After the passage of Measure H and HHH to fund the construction of permanent supportive housing in the City and County of Los Angeles, the new challenge was implementation. With funding in place, housing advocates were now faced with the challenge of citing and approving projects across the Southland.
Over the course of two years, Street Level Strategy served as the lead grassroots engagement agency for the Everyone In Campaign in the San Gabriel Valley, a project of the United Way of Greater Los Angeles. Our work focused on educating and informing the public on housing first policies and mobilizing residents to support the construction of permanent supportive housing to provide housing for individuals experiencing homelessness. A central component of our work was the creation of community working groups that would help guide the direction and priorities of our efforts in each community.
Over the course of two years, we recruited, trained, managed, and facilitated over a dozen working groups throughout the San Gabriel Valley. In addition, our team utilized a number of creative grassroots engagement approaches to engage and educate the broader community. This included impact tours to educate the public and dispel negative stereotypes regarding permanent supportive housing, listening sessions to gain a better understanding of community attitudes, community workshops, and utilized digital organizing tactics to amplify community voices. As a result, we have helped push local councils to adopt policies that promote affordable housing and supportive housing in cities throughout the San Gabriel Valley in Los Angeles County.