It’s been a pretty exciting year for the Home For Good Standards of Excellence so far, with a very successful symposium this past March, the formation of a strong steering committee to guide the implementation of the Standards, and now the launching of what promises to be an exciting series of free seminars to help build capacity throughout the community.
Today we are proud to present to you our Spring update to the Standards of Excellence. It represents the culmination of months work by our partners at CSH, Shelter Partnership, and many service providers who participate in the Standards workgroup meetings. It is based on recommendations and feedback we’ve received from the community since the Standards’ inception. And it will serve as a guide for understanding what the Standards are and why they’re so important.
Of course, the Standards are ever evolving, and we will continue to review and refine them as we move forward. We plan on sharing updates every quarter, so please look out for future releases.
What’s up next for the Standards? Aside from the upcoming seminars, we are currently working on creating the tools by which the Standards can be applied. Through our Steering Committee, we are exploring the ways in which the Standards can best move the community forward. And once we complete our initial set of seminar offerings, we will be providing opportunities for even more intensive technical assistance through our CQI trainings. So definitely much more exciting things to come!
Download the Home For Good Standards of Excellence: SoE Spring Edition
As part of its Standards of Excellence initiative, Home For Good will be hosting the first in a series of free day-long seminars meant to support service providers in their efforts to end homelessness. Provided in coordination with the Center for Urban and Community Services (CUCS) and Housing Innovations, these capacity-building sessions will provide an interactive opportunity for participants to learn about and share insights on successful strategies in serving those with the highest barriers to and highest need for housing.
Each session is approximately one-day long; sessions are offered on multiple days to accommodate participants’ schedules. Registration is required. Space is limited to four participants per organization; participants from the same organization are not required to attend the same session. Training sessions are meant for those that provide direct services and/or most closely manage direct service staff; please thoroughly review the course descriptions to ensure the most appropriate staff persons are registered. All sessions are free and available to any organizations that serve the homeless population, regardless of the sources of the funding utilized.
First Session: “Skills for Working with the Chronically Homeless”
Wednesday, May 29th & Thursday, May 30th, 2013 (start at 9:30 am and run throughout the day).
United Way of Greater Los Angeles
4th Floor Conference Center
1150 S. Olive St.
Los Angeles CA, 90015
To register click here.
The Standards of Excellence are a set of performance and quality goals for permanent supportive housing programs, emergency shelters, and outreach programs. An initiative of Home For Good, in coordination with CSH, Shelter Partnership, CUCS, and Housing Innovations, they are a list of the most critical outcomes necessary to effectively reduce and end homelessness, and are a set of best practices to which service providers should aspire. More information about the Standards of Excellence and Home For Good can be found at http://www.unitedwayla.org/home-for-good/
SoE-Seminar-Flyer
On Tuesday, members of United Way’s Emerging Leaders and Women Leaders presented their second annual Career Day at El Sereno Middle School in Los Angeles.
Representing organizations such as Anthem Blue Cross, the Culver City Police Department, Dreamworks, KPMG and PwC, professionals from the public, private and nonprofit sectors shared with hundreds of eager young students their tips for launching successful and rewarding careers.
Click here to see photos from the event!
