Our mission is to empower families to transition from homelessness to

self-sufficiency

OUR MISSION

Los Angeles is the homeless capital of the United States

Approx. 254,000 people in LA County experience homelessness every year

Approx 82,000 people experience homelessness on any given night.

Nearly 1/3 of LA County’s homeless population are individuals in homeless families.

La County’s homeless population includes more than 9,500 families

The cost of one family’s first homeless episode can cost the government upwards of $20,000.

HOMELESS IN LOS ANGELES

THE CYCLE OF HOMELESSNESS

Our program addresses a significant gap:

o Little to no support systems exist for families once they get into housing. This often results in repeat homelessness or “flat lining”.

o Imagine LA addresses this gap by utilizing the vast resources of faith communities, companies and other committed organizations who want to provide more than “band-aid” charity in their local community.

THE NEED

HOW?We do this by facilitating a two-year, volunteer mentorship program that matches families with

Volunteer Teams from faith communities, companies and other committed organizations. The match

creates consistent relationships that empower the families to move toward self-sufficiency.

“Every religion has a scriptural mandate to help the poor and

unfortunate. The highest form of these efforts is to teach people to

fish, not just give them a fish.”

-Rabbi Kenneth ChasenLeo Baeck Temple

WHY WE STARTED WITH FAITH COMMUNITIES?

SO, HOW EXACTLY DOES THE PROGRAM

WORK?

Together, each family and their matched Volunteer Team work toward three main goals:

o Maintain housing

o Attain self-sufficiency

o Ensure that every member of the family is thriving

THE PROCESS

Imagine LA leverages resources from the

entire community to provide the support

families need to permanently exit homelessness.

In this way, we are uniting Los Angeles to

end homelessness, one family at a time.

A Community Solution

Imagine LA: Manages the Match

Provides Case ManagementUtilizes Community Resources

Volunteer Team: MentoringLife Skills

Tutoring and Resources

Family + ILA + Team: Assesses the Family’s Needs

Sets Achievable GoalsCreates Results!

IMAGINE LA’S MODEL

We are focused and committed to empowering not only our families, but also all of our volunteers and the greater Los Angeles

community Imagine LA’s program staff has decades of experience in

social service and provides: Family screening Case management services for families Access to community resources Volunteer training & management Homeless sensitivity education A safe and step-by-step, “turn-key” program that requires minimal

involvement from organizations

Imagine LA values communication Weekly team conference calls Fun face-to-face events Regular reporting that can be shared with entire organization

OUR SIDE OF THE BARGAIN...

DO: Build a Volunteer Team (5-10 members) Attend training, complete a background check and operate

within Imagine LA’s guidelines Help their family equip their new home Provide Family Sponsorship Funds Come alongside their matched family in a consistent

relationship

DON’T: Do not proselytize (they may invite, but not require the

family to attend faith-related events) Do not give money or gift cards directly to the family

OUR PROGRAM PARTNERS COMMITMENT...

Co-LeadsCo-Leads (2)

MentorsMentors

MentorsOne-to-One Mentors

Financial Literacy/ “Budget Mentor”

Historian

TutorsTutorsTutors

TutorsTutorsHealth and

Nutrition Team

SpecSpecial Projects Teamse.g.: Transportation, “Give the Parents a Break”, Individualized

Education Plan (IEP) Advocate, Disability Specialist, Career Coach, etc.

*Please note, the size of your team will depend on the size and needs of your family.

VOLUNTEER TEAM STRUCTURE

IT’S WORKING!

100% of current and graduated

families maintain permanent housing (nationally, 25% of homeless families

return to homelessness)

75% of families increase their

household earned income by graduation

100% of participants (adults

and children) receive annual medical and

dental exams

33% of school-aged participants improve

their grades as a result of academic

assistance

(e.g. tutoring, IEPs)

100% of non-school-aged children

meet age- appropriate

developmental standards

100% of families report improved

conflict resolution skills within the

family unit

Since starting in 2007 we have…o Served 54 Familieso 11 successful graduations – families self-sufficient and thriving!

o Partnered with over 30 Program Partners including churches,

synagogues, companies, and even a mosque!o Many now sponsoring their 2nd and 3rd families through the program!

o Continued growth in funding and families servedo Our revenue is increasing while our cost per family is decreasing

which means we can help more families

o Impacted the lives of hundreds of volunteers

OVERALL RESULTS

Maria and Danny

Reco a

nd

his

b

oys

.

SUCCESS STORIES

o Sustain the program in order to help more families

o Engage more of the LA community by scaling the program to offering the model to more companies and committed organizations through our Corporate Outreach Initiative

oIncrease communications efforts and brand awareness in Los Angeles

o Help other cities implement the Imagine LA model

WHAT’S NEXT?

OUR PARTNERS• All Saints’ Episcopal Church (Beverly Hills)

• All Saints Church of Pasadena (Pasadena)

• Bel Air Presbyterian Church (Bel Air)

• Beth Shir Shalom (Santa Monica)

• Congregation Tikvat Jacob (Manhattan Beach)

• Cornerstone West LA (West LA)

• Hollywood Seventh-Day Adventist Church (Hollywood)

• Holy Family Catholic Church (South Pasadena)

• Islamic Center of Southern CA

(Downtown)

• Temple Kol Tikvah (Woodland Hills)

• Lake Avenue Church (Pasadena)

• Leo Baeck Temple (Los Angeles)

• New Life Christian Church (Glendale)

• St. Cross Episcopal Church (Hermosa Beach)

• Saint Mark United Methodist (South LA)

• St. Mark’s Episcopal Church (Glendale)

• Stephen S. Wise Temple (Bel Air)

• Temple Beth Hillel (North Hollywood)

• Temple Emanuel (Beverly Hills)

• TOMS

• Valley Beth Shalom (Encino)

• Wilshire Blvd. Temple (West LA)

• Zion Temple Community Church (South LA)

PROGRAM PARTNERS:

OUR PARTNERS• Westwood Transitional Village / The

Salvation Army

• Upward Bound House

• L.A. Family Housing

• Department of Public Social Service/CalWORKs

• Door of Hope

• Beyond Shelter

• Family Promise

• Miriam’s House

• US Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA)

• Good Shepherd Center

• Harvest Home

• Hope Gardens/Union Rescue Mission

• The Ahmanson Foundation• Bank of America• Bel Air Presbyterian Church• Sean Burton/Homes for LA Families• California Community Foundation• The Capital Group Companies Charitable

Foundation• Capital Source Bank• The John W. Carson Foundation• CB Richard Ellis• The Carl & Roberta Deutsch Foundation• The Carrie Estelle Doheny Foundation• First Republic Bank• GUESS?, Inc.• The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation• The Hoag Family Foundation• The Jewish Community Foundation• Mickey Kantor• The Karisma Foundation• Wells Fargo• The Weingart Foundation• The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation

FAMILY REFERRAL PARTNERS:

FUNDING PARTNERS:

The Process:

1. Participation supported by head of either the faith

community or company

2. Letter of Intent (LOI) signed

3. Recruit team (start with Co-Leads and Budget Mentor)

4. Volunteer Training and background checks (mandatory)

5. Meet with potential family (Co-Leads and leadership meet

family prior to official full-team “Meet-n-Greet”)

6. MOU signed/Matched with a family

7. Begin helping the family to achieve their goals!

HOW TO GET INVOLVED

www.imaginela.org

Please join us in

ending homelessness, one family at a time.

THANK YOU!

5455 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1001Los Angeles, CA 90036

323.944.0210 | 323.944.0215