Our Board of Directors, along with representatives from the City of Lancaster and Antelope Valley Partners for Health (AVPH), recently visited several non-profit organizations to learn how their collaborative housing solutions are helping to solve homelessness in their Los Angeles community.
We met residents who are thriving from a collaborative living community and the success stories that are coming from this solution. Residents explained how this solution helped them transition from homelessness to a community that provides tools and resources to help them thrive and succeed in their community. We also witnessed a tenant sharing the news they were just hired by a major employer!
According to Haaven, eight homes have been created at zero cost to the taxpayer. The unique combination of housing stability, peer support, and community-driven accountability has led to over 83% of their housemates transforming their lives. Haaven defines their success as a job being attained, sobriety maintained, improvement of mental and/or physical health, reuniting with family, attending self-help support meetings, and resolving legal issues.
Haaven residents live in a shared home where they are provided a peer advocate which connects the residents with opportunities to gain further independence. “They forge friendships, build trust, and support each other through acceptance, love, and empathy. Living as a family creates opportunities to practice social skills and personal accountability. Shared experiences minimized judgement while enhancing daily growth and self-esteem. Conflict and compromise fosters emotional growth and collaboration. Housemates inspire each other and attend self-help meeting to encourage each other to lead healthier lives with a sense of purpose” (Haaven.org).
Our group was able to learn a lot from this visit and look forward to implementing what we have learned to create our own thriving communities and do our part in solving homeless for our Antelope Valley students who are experiencing homelessness.
A special thanks to Haaven and Watts Up for showing how your organizations are helping your communities through collaborative housing solutions.