Collaborations

The Center’s longevity, along with its proximity to other Skid Row agencies, has allowed it to develop working relationships with a broad array of social service organizations in order to meet the many needs faced by the homeless. These organizations include, but are not limited to: Union Rescue Mission, the Los Angeles Mission, the Midnight Mission, Emanuel Baptist’s Gravy Joes, PATH, the Veteran’s Administration, the Weingart Center, Para Los Ninos, Children’s Institute International, St. Vincent’s Meals on Wheels, Transition House, Delancy Street, the Clare Foundation, LAMP, SRO Housing Corporation, Skid Row Housing Trust, Weingart Center and the Mental Health Center.

Center staff members belong to, and participate in, networking meetings and discussions with a myriad of organizations in Downtown Los Angeles.  These groups include the Community Services Roundtable, Los Angeles Central Providers Collaborative, Downtown Mental Health Advisory Board, Los Angeles Police Department’s Central Division Community-Police Advisory Board, the Coalition to End Homelessness and Hunger, UCLA Field Advisory Committee, the Downtown Women’s Action Coalition, Downtown on the Ground (a case-management level group) and the Toy Town Business Improvement District.  Monthly participation in these groups not only allows staff to keep abreast of current activities in other agencies that serve the homeless, but enables our agencies to work together on important issues and legislation relating to the homeless.  Most recently, the Center has been working with Downtown Women’s Action Coalition on raising public awareness concerning broadening the definition/legal status of domestic violence.  In addition, the Center joined with a wide array of homeless and mental health agencies advocating for the passage of Proposition 63.  Furthermore, the Center works with all the above mentioned organizations in on-going advocacy with local public official related to greater funding for shelter providers.

The Center also is very involved with UCLA’s social work graduate school program as it exposes students to the skid row area.  Graduate students in this program gain social work experience through its service-learning program and begin to obtain an understanding of the community and public policy problems facing the City.  More than 300 young people from UCLA, and other local and out-of-state universities and high schools, tour the area annually to learn about the problems of homelessness in Los Angeles.