2019 Letter from Cristian

Executive Director, Clifford Beers Housing

Dear Friends,

With 60,000 of our neighbors living on the street and more falling into homelessness every day, your support has allowed us to attack the situation head on, with innovations that help us to create housing faster. Thank you for taking part in what has been a landmark year for Clifford Beers Housing.

At the beginning of 2019, we celebrated the Grand Opening of the King 1101 Apartments in South Los Angeles, where Norma shared her story. After years of working and paying for her own home, she became blind. Eventually, Norma lost her job, and her housing. Today, she is living at the King 1101 Apartments. Now that her life is stabilized, Norma is back in school, learning how to help children who also have visual impairments.

All of our residents have stories, and that is why we are so passionate about building affordable communities. When you have housing, you are able to plan for your future. You are able to focus on your health. You're able to prioritize what's important, whether that's your education or being a parent.

Most of all, it gives you hope.

Currently, CBH is in construction on 48 new apartment homes in Long Beach and 48 more in Sylmar. We are also in development on 54 apartments in South LA and an impressive 180 more in Panorama City, and we are not stopping there.

Our new Advancements department, the 'ninja warriors' of homeless housing, is finding creative ways to build even more permanent supportive housing without tax credits, which will expedite the development process and decrease costs. In 2019 alone, our ninja warriors submitted five separate project proposals which would amount to 175 units. This department is also working with multiple faith-based groups to develop housing.

In order for us to eradicate homelessness in Los Angeles, we need your help. I want to invite you to continue in this fight with me. We need land, we need competitive loan products, we need access to more Section 8, and we need your continued support.

And as you plan your year-end giving, know that a gift to CBH is a commitment to solving our homelessness crisis more quickly and efficiently, fostering hope for our most vulnerable neighbors. Let’s move the needle!

With gratitude,

Cristian Ahumada

P.S., For more about Advancements, the future of CBH, and how it all relates to martial arts principles, please watch my presentation below that was created for United Way's Innovative Housing Showcase.