Each year, we celebrate our top corporate, civic and community partners as well as our leading affinity group members for their efforts to Create Pathways Out of Poverty through fundraising, advocacy and volunteerism. Here is a list of those who are nominated for awards this year (winners will be announced at our Annual Philanthropy Awards on June 6th):
Model Campaign of the Year – Small to Midsized Company
- ACCO Engineered Systems
- American Girl
- Neutrogena
- Valero Wilmington Refinery
Model Campaign of the Year – Large Company
- East West Bank
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- Target
- US Bank
Outstanding Public Sector Campaign
- City of Los Angeles
- Los Angeles County
- Los Angeles Unified School District
Innovative Campaign of the Year – Private Sector
- ExxonMobil
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- Unum
Innovative Campaign of the Year Public Sector
- City of Pasadena
- Glendale Unified School District
- Palmdale School District
Outstanding HomeWalk Champion
- City National Bank
- East West Bank
- Parsons Corporation
- Southern California Gas Company
- Trust Company of the West
Outstanding Tocqueville Campaign
- Deloitte
- Enterprise Rent-A-Car
- Ernst & Young
- KPMG
- PwC
Outstanding Emerging Leader Campaign
- Enterprise Rent-A-Car
- ExxonMobil
- PCL
- Target
- UPS
Outstanding Women Leader Campaign
- Deloitte
- East West Bank
- Enterprise
- PwC
- AIG Life and Retirement
Outstanding Tocqueville Champion
- Michael Hausknost – City National Bank
- Chip Lightfoot – PwC
- Chandler Root – Merrill Lynch
Outstanding Emerging Leader Champion
- Amy Morales
- Eric Street – Enterprise Rent-A-Car
- Ben Lewis – UPS
Outstanding Women Leader Champion
- Nan Bouchard – The Boeing Company
- Patricia Hausknost – City National Bank
- Maria Audero – Paul Hastings
Outstanding Workplace Ambassador of the Year
- Magalene Powell-Meeks – Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- Terri Garcia – Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company
- Reed Harris II – Neutrogena
- Carla Shobu – Nordstrom
- Adina Joy Hirsch – Northern Trust Bank
Award Winners
Special Recognition
Spirit of Los Angeles Award
- Bank of America
- Edison International
- Enterprise Rent-A-Car
- UPS
- Wells Fargo
100% Creating Pathways Out of Poverty Award
- Bobrick Washroom Equipment
Phoenix Campaign of the Year
- Automobile Club of Southern California
Miguel Contreras Labor Award
- International Brotherhood of Teamsters – Local 396
Gold Award
- Combined Federal Campaign of Greater Southern California
Outstanding Leadership Campaign
United Way Corporate Hero
United Way Community Hero
Outstanding Executive Champion
- Lt. General Eugene Tattini – Jet Propulsion Laboratory
On Tuesday May 14th, almost 30 United Way volunteers convened at El Sereno Middle School’s campus to talk to students about their careers and the paths they took to arrive where they are today. Mostly made up of United Way’s Women Leaders & Emerging Leaders affinity group donors, the volunteers came from a variety of professional sectors- from acting to accounting- and took time to answer questions about education, jobs, and personal passions. Thanks so much to our volunteers!
Nearly 100 of Los Angeles’ best and brightest young professionals recently gathered at the Edison Lounge downtown for United Way’s Emerging Leaders Spring Social to network and learn how they can help break the cycle of poverty in our community.
Last month, United Way employees from across the globe convened in Indianapolis for the annual Staff Leaders Conference to share ideas, celebrate accomplishments and see what lies ahead for the 126-year-old organization. Below, United Way of Greater L.A. Event Coordinator Bentley Coplin, a first-time attendee, recounts her experience.
When I received an invitation from my VP to attend the SLC, I couldn’t believe it. Within my first year of working for UWGLA, I was invited to participate in a worldwide conference focused on organizational leadership and transformation. What an opportunity!
Although I had no way of knowing exactly what to expect, the promise of worldwide connections, career coaching sessions, dynamic keynote speakers and a variety of learning labs was enough to pique my interest. I was on my way to Indianapolis and little did I know the greatest lesson I had to learn would greet me right as I walked in the door.
As the conference kicked off on a rainy Wednesday morning, I found myself sharing coffee with hundreds of new faces. A sense of clarity washed over me as smiles and warm welcomes were exchanged between newfound colleagues. Despite the distance and disparities which separated our local United Ways, we were all on the same team, brought together for the shared purpose of discovering how we could have a greater collective impact not just on our cities – but on our world.
Upon settling into our seats, we were greeted by United Way Worldwide President & CEO, Brian Gallagher. He honed in on this idea of collective community impact and the true potential of United Way to affect the greater good. After all, we are the largest nonprofit in the world. Why shouldn’t we have the largest impact on breaking the cycle of poverty, improving education or providing jobs to hardworking families? What’s stopping us?
I discovered that one of our greatest challenges is our history and a lack of public awareness about what type of role United Way is currently playing in our communities. Innovator. Strategic Partner. Thought-leader. Would you use any of these words to describe United Way? I sure wouldn’t have before I started working here. Fundraiser. Community chest. Payroll deduction. Sound more familiar?
For decades, this was true – community members poured money in, and United Way poured it back out to worthy nonprofit organizations who did the “real work.” In essence, we simply made it easier for you to give money to the organizations you cared about.
