Building More Homes to End Homelessness
8.29.2022
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LISC StoriesAffordable Housing
Since 1994, LISC LA and LA Family Housing (LAFH) have worked together to combat the severe lack of affordable housing in Los Angeles and support those experiencing homelessness. Affordable housing preservation and development work has been at the core of our partnership, as LISC LA and LAFH both share a strong commitment to serving our most vulnerable communities.
LAFH is one of the largest providers of housing and homeless services in Los Angeles. Through their street-based outreach and in-person engagement process, LAFH connects participants with a designated housing placement to receive either temporary or permanent housing, combined with supportive services that help thousands of people transition out of homelessness and retain long-term housing stability.
LISC LA has awarded LAFH with $279,500 in grants and $4,613,914 in loans for permanent supportive housing projects in predevelopment, including Residences on Main in DTLA which provides safe housing and a wide array of supportive services for 49 families and 25 transition-age youth. LAFH is also currently in construction for a new veteran-focused affordable housing community in the Lake View Terrace neighborhood called Summit View Apartments.
Agustin “Oggy” Aleman
HDTI cohort member and LA Family Housing Project Manager
LAFH’s experience and expertise make it a key partner in LISC’s Housing Development Training Institute (HDTI), which trains, educates, and supports the next generation of diverse housing professionals in California. LAFH staff have participated as guest trainers for HDTI, and many of their staff members have also graduated from the program themselves.
“This path has led me to ask bigger questions about why there is a housing and homeless crisis in our community, and to strive to both understand and fix it.”
Participants in this year’s cohort, LAFH Project Managers Agustin “Oggy” Aleman and Sylvia Rivera, are responsible for a wide range of development activities at the organization. With a diverse background in real estate that includes banking, escrow, and entitlements, Oggy is responsible for overseeing multiple projects at LAFH, including completing funding applications, community engagement/support, and closings. “I've always been drawn to housing and real estate in one way or another. I started my first job at an escrow office after high school during the mortgage meltdown in the 2000s where I witnessed a lot of hardship firsthand. This started my interest in housing, which carried over in my pursuit of a master’s in urban and regional planning. This path has led me to ask bigger questions about why there is a housing and homeless crisis in our community, and to strive to both understand and fix it.”
Sylvia Rivera
HDTI cohort member and LA Family Housing Project Manager
In her role, Sylvia is responsible for processing land use entitlements, preparing funding applications, supervising project design, and tracking the day-to-day aspects of projects. Since joining LAFH in 2019, she has completed acquisition and construction loan closings, managed the rehabilitation of three interim housing projects, and is currently monitoring the construction of a new permanent supportive housing project. “It’s inspiring and truly heartwarming to see residents move into their new homes and be given resources to make positive changes in their lives. It feels good to know I helped build that home for them and it’s a reminder of why I do this work.”
For Sylvia and Oggy, witnessing a cohort of diverse professionals come together under a common mission of developing affordable housing is what’s most inspiring about HDTI. They intend to apply what they’re learning to their pipeline of projects, which would result in over 150 units of new housing in Los Angeles County for people in need.
Thanks to a generous grant from Merritt Community Capital Corporation, LISC offices in California are expanding HDTI and strengthening California’s affordable housing industry. “Merritt and LA Family Housing are strong mission-aligned partners and have worked together on two communities for veterans and the formerly homeless over the past three years,” said President and CEO, Ari Beliak. “LA Family Housing is exactly the type of partner who is meant to benefit from our Commitment to California initiative to attract, train, and retain over 800 professionals in the next three years. We are so happy to see LAFH staff part of the HDTI cohort and strengthen the future of affordable housing in California.”
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