Posts by Paul Asplund
Hope Series Part 3: Radical Hope - Tools for Working in the Margins from Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund
Hope Series Part 3: Radical Hope - Tools for Working in the Margins from Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund

"Radical hope is hope that exists even when we are experiencing the destruction of our culture," writes Jonathan Lear. In times of authoritarianism, violence, and despair, how do we nurture hope? Through a deeply personal story of addiction recovery, spiritual awakening, and 30 years of practice, discover the prayers and tools that sustain radical hope when the world feels broken.

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Homelessness, Inspirational, Radical HopePaul Asplund#RadicalHope, #SpiritualJourney, #FaithInDarkTimes, #DailyPrayers, #SpiritualPractice, #HopeAndResilience, #SpiritualTransformation, #PrayerLife, #FaithAndRecovery, #SpiritualAwakeningComment
From Wrestling to Surrender: What Happens When We Stop Fighting the Call to Serve - Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund
From Wrestling to Surrender: What Happens When We Stop Fighting the Call to Serve - Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund

Discover what happens when we stop fighting the call to serve others. From San Francisco's streets to spiritual transformation, learn how sustained engagement with homelessness reveals profound truths about dignity, community, and our own healing.

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Community, Journey, Letters to the HousedPaul AsplundVolunteer, Psychology, MentalHealth, Community, Nonprofit, SocialJustice, Spirituality, Leadership, Purpose, Faith, Service, Homelessness, SocialWork, Activism, CompassionComment
The Grammar of Hope: What Sustains Us When the World Feels Broken - Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund of Second Grace LA
The Grammar of Hope: What Sustains Us When the World Feels Broken - Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund of Second Grace LA

Why Do You Continue to Work to End Homelessness? The question came at the end of a recent Hollywood Forward meeting, one of those moments when the leader asks each person to share what drives them. Around the circle, people offered thoughtful responses: compassion, justice, personal mission. When my turn came, my answer was simply: "Hope."

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Paul AsplundComment
When Someone Lobs a Grenade At You… You Throw It Back - Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund
When Someone Lobs a Grenade At You… You Throw It Back - Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund

Every day I see the most effective homelessness interventions happening at the community level. It's volunteer organizations providing essential services. It's faith communities opening their doors. It's neighbors who learn the names of people living on their streets and figure out what they actually need. These aren't the organizations getting the big federal grants. They're too small, too grassroots, too focused on relationships instead of metrics. But they're also the ones achieving real transformations because they understand something Washington never will: ending homelessness is about rebuilding human connection, not managing case loads.

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Community, Homelessness, Immigrant Rights, Letters to the HousedPaul Asplund#HousingFirst, #HomelessnessPolicy, #SocialJustice, #CommunityOrganizing, #LAHomeless, #TrumpPolicy, #HousingCrisis, #MutualAid, #SocialChange, #CommunityBuilding, #NonprofitWork, #HomelessServices, #PolicyAnalysis, #SocialWork, #CommunityResponse, #LettersToTheHoused, #SecondGraceLA, #CommunityHealing, #SocialImpact, #NeighborhoodSolutionsComment
When Fear Comes Knocking: Immigration Raids Push More LA Families Into Homelessness - Letters to the Housed
When Fear Comes Knocking: Immigration Raids Push More LA Families Into Homelessness - Letters to the Housed

Over the past five years, anywhere from 127–230 Angelenos have lost their housing every day. But now, we're facing a perfect storm: immigration raids are pushing families into homelessness just as the January fires in Altadena and Pacific Palisades have destroyed over 16,000 structures. California experienced a 3.1% drop in private-sector jobs within a single week after federal immigration raids—worse than the Great Recession or early COVID. With 600,000 people in LA County rent-burdened and 67% of undocumented households already struggling before the raids, fear itself has become a driver of homelessness. But solutions exist: direct cash assistance programs are proving effective, and LA's mansion tax has $14.6 million ready for deployment to help families stay housed.

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Community, Homelessness, Immigrant RightsPaul AsplundLettersToTheHoused, HousingJustice, ImmigrationRaids, LAFires, CashAssistance, MansionTax, SecondGraceLA, HousingCrisis, ImmigrantRights, ClimateJustice, PolicySolutions, MutualAid, EconomicJustice, EvictionPrevention, CommunitySupport, DirectAction, SocialChange, LTTHComment
Inching Forward Isn't Enough - Letters to the Housed
Inching Forward Isn't Enough - Letters to the Housed

"We've lost the compassion to see these as real emergencies with life-altering complications." When almost seven people die daily from the effects of street life in LA, progress isn't enough. While Hollywood Forward proves that local organizing works—housing 50% of their neighbors—our emergency response systems still fail during the hours people need help most. From broken 2-1-1 systems to the promising new ECRC that closes at 5 PM, we're inching forward when lives demand we sprint. This is an emergency for all of us, housed and unhoused. We choose to let this continue. We can choose to end it.

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Homelessness, Letters to the Housed, CommunityPaul AsplundHomelessnessIsAnEmergency, SystemicChange, CommunityOrganizing, SacrificeAndSolution, PolicyChange, EmergencyResponse, HollywoodSuccess, LocalOrganizing, ServiceProviders, SecondGraceLA, LettersToTheHoused, LTTHComment
MacArthur Park's ICE Incursion and the Toll On Us All - Letters to the Housed
MacArthur Park's ICE Incursion and the Toll On Us All - Letters to the Housed

Last Monday morning, July 7, approximately 90 National Guard troops and dozens of federal agents descended on MacArthur Park in Los Angeles's Westlake district. The operation included 17 Humvees, four tactical vehicles, two ambulances, and Border Patrol agents on horseback. After about an hour of what officials later called a "security perimeter" operation, they left without making a single arrest.

