Be Housed, Stay Housed!

Affordable housing and homelessness

Pilot or new project, program, or initiative (testing or implementing a new idea)

Homelessness in LA is a complex epidemic resulting from severe lack of affordable housing, stagnant incomes, systemic racism, and unsustainable support. Social services staff are overworked, underpaid, and have extremely high turnover rates. During the pandemic, many unhoused peoples were placed in housing quickly, with the goal of getting people off the street due to COVID-19. Many were given Emergency Housing Vouchers or temporary assistance through Time Limited Subsidies (provides access to permanent housing quickly and for a limited amount of time). Housing and placing people is the first step, and has proven to be one of the easiest parts of this work. Keeping individuals housed long-term is the real challenge and that’s the reason why we created the SoLa360 program in 2023 – to ensure residents remain successfully housed.

Sola360 brings custom and accessible services tailored to meet residents where they are with the goal of ensuring all SoLa residents remain successfully housed. Quarterly resident events will be held onsite, at a different SoLa property every quarter, removing the access barrier and promoting community engagement by bringing resources directly to residents. We will continue to expand our network of community resources and partners for residents and share these resources with all of LA through open community events. Our popular Back-to-School and Toy Drive events have served 600+ participants each thus far, and our impact continues to grow. With further funding, we aim to bring "best-in-class" case management services to the SoLa360 program in the next year, where continuity and quality of care is prioritized through competitive pay, training, and support for our dedicated staff. Through compatible assignments, individualized service plans, and personable case management, we will ensure residents are not only housed, but thriving. We believe through a full suite of tailored support, quality/continuity of care, community engagement, and access any individual can not only be housed, but stay housed!

Sola360 will transform LA County through:
Increased Housing Stability and Retention by expanding housing capacity & reducing unhoused rates, we contribute to more stable communities.
Enhanced Impact, Community Engagement, and Access by leveraging community resources/partners, eliminating obstacles, and promoting community engagement. We foster a sense of belonging that strengthens communal bonds leading to a more cohesive community.
Improved Quality of Life with our commitment to competitive pay for staff leading to decreased staff turnover and improved quality of services for residents, resulting in happier and healthier communities.
Model for Replication through exemplified effective strategies in housing stability, community engagement, and resource accessibility.
The successful implementation of Sola360's expanded initiatives in LA County will lead to a more resilient, connected, and supportive community where recently housed individuals are thriving and engaged in our communities.

SoLa 360’s success is measured through both quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative metrics include resident retention, event attendance, building visits, and community partner resource usage. Qualitative feedback is gathered through door-to-door visits and resident testimonials. This holistic approach helps gauge impact and refine strategies. We track long-term outcomes like educational and employment gains. Since 2023, our food distribution program has served over 3,170 residents and community members. Partnering with 55+ community resources, we’ve provided over $1.1M in in-kind donations, including $500K in furniture, $430K in school supplies, and $210K in laptops and hotspots. Our team has visited 152 buildings and interacted with over 1,150 residents. Quarterly resident events in 2023 saw over 2,900 attendees. Looking ahead, we aim to scale efforts with comprehensive case management and partnerships to enhance support and impact.