A warm welcome home

VOALA offers life-changing opportunities to people who are homeless.  

Shane lost his full-time job during the pandemic. With no income or other support, he lost his housing—and he and his dog ended up living in the desert for the past four years.

“I had nowhere to go. I didn’t have any family or anyone else,” he said.

Survival became his primary goal. “Learning day-to-day how to get food and water and feed the dog takes up your whole day,” he said. “When you don’t have a vehicle or anything else you kind of get lost out there.”

Through coordinated efforts between community, city, and county programs, there has been a reduction in the number of people experiencing homelessness in 2024.  The number of people living on streets, in parks, riverbeds, in cars, or elsewhere outside dropped by 5.1% while the number of people living in temporary housing rose by 12.7%. It was even more dramatic in the city, where unsheltered homelessness dropped by 10.4% while the shelter population rose by 17.7%. (Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count, June 28, 2024)

Despite these improvements in the overall numbers, there are still 75,212 unhoused individuals and families in Los Angeles County in 2024.

Many clients, like Shane, came from encampments in Antelope Valley, where—unlike the City of Los Angeles and L.A. County—homelessness rose 42% in the last year alone. (2024 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count SPA 1)

After four years in the desert, Shane developed facial cancer. VOALA’s Pathway Home has given him a safe place to live and helps him with services like getting to and from doctor appointments.

“Someone actually came out and found me in the desert and asked me if I wanted to change my life. I said, “Absolutely.’ I showed up here and it was like a whole new family. They were just welcoming. It was like coming home,” he said.

Pathway Home is an interim housing facility managed by VOALA in partnership with Los Angeles County and the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA).  The program is low-barrier and focused on harm reduction—accepting everyone no matter their challenges. VOALA’s wraparound services include case and clinical management, assistance with job training and employment; applying for veterans, MediCal, and other benefits; and more to help people stabilize their lives and ultimately obtain permanent housing.

“It’s an opportunity to have the resources available for our clients because they’ve made this amazing life choice, a very brave choice, and they’re here to try,” said Saba Tekle, VOALA Area Assistant Director.

More than 135 participants live in 105 private units with a bed—two beds for families—and a TV, shower, and mini fridge. Clients receive three meals, water, and snacks daily. Rooms are cleaned every third day by housekeeping staff.

“The clients are excited about having fresh towels and fresh linens because as you know, in the desert, they didn’t have that opportunity. This is a luxury for them,” said Jill Elam, Pathway Home Program Manager.

VOALA has been working in partnership with the County and City of Los Angeles, and other community organizations to provide a unified response and help end homelessness by providing shelter, offering service and support to people in need, and building more affordable permanent housing.

“We want to meet them right where they are,” Saba said.

“They’ve been great. They’ve given me every resource I could have,” Shane said. Right now, he’s focused on his treatments and healing. He said he “hopes to find my own place somewhere that I can call my home and help others.”

Learn more about VOALA’s Pathway Home program here.