Dear Supporter,

The results of the annual Point-in-Time homeless count were released a couple weeks ago, and they show a decline in homelessness in Los Angeles County for the second year in a row. The results reflect a 4% decrease in homelessness overall, and a 9.5% decrease in unsheltered homelessness (According to The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority).

LA County and local service providers (like us!) have been focused on getting people off the streets and into permanent housing through increased resources. We invest your donations in solutions that work, we have a proven track record that our community sees in real results.

While this news is positive, and we are ecstatic that about 3,000 people are no longer experiencing homelessness, it’s imperative to look at the big picture. Homelessness is UP 22.7% from 2019, and UP 4.6% since 2022. There are currently 72,308 people in LA County who are homeless, and this remains horrifying and disappointing.

We will keep fighting until every single person has adequate access to services to bring them home.

Ascencia has helped thousands of LA County residents attain housing and remain in housing over the years, and we plan to keep going. To everyone fighting with us, we are so grateful. We stand together on this common ground to lift many more out of homelessness.

Welcome Home, Dale!

Dale had worked for many years with a local maintenance company before becoming homeless. After sustaining an injury while on the job, Dale realized he could no longer stand for extended periods of time required by his position and had to leave the company.

Though Dale was able to receive benefits from the state, these benefits were significantly less than what he was making while employed. Soon he could no longer pay his rent and ended up living in his car.

The number of unhoused people living in and around Los Angeles is trending downward, local experts say, but that’s not the case for at least one group: older adults.

In the city of L.A., the number of people aged 65 and older experiencing homelessness jumped more than 17% since last year, and more than 36% in two years, according to annual point-in-time counts. Among the unhoused, older adults are estimated to be the fastest-growing population in California, experts say.

Dale unfortunately ended up living in an encampment for several years after his car was repossessed. That was until Dale met a member of Ascencia’s emergency street outreach team. Our staff immediately began to build a rapport with Dale and were able to intervene at a crucial time when all his belongings were cleared from the area.

After enduring a total of seven long years of homelessness, Dale enrolled at Ascencia and was provided with one-on-one case management, daily hot meals, safety, and a fresh start. We are happy to report that Dale is now permanently housed and is looking forward to finding a job.

“I want to thank everyone who donates to Ascencia, I never knew there were so many nice people that existed until I came to Ascencia.” - Dale

In 2024, Ascencia had 109 older adults (65+) enroll in our Access Center. Your financial support, your donations and service to our Guest Chef program, and the time you invest all lend toward getting people like Dale and others like him back on their feet and home again.

Hygiene Kits and Items Needed!

Our Glendale interim shelter is critically low on hygiene products for our residents, including shampoo, conditioner, body wash, toothpaste, deodorant, lotion, and more. These basic supplies mean everything to our clients, who often walk through our doors with nothing.

Please consider helping to replenish our supply closet by hosting a donation drive, volunteering to assemble hygiene kits for outreach, or simply donating bulk supplies of travel-size hygiene items.

You can shop our Amazon Wishlist for much-needed items that ship straight to us!

Schedule a drop-off by emailing Donate@AscenciaCA.org — we’d love to see you!

Feel free to call or text Makena at (818) 482-8534 with any questions. Thank you so much for your support.

Join The Supper Club

Consistent, nourishing meals that are served with warmth provide our clients with a sense of stability and dignity that they may have missed while living on the streets. Together, we can offer many more meals that represent more than just nourishment; each plate serves as a message of hope and healing that we hand to our residents every day.

We are so grateful for our Supper Club Members who have raised $22,800!! Your generous donations have funded about 2,750 individual meals.

We’re almost halfway to our goal! Help us raise $50,000 by the end of summer to fund a total of 6,250 meals.

Join The Supper Club today at: Give.classy.org/AscenciaSupperClub