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Fast Fact
According do the Los Angeles Economic Roundtable,
46% of the city's wage and salary workers make less than $15 an hour.
Read more of Harold Meyerson's Op-Ed piece on minimum wage and high rent here. |
From linens to laptops, Venice Community Housing is always seeking donations for our residents and programs. Please visit our online wish list to see if you can meet any of our current needs!
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Volunteer Opportunity!
Help make a difference in the lives of homeless men, women and children in LA County. Join us and Los Angeles Homeless Services Agency (LAHSA) the nights of January 27th-29th in being a part of the nation's largest homeless census.
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Dear Friends,
Through partnerships and working together, we are able to truly help those in need to create an impactful and positive change.
This month, VCH's YouthBuild students were able to work together with the Resident Services team to organize and distribute food generously donated by Whole Foods. Each family received a bag of healthy food delivered to their door from the collaborative efforts of many helping hands.
It is the combined time, resources and energy of all that allow us to make the greatest impact on homeless and low-income people in our community.
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What About Us?
With rising rents and depleted funding, affordable housing in Los Angeles is
becoming increasingly scarce.
89.3 KPCC features an article discussing the lack of plans to build or refurbish affordable units in Los Angeles, despite announcements in major cities such as New York and San Francisco.
Read the full article here. |
YouthBuild News
National Day of Service
Venice YouthBuild is making the most of their year of AmeriCorps National Service. After learning to build affordable housing Monday-Thursday, YouthBuild spends Fridays rebuilding communities in other ways. When VCH received a generous donation of groceries from Whole Foods, YouthBuild was excited to help distribute the groceries to the residents in VCH affordable housing. YouthBuild decided to make this their MLK Day National Service project. They honored Martin Luther King Jr.'s vision of service by bringing bags of groceries to 195 low-income residents and his activism by raising their voices through public art. Their art was hung outside of VCH for MLK Day weekend with the quote "We may have all come on different ships but we're in the same boat now." We want to thank Whole Foods for making this effort possible and Venice YouthBuild for continuing to inspire and improve our community.
Alumni News
As YouthBuild rounded out 2014, some alum organized and facilitated a Holiday Potluck with current students. All participated in leadership activities, information sharing workshops, and enjoyed great food together.
Winter Retreat
Upon returning from the winter break, YouthBuild went on a Winter Retreat with the current students and staff to Camp Oaks in Big Bear, CA. It was a great learning experience filled with intense leadership development workshops, team-building & work-readiness activities, as well as star gazing and zip-lining. They had a great trip and are now starting to prepare for the annual Conference of Young Leaders and Government Education Days in Virginia and Sacramento respectively. There, trainees will put their leadership & advocacy skills into practice as they meet with elected officials on state and national levels to address important issues in our community.
Venice YouthBuild is a comprehensive program providing education, job training, and leadership development to 35 youth ages 17-24 each year to help them transition into successful adults.
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Volunteer Corner by
Barbara Milliken...
Volunteers Form Committee for New Venice Design Series Events
A group of community members, led by Jay Griffith, Venice-based Landscape Designer, have organized to present Venice Design Series, a new set of different, exciting, local events to benefit VCH. The firs
t meeting was held in December, 2014 at the Hotel Erwin.
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Venice Design Series Committee at first meeting, December 2014.
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The Series kicks off on Saturday, April 25, 2015. Stay tuned for details and more dates. Volunteers will be needed. If interested, please contact Barbara Milliken at bmilliken@vchcorp.org.
VCH 2nd Sleeping Bag Giveaway to Keep Chill Away!
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Unhoused persons line up to receive free sleeping bags from volunteers at FSV facility on Venice Beach. Photo by Jack Prichett
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On December 20, 2014, for a warmer, cozier holiday, VCH gave away 80 more sleeping bags to homeless persons at the Free Storage Venice [FSV] container on Venice Beach. Many heartfelt thanks and blessings and expressions of relief were expressed by recipients, especially because of lower-than-average temperatures in SoCal. These bags protect users down to 40 degrees F.
An earlier distribution took place a month earlier. A total of over 200 bags were given to those in need, including unhoused veterans. Funds were donated by various sponsors and individuals at a VCH event in mid-2014. VCH thanks again all the sponsors and volunteers who made these especially timely events possible.
If you're interested in volunteering, learn more about our volunteer opportunities by clicking
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Special Thank You!
 Late but not forgotten... Board Member, Indico Arnell, hosted a toy drive at his company, Velocify. We thank him and his coworkers for their generous contributions to our annual Toy and Gift Card drive. |
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Save the Date- Venice Design
A series of special events celebrating the architecture, landscape, cuisine and culture inspired by Venice will kick off on April 25 through the first two weeks of May 2015.
Exceptional site-specific events will feature curated walking tours, architectural talks, private luncheons and dinners hosted by prominent Venice-based artists, notable architects, chefs, designers, authors and performers.
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Venice Community Housing
720 Rose Ave, Venice, CA 90291
P: (310) 399-4100
F: (310) 399-1130
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