MYTH: Affordable housing alone will solve homelessness.

REALITY: While increased access to affordable housing is crucial, it's only part of the solution. Many individuals facing homelessness require additional support to maintain stable housing and reintegrate into community life. Comprehensive approaches addressing underlying issues are essential for long-term success.

Lessons from Skid Row: Innovations in Serving the Unhoused

In 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.

SecondGrace.LA - Organizing Angelenos to End Homelessness

But 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.

Dignity and Potential: Shifting the Narrative on Homelessness

In 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.

The Affordable Housing Crisis: A Moral and Economic Imperative

affordable 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.

The Power of Community in Tackling Homelessness

Amidst 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.

The Best Stories

I 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).

It's Been a Minute

When 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.