by stories of triumph. It caught me off guard, a real ‘a-ha’ moment, and I paused writing the presentation and took out my notebook.
Read MoreLiving Wage for All California is pushing for a $22-24 minimum wage statewide. The campaign believes California's current minimum wage is not nearly enough, and they are working with lawmakers including Assemblymember Ash Kalra who introduced Assembly Bill 1516 to study wage impacts and build momentum for higher wages.
Local victories are adding up: Los Angeles just voted to raise the minimum wage to $30 for tourism workers by 2028, creating a model other cities can follow. Find out if your city has active minimum wage campaigns and get involved.
Read Moreexperience and how it could be used to help others. I’ve talked about being unhoused myself when I was 26. That was over 35 years ago. I got help, got my life together, and had a whole career. But before 2014, I rarely talked about experiencing homelessness with anyone, especially at work. I was ashamed. I thought if I told people I'd been homeless, they'd judge me and wouldn't give me opportunities.
Read MoreChallenging the system that manages homelessness instead of ending it. Letters from Paul Asplund, who recovered from homelessness in 1988 and has spent a decade on LA's streets learning what actually works: community-based solutions that center lived experience over bureaucracy. Real stories, hard truths, and practical ways neighbors can help neighbors—because the people closest to the problem are closest to the solution.
Read MoreThe homelessness crisis has persisted—and often worsened—regardless of which political party controls Washington. This sobering reality has revealed an important truth: effective, lasting solutions begin at the community level. When engaged citizens, local businesses, nonprofits, and neighborhood networks collaborate, transformation becomes possible despite the political climate.
As one community organizer shared, "We stopped waiting for permission from Washington to make a difference. Instead, we started asking: What can we do together, right now, to help our unhoused neighbors reclaim their dignity and rebuild their lives?"
Read MoreIn an era where political divides often stall progress on our most pressing social challenges, a powerful movement is emerging across America's communities. This grassroots approach to addressing homelessness doesn't wait for federal solutions or political consensus—it harnesses the collective power of neighbors, businesses, faith communities, and local institutions to create meaningful change from the ground up.
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.
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