California Policy Lab

The Solid Ground homelessness prevention pilot was started in 2018, with a goal of serving families in Van Nuys, California (zip code 91405) who may be at risk of homelessness but who do not qualify for the homelessness prevention services provided by the Los Angeles County homelessness services sector.1 The pilot is administered by New Economics for Women (NEW), a nonprofit that administers a FamilySource Center. FamilySource Centers are located in high-need areas and are designed to assist low to moderate-income families with a continuum of services, including financial counseling and referrals to community resources. While Solid Ground was originally conceived as a twoyear pilot, it was extended and NEW continues to operate it. The Solid Ground Program, which was previously administered by the Housing Department, now falls under the purview of The Community Investment for Families Department (CIFD) and since 2021, they have created seven additional Solid Ground homelessness prevention programs at FamilySource Centers throughout Los Angeles.

Year Three of the Solid Ground pilot program began on October 1, 2020 and ended on September 30, 2021. The goal of CPL’s Year Three report is to document:

● program activities during Year Three of the Solid Ground pilot,

● participant demographics, household composition, and prior homelessness services enrollments as observed in the Homelessness Management Information System data (HMIS) of the 71 Brief Solid Ground and 34 Full Solid Ground participants who enrolled during Year Three,

● financial assistance, other assistance, and services that Year Three Brief and Full Solid Ground enrollees received, and

● income, employment, and living situation for enrollees at enrollment for both Brief and Full Solid Ground participants and for the 34 Full Solid Ground participants, at exit.

This work has been supported, in part, by the University of California Multicampus Research Programs and Initiatives grants MRP-19-600774 and M21PR3278