The Annenberg Foundation Supports Homelessness Prevention
12.06.2019
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LISC StoriesFinancial Stability
How do you prevent homelessness? You invest in people by providing them the tools they need to obtain a living wage job and to achieve financial stability. The Annenberg Foundation knows that social problems are growing more complex and, as a result, require new, innovative approaches through collective action by a cross-section of stakeholders, rather than isolated efforts by single organizations. That is why Annenberg is in support of the LISC LA's study proven Financial Opportunity Center (FOC) model that involves a network of organizations working together to help put people on the path to financial stability.
The FOCs are part of a broader LISC effort that seeks to expand the financial opportunities of low to moderate-income people by offering employment coaching, financial coaching, and screening for access to income supports through integrated service delivery at trusted community-based organizations.
Financial Opportunity Centers’ approach is to help low-to-moderate income families improve their financial status by helping them to simultaneously boost their earnings and reduce expenses. Families can increase their income by participating in all public benefit programs for which they are eligible, such as: CalFresh, utility assistance, and health insurance. They also become more financially stable by meeting regularly with a financial coach to build credit, learn how to budget, and build their assets.
LISC provides grant funding, technical assistance and training, data collection tools, and peer-learning opportunities to the FOC network. In 2013, LISC piloted its Bridges to Career Opportunities (Bridges) initiative to help unemployed and underemployed people overcome the basic skills gap through contextualized adult basic education to get into credentialed and certificate programs that provide living wage career pathways.
Unlike other standalone training and education programs, the Bridges program is only offered at Financial Opportunity Centers. Therefore, all Bridges participants receive the three core services of FOCs.
According to the Report and Recommendations of the Ad Hoc Committee On Black People Experiencing Homelessness, “Employment discrimination, inadequate training and apprenticeship programs, poor education, and criminal justice involvement result in high unemployment and limit employment options to minimum wage jobs. Repeatedly, participants noted that an average apartment in Los Angeles requires a $33 per hour full-time job.”
With this support from the Annenberg Foundation, the FOC programs can reach more clients and help them progress toward financial stability on multiple fronts. Research shows that FOC clients who use the integrated services are 50% more likely to get a well-paying job than those receiving employment services alone. We don’t just want to house people in need, we also want to make sure they get the assistance they need in obtaining a living wage job to sustain their everyday living and to grow their assets.
