The Little Tokyo Service Center was awarded a $1 million grant as part of the first round of funding from the Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency’s Renter Protection and Homelessness Prevention Program.
“Little Tokyo Service Center is grateful for this one-time investment from (Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency) to help residents at risk of losing their housing remain in their homes and avoid homelessness,” said Peter Gee, Co-Executive Director of Little Tokyo Service Center. “We are proud to be part of a collaboration of 11 community-based organizations rooted in Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities across Los Angeles County. Organizations in this collaborative serve as trusted messengers – with the cultural and language capacity to connect community members to resources they might otherwise struggle to access.”
Founded in 1979, the Little Tokyo Service Center supports underserved individuals and families. It provides social welfare and community development services for the cultural preservation and revitalization of Little Tokyo and the broader Asian Pacific Islander communities.
This funding will support housing stability for vulnerable households that the Little Tokyo Service Center serves.
Mayor Karen Bass announced the grant funding on March 11.
“Preventing people from falling into homelessness in the first place is a cornerstone of our strategy to end homelessness across Los Angeles,” Bass said. “After so many years of increases, our work has finally reversed the trend and brought homelessness down in our city. With culturally competent emergency rental assistance and flexible financial support like this, we can help families stay together and in their homes. (Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander) communities can sometimes face additional challenges, such as language barriers, that make accessing support more difficult. This partnership with the Little Tokyo Service Center empowers communities and addresses urgent housing needs.”
The $1 million offering to the Little Tokyo Service Center is part of the first round of grants from the Renter Protection and Homelessness Prevention Program which was created to help Los Angeles residents who are at risk of losing their homes.
It is funded by Measure A, a half-cent sales tax approved by voters meant to generate over a billion dollars.
“Homelessness is a regional challenge that requires a regional solution,” said Rex Richardson, Long Beach Mayor and Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency’s Board Chair. “This $1 million investment through (Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency’s) Renter Protection and Homelessness Prevention Program shows what collaboration can achieve. By partnering with organizations like Little Tokyo Service Center and Long Beach-based United Cambodian Community, we’re delivering rental assistance, legal support, and stabilization services that help families stay housed and prevent homelessness before it starts.”
The funding includes short-term, flexible financial support for households experiencing job loss, medical expenses, delayed public benefits or other crises. The Little Tokyo Service Center will administer the funding locally in partnership with the Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Collaborative.
The Little Tokyo Service Center is based at 231 E. Third Street. Learn more by calling 213-473-3030 or visiting ltsc.org.