June Logotech-4-Good Recipient Announced

Support services can transform families who have experienced homelessness.

Los Angeles has a crisis of families experiencing homelessness, with nearly 45 percent more people living on the city streets in 2020 than in the previous year. That is according to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, which notes more than 12,400 family members sleep in shelters, cars, and tents every night.

Imagine LA, the June Logotech-4-Good recipient, is working to reduce that statistic and break the cycle of poverty for families who have experienced homelessness. The group offers needed support to aid recently re-housed families to stay in their new homes and rebuild their lives.

In summer 2021, they will also become the on-site services provider at the 73-unit Missouri Place permanent supportive housing and a low-income complex for families in West LA.

In a partnership with California Landmark Group, Imagine LA also manages master leased low-income rental units for families in new luxury housing developments.

Imagine LA is "working to end the cycle of family poverty and homelessness by preventing first-time and repeat homelessness and equipping families to maintain housing stability and thrive long-term," said Brian Rosenbaum, community engagement director.

The organization uses a three-pronged approach to supporting those families: clinical case management, economic mobility pathways, and whole-family mentorship. “Our approach was critical to helping families stabilize during the pandemic. It is a testament to their strength and resilience that families are coming out of this period even stronger," Rosenbaum said.

The key to families’ long-term success relies on the housing-first approach, in which people are housed so that other issues can be fully addressed. "We can't solve core human needs until they have a roof over their heads," Rosenbaum said.

He sees every day how Imagine LA's additional support changes people's lives.

Examples include a mom diagnosed with a brain tumor shortly before enrolling in the program. Her case manager ensured she received treatment, support after her surgery, and importantly to remain in her new apartment.

A father was able to get logistics job training through the group's economic mobility pathway. He not only was employed at a national shipping company but was promoted to day shift management in a matter of months. That allows the father to be home with his family while also providing for them, Rosenbaum said.

A woman in their mentoring program, intimidated by the job hunting process, learned how to use computer templates to update her resume. While her mentor walked her through the program the first time, that experience gave her the confidence to do more resumes, cover letters and applications on her own, Rosenbaum said.

"Skill building and relationship building in the mentoring program is the secret sauce," of what they do, he said. “It is transformative for our mentees and for our mentors. Lives are transformed at every level.”

The Logotech-4-Good grant provides up to $500 in branded promotional products to help more people learn about Imagine LA and its programs. Rosenbaum had reached out to Logotech in the past, seeking a sample, free PopSocket to determine if that was the right product for their logo and promotions.

Mobile phones are an important part of helping people apply for jobs, be available to employers, contact social service providers, and give them access to the same technology as anyone else. A branded PopSocket is just one way to help spread their name.

To learn more about Imagine LA, go to its website, www.imaginela.org.

To learn about past Logotech-4-Good recipients and apply for future grants, go to our website at www.logotech.com/logotech-4-good.