“We don’t want to give a handout, we want to give a hand-up.” That’s how Ken Craft, the CEO of Hope of the Valley Rescue Mission describes their mindset. Ken started Hope of the Valley in 2009 and they currently have nine shelters in the Valley consisting of 507 beds. The newest shelter, called the “Tiny Homes,” is here in NoHo on Chandler Boulevard. It has 50 residents, all 18 years and over.
There are roughly 70,000 homeless people overall in Los Angeles and Ken predicts a tsunami of homelessness after the moratorium on rent is lifted in the city. His goal is to have 14 shelters here in the Valley consisting of 1,100 beds by this time next year.
One way we here in the NoHo community can help is to sponsor dinner one evening for the residents, kind of a “welcome to the neighborhood” gesture. So, I’m teaming up with The Federal, who have offered to prepare and individually package the meals to make this special evening happen. The date for delivery of our dinners for the Tiny Homes residents is going to be March 8th. You can help sponsor a dinner by donating any amount here: https://gofund.me/d8eb3ace
And just know that giving donations to others, or “prosocial spending “ has been shown to reduce blood pressure and improve heart health. This is going to be a win for the mission, a win for one of our local restaurants in NoHo, and a win for donors by improving our health.