Homelessness

A Place to Call Home: Permanent housing for people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles County

In Los Angeles County, an estimated 75,000 people go without a home on any given night, with the vast majority driven into homelessness by unaffordable housing, income inequality and racial inequity. These issues disproportionately affect Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), and LGBTQI+ individuals due to entrenched disparities in wages, housing availability, the criminal justice system and access to health services. The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation’s Homelessness Initiative collaborates with both public and private partners to amplify support for individuals experiencing or at risk of homelessness in Los Angeles. We support evidence-based interventions that prevent chronic homelessness and provide the services needed to keep people off the street by focusing on the connection between stable housing and people’s social, emotional and economic well-being. By advocating for innovative and data-driven solutions, we envision a Los Angeles where homelessness is rare, brief and a one-time occurrence.

Our Vision

A Blueprint for Ending Homelessness

Our vision is a Los Angeles where homelessness is rare, brief, and one-time – where all Angelenos have the safety and dignity of a home, allowing them to thrive economically, socially and culturally. 

Through our grantmaking, we aim to:
  • Develop early, interim and permanent housing solutions that cater to diverse needs and provide client-centered solutions.

  • Boost the economic stability, health, security and self-esteem of people experiencing homelessness through safe housing solutions.

  • Collaborate on improving housing affordability, system integration and early interventions to prevent homelessness among those most at risk.

  • Tackle inequities faced by BIPOC, LGBTQI+ individuals, older adults and youth from underserved communities, which increase their risk of living on the street.

  • Advocate for policies and public funding at state and national levels that broaden access to housing and scale up resource allocation.

  • Improve data quality and availability—including predictive modeling—to inform strategic decision-making in homelessness prevention and intervention efforts.

Homelessness support in Los Angeles
Kate Ntsiako hands water to a child from her Water4 NUMA kiosk which serves high quality, safe water to communities in Daboase, Wassa East, Ghana.
Photography Credit: Conrad N. Hilton Foundation
OUR IMPACT

Putting People First: Pioneering Person-Centered Solutions

The Hilton Foundation’s Homelessness Initiative adopts a proactive, human-centered strategy to dismantle barriers to housing accessibility, affordability and availability. We are a funder, convener and champion of turning Los Angeles into a model for lasting change. By addressing both housing needs and supportive services, our dual approach not only prevents homelessness through early intervention but also provides robust support for those currently unhoused. Through the cultivation of long-term projects and partnerships with like-minded organizations and people with lived experience, we maximize our impact, ensuring that everyone has a safe place to call home and laying the foundation for a thriving Los Angeles County.  

 

S25 Results as of May 2024the initiative has contributed to the following results in Los Angeles County since the strategy was launched in 2021: 

  • 4,322
    permanent housing units were developed
  • 35%
    decrease in average time for an individual experiencing homelessness to move from street outreach to interim housing
  • 38%
    decrease in average time for an individual experiencing homelessness to move from interim housing to permanent housing
OUR GRANTS IN ACTION

How We Support People Who are Unhoused:

Assistance and resources for populations at the greatest risk of long-term homelessness

Interim and permanent housing solutions and early response services

People-centered services including mental health and income support

Data-backed homelessness prevention strategies

Exchange of best practices and lessons learned with other cities
OUR REACH

The Hilton Foundation Homelessness Initiative supports efforts to end homelessness in Los Angeles. 

Homelessness initiatives in Los Angeles