While there was value in providing this service, the focus shifted to the bigger picture – how to achieve the greatest good for the greatest number of people. And at the end of the day, money simply wasn’t enough to fix a broken education system or reverse the cycle of poverty. United Way recognized that. Although we still act as a community fundraiser and grant-maker, our added value lies in our collective ability to solve major problems in our cities, counties and countries across the globe.
How? By focusing on the most pressing issues and coming up with strategic, peer-reviewed, data-driven plans to tackle them. By getting corporate, nonprofit and government leaders around the table to make decisions and commitments with lasting value. By ceasing to be a risk-averse organization and advocating for policies which improve the lives of the most vulnerable individuals in our community.
It’s true. My United Way is an innovator, thought-leader and change-maker. That’s the message I want to spread across Greater L.A. and far beyond, and I hope you’ll help me. Because if there’s one thing I learned from my experience at the SLC, it’s that our strength comes from our collective power to affect the greater good. Together, we will transform lives — and our own lives will be transformed in return.
Parents rallied today at LAUSD to save a beloved school program, which ensures that low-income students eat healthy meals before learning. The high energy event, which featured the launch of the “Parent Breakfast Club,” brought cameras from KCBS, Univision, Telemundo and more. Parents, as well as principals and community groups, said the issue is about more than breakfast — it’s a matter of poverty and civil rights. United Way is proud to support their efforts to protect this vital program that makes sure kids are fed. Next week, the school board will vote on whether to cut “Breakfast in the Classroom” in response to complaints by some teachers’ union leaders.
Check out this photo gallery from the event:
In a widespread effort to assist 49 million Americans who face hunger every day, the National Association of Letter Carriers – in partnership with several organizations including United Way and Labor Community Services – will hold its
21st Annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive on Saturday, May 11.
Last year, residents across L.A. County donated more than 315,000 pounds of food! The challenge that arises from this amazing generosity? Sorting and distributing the food. Volunteers are needed to load/unload, sort and package these items for delivery to local families.
-Shifts are available from 8:00am-12:00pm or 12:00pm-4:00pm everyday.
-Volunteer teams are strongly encouraged; it’s a great opportunity for students, church groups and service clubs.
-To register, please contact Margarita Chavez at mchavez@unitedwayla.org or (213) 985-1987. Or sign up online at http://www.laborcommunityservicesla.org/.
Event Details
When:Monday, May 13, 2013 – Friday, May 31, 2013*
*(Except Sundays & Holidays)
Shift 1: 8:00AM – 12:00PM
Shift 2: 12:00PM – 4:00PM
Where:
IBEW Local 11
6023 S. Garfield Ave.
Commerce, CA 90040
Additional Info:
-Lunch is provided to volunteers on both shifts.
-Wear comfortable clothing and closed-toe shoes.
-Parking is FREE (when entering the parking lot, the warehouse is in the rear on the right side).
-Volunteers 14 years of age or younger must be accompanied by a supervisor and carry a signed guardian waiver.
In 2009, the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Rehousing Program (HPRP) created the first nationwide implementation of housing first and prevention strategies for reducing homelessness. The three year program was comprised of homeless prevention services for those in danger of becoming homeless, and rapid rehousing assistance for people experiencing homelessness and in need of permanent housing.
After three years of HPRP implementation, local project evaluations highlighting lessons learned are beginning to emerge. A couple of weeks ago, Our Place Housing Solutions (OPHS) released its report “Internal Evaluation of the Homelessness Prevention & Rapid Rehousing Program Administered.” The report looks at HPRP in East Los Angeles County between 2010 and 2012, and the 360 clients and their households assisted during this period.
One of the most notable findings of OPHS’s evaluation was that rapid rehousing required 58% less direct financial assistance than prevention, but more effort from case managers who had to spend significant time assisting with housing location. The median amount of assistance received by rapid rehousing clients was $2,344, while that of prevention clients was $4,064. Also important to note was that a significant minority of those enrolled in prevention stated that they did not believe they would have become homeless “if not for the assistance” as was required by HUD.
Although homelessness prevention may be more effective in avoiding the personal and social trauma of a household becoming homeless, the implications of this evaluation are that future programs modeled on HPRP and operating with limited funding may be able to help more clients and achieve more concrete results fighting homelessness by prioritizing rapid rehousing over prevention strategies.
Download the full report for more information: full report
