Home For Good Funders Collaborative Will Yield Housing For 1,300 Homeless Individuals

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Home For Good Funders Collaborative today announced that its second year of funding once again exceeds $100 million, generating a total over two years of more than $200 million in resources, allocated across public and private systems to provide supportive housing for chronically homeless individuals in L.A. County. In its first year, the Collaborative ensured that more than 1,000 chronically homeless people throughout the region received permanent supportive housing. This year, it will yield supportive housing for an additional 1,300 people.

Several cities including Santa Monica and West Hollywood recently joined the Funders Collaborative. This year's robust funding commitment demonstrates continued support for Home For Good's countywide action plan to end chronic and veteran homelessness by 2016. The public and private resources include housing vouchers (whose value is calculated based on the rental subsidy committed to each individual for 15 years), health, mental health and substance abuse services, and move-in funds.

"Home For Good is making a clear impact, which is why we're participating in the Collaborative," says Fred Ali, President and CEO of the Weingart Foundation, one of the top contributors to the Funders Collaborative. "By leveraging funding from foundations like ours with new and existing public resources, the Home For Good Funders Collaborative is able to accomplish far more than any one funder could on its own."

Research has demonstrated that placing chronically homeless people in permanent supportive housing creates a cost savings of over 40%. "Investing in an end to chronic and veteran homelessness is good for the entire community," says Elise Buik, President and CEO of United Way of Greater Los Angeles, which leads the Collaborative and Home For Good with the L.A. Area Chamber of Commerce. "We're excited that a growing number of cities, government agencies, companies and foundations are seeing value in Home For Good's work and are contributing funding, resources and active participation in Home For Good's strategic plan to end chronic and veteran homelessness."

Douglas Guthrie, President and CEO of the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles, another leading contributor to the Collaborative, praised the diverse public and philanthropic partners engaged in the effort. "The community has rallied around Home For Good and the results are encouraging, to say the least," says Guthrie. "We're excited to see so many partners working together to address homelessness in a smarter, more systematic and collaborative process than ever before."

The Home For Good Funders Collaborative is the first of its kind in Los Angeles. A partnership of public and private funders, the Collaborative began with a challenge grant from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation in 2011. The Collaborative leverages philanthropic, corporate, and individual gifts with public sector contributions from the County of Los Angeles and cities throughout the region.    

The Home For Good campaign to end chronic and veteran homelessness in greater L.A. in five years is now in its third year of implementation. The Home For Good blueprint, as well as quarterly progress reports, are available at www.homeforgoodla.org.

Note: A list of the Home For Good Funders Collaborative's participating funders and grantees is available. Contact [email protected].

SOURCE United Way of Greater Los Angeles