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Paul AsplundComment
We Are Not Intimidated: A July 4th Reflection - Letters to the Housed
We Are Not Intimidated: A July 4th Reflection - Letters to the Housed

The past 8 months have been tough. The work I have done for the last decade has become more difficult, more treacherous for the people we serve and requires me to dig deep inside myself for resources of spirit and hope that I never knew I had.

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Community, Letters to the Housed, Immigrant RightsPaul AsplundCommunityResilience, OrganizationalLeadership, CommunityDefense, KnowYourRights, SocialJustice, Leadership, CommunityBuilding, DefendingDemocracy, CrisisLeadership, ValueBasedLeadership, SocialChange, ImmigrantRights, PublicPolicyComment
We Do This Because We Love People- Letters to the Housed
We Do This Because We Love People- Letters to the Housed

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.

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Letters to the HousedPaul Asplund#LettersToTheHoused, #LTTH, #HomelessnessIndustrialComplex, #StreetOutreach, #SkidRowLA, #SecondGraceLA, #RecoveryIsCommunity, #CommunityOverCaseManagement, #LivedExperienceMatters, #NeighborToNeighbor, #LAHomelessCrisis, #PasadenaAdvocacy, #AddictionRecovery, #CommunityWisdom, #ServiceProviders, #NonprofitReform, #GrassrootsOrganizingComment
Three Ways To Help Keep Immigrant Communities Together- Letters to the Housed
Three Ways To Help Keep Immigrant Communities Together- Letters to the Housed

Last 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

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Letters to the HousedPaul Asplund#LettersToTheHoused, #LTTH, #HomelessnessIndustrialComplex, #StreetOutreach, #SkidRowLA, #SecondGraceLA, #RecoveryIsCommunity, #MutualAidNetworks, #CommunityOverCaseManagement, #LivedExperienceMatters, #NeighborToNeighbor, #FaithAndJustice, #SpiritualActivism, #LAHomelessCrisis, #PasadenaAdvocacy, #AddictionRecovery, #CommunityWisdom, #ServiceProviders, #NonprofitReform, #GrassrootsOrganizingComment
Here's How It Can Be Done- Letters to the Housed
Here's How It Can Be Done- Letters to the Housed

We 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.

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Letters to the HousedPaul Asplund#LettersToTheHoused, #LTTH, #HomelessnessIndustrialComplex, #StreetOutreach, #SkidRowLA, #SecondGraceLA, #RecoveryIsCommunity, #MutualAidNetworks, #CommunityOverCaseManagement, #LivedExperienceMatters, #NeighborToNeighbor, #FaithAndJustice, #SpiritualActivism, #LAHomelessCrisis, #PasadenaAdvocacy, #AddictionRecovery, #CommunityWisdom, #ServiceProviders, #NonprofitReform, #GrassrootsOrganizingComment
State and National Actions- Letters to the Housed
State and National Actions- Letters to the Housed

Living 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.

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Letters to the HousedPaul Asplund#LettersToTheHoused, #LTTH, #HomelessnessIndustrialComplex, #StreetOutreach, #SkidRowLA, #SecondGraceLA, #RecoveryIsCommunity, #MutualAidNetworks, #CommunityOverCaseManagement, #LivedExperienceMatters, #NeighborToNeighbor, #FaithAndJustice, #SpiritualActivism, #LAHomelessCrisis, #PasadenaAdvocacy, #AddictionRecovery, #CommunityWisdom, #ServiceProviders, #NonprofitReform, #GrassrootsOrganizingComment
When I Started Talking to People on the Streets- Letters to the Housed
When I Started Talking to People on the Streets- Letters to the Housed

experience 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.

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Letters to the HousedPaul Asplund#LettersToTheHoused, #LTTH, #HomelessnessIndustrialComplex, #StreetOutreach, #SkidRowLA, #SecondGraceLA, #RecoveryIsCommunity, #MutualAidNetworks, #CommunityOverCaseManagement, #LivedExperienceMatters, #NeighborToNeighbor, #FaithAndJustice, #SpiritualActivism, #LAHomelessCrisis, #PasadenaAdvocacy, #AddictionRecovery, #CommunityWisdom, #ServiceProviders, #NonprofitReform, #GrassrootsOrganizingComment
Letters to the Housed
Letters to the Housed

Challenging 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.

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Letters to the HousedPaul Asplund#LettersToTheHoused, #LTTH, #HomelessnessIndustrialComplex, #StreetOutreach, #SkidRowLA, #SecondGraceLA, #RecoveryIsCommunity, #MutualAidNetworks, #CommunityOverCaseManagement, #LivedExperienceMatters, #NeighborToNeighbor, #FaithAndJustice, #SpiritualActivism, #LAHomelessCrisis, #PasadenaAdvocacy, #AddictionRecovery, #CommunityWisdom, #ServiceProviders, #NonprofitReform, #GrassrootsOrganizingComment
A Powerful Movement
A Powerful Movement

The 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?"

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CommunityPaul AsplundUnhousedNeighbors, community-based, HomelessnessAwareness, faith communities, academia solutions, coalitionsComment
A Challenging Political Environment
A Challenging Political Environment

In 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.

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Paul AsplundComment
Peaceful Resistance for LGBTQIA+
Peaceful Resistance for LGBTQIA+

Now 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.

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InstructionalPaul Asplundhomelessness, get involved, solution, LAHSA, mutual aid, community-based, one person at a time, solving homelessness forever, human-centered design, lived experience, love is the only solution, faith communities solving homelessness, business community solving homelessness, neighborhood groups solving homelessness, why housing first isn't working, housing shortage, affordable housing, housing expense, peaceful resistance, immigration rights, LGBTQ rights, diversityComment