Chrysalis: Changing Lives Through Jobs

One obstacle that the homeless and underprivileged population faces is joblessness. Chrysalis is dedicated to giving homeless and impoverished people the tools, resources, and support they need in order to not only get hired, but to keep their jobs.

To meet the increasing demand for jobs, Chrysalis is constantly expanding. They provide staff, volunteers, and an environment that gives many the opportunity for personal growth. Their Transitional Jobs Program has offered over 220,000 hours of employment with $2.5 million in wages.

Unemployment in Los Angeles

Currently, Los Angeles’ unemployment rate is at 12.3 %.  There are 82,000 people homeless on any given night and 38,375,819 people without jobs. The percent of people living under the poverty level is around 20% of the population.

Charities like Chrysalis offer great opportunities for people who otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunities for more.

Giving Back to Chrysalis

Volunteer with Chrysalis or donate to Chrysalis in order to give back. Volunteers are asked to help prepare resumes, practice interviews, facilitate workshops, help in computer labs, and provide administrative assistance.

You can also contact Chrysalis for more information.

Community Coalition: Celebrating 20 Years of Change in South LA

The Community Coalition works to ameliorate the South LA social and economic conditions that create people who are prone to addiction, violence, crime and poverty. They strive to create a community that incorporates thousands that change and influence public policy.

Community Coalition’s Stance

• Community: In order to instill core values among South Los Angeles, Community Coalition pushes to actively involve the primarily Latino and African America community to serve as a means of community activism.
• Leadership: Instead of striving to get celebrity sponsors, Community Coalition works to create leaders out of the community. This means that these people will be able to relate on a personal level and people will work together to overcome addiction and violence.
• Education: By using education to develop community knowledge, Community Coalition believes that anyone can have the right tools to push away from falling into the poverty cycle that often leads to addiction.

These three aspects along with advocacy have made Community Coalition build a social movement to push through poverty and the conditions people experience when they fall into the cycle of poverty.

Give Back to Community Coalition

Get involved with Community Coalition. You can volunteer by emailing kusema@cocosouthla.org or call 323-750-9087 or see a lot of different, unique opportunities on their website.

You can also donate to Community Coalition.

You can contact Community Coalition at 8101 S. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90044.

Mary Lind Recovery Centers: Residential Substance Abuse Recovery to the Homeless

Since 1949, the Mary Lind Recovery Centers have given residential treatment to homeless people suffering from substance abuse and addiction in Southern California. Focusing on central Los Angeles and Skid Row who have the highest poverty rate at 33%. The Mary Lind Center serves over 300 people at a time – most of them are homeless.

The Mary Lind Recover Center wants to work to make men and women dependent on welfare and alcohol to become parts of society and self sufficient. Through recovery, education and job training, lives can be reshaped and sobriety can be maintained.

Addiction Among the Homeless

Fifty to sixty percent of all homeless people report having relied on substances or abusing substances at some point in their life when compared to ten percent of the non-homeless population depending on substances.

A lot of this is to blame on the mistreatment or ignoring of treatment for homeless individuals that are addicted to drugs and alcohol. People who have substance abuse problems are more likely to stay homeless than homeless people who do not, and they are two times as likely to be arrested. Common substances abused by homeless people are alcohol, meth amphetamines, heroin, cocaine, and marijuana.

Give Back to the Mary Lind Recovery Centers

Donating is an easy way to support the Mary Lind Recovery Centers. You can make your checks payable to:

Mary Lind Recovery Centers
2500 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90057

For more information contact Ed Woodhull (Executive Director) at 213-382-4241 or check out the Mary Lind Recovery Center website.

 

Compassion for Teen Life: Instilling the Importance of Education

In 1999, Compassion for Teen Life was founded to provide children and teens from age 6 to age 22 and their families education, support, and lifestyle services. They work with local organizations including pharmaceutical and health companies to promote “Health Lifestyle” seminars on HIV/AIDS and obesity in public school students.

Compassion for Teen Life’s Goals for Children and Teens

• Health - Compassion for Teen Life emphasizes the importance of facing health issues globally such as women’s reproductive health; STDs and HIV; marijuana, alcohol, and drug abuse; and obesity.
• Maintaining an Active Lifestyle – The sports program with CFTL focuses on the both physical and psychological benefits from physical activity. Sports help students set and attain their goals by teaching them to work hard.
• Education - CFTL provides students with the technology and necessary skills they need to develop into adults that function in society with real jobs and real careers.

Get Involved with Compassion for Teen Life

You can volunteer with Compassion for Teen Life or donate to them. Visit their website and see what opportunities are available. To donate you can mail it to  Compassion for Teen Life (CFTL) at 1201 E. Florence Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90001. Their phone number is 323-375-0401 and their email address is info@comp4teenlife.org.

The HeArt Project: Lowering the Number of High School Dropouts

The HeArt Project works to put students into sequential art programs that urge teenagers to stay in school and not drop out of high school. Students are encouraged to pursue a creative lifestyle and grow as unique individuals.

This arts based dropout prevention program teaches over 600 youth at different high schools and community day schools across Los Angeles. Students who are not fully successful in an academic environment are presented with other options to stay in school. Professional artists share their art and their stories showing how art can be a means of life and a way to share experience.

High School Drop Out Rates

• 1 in 4 students quit high school
• People who drop out of high school have a higher chance of being neither employed nor enrolled in a school
• Low education is directly correlated with poverty
• High school drop out rates among Hispanic youth is 18%
• High school drop out rates among non Hispanic black men has doubled in the last 10 years
• 9% of males from 16 to 24 are high school drop outs
• 7% of females from 16 to 24 are high school drop outs

Give Back to the HeArt Project

Donating today will give increasingly more potential high school dropouts a different outlook on education. More professional artists will be funded, and more scholarships, alumni support, and leadership training will be offered. Donate today to The HeArt Project.

Contact the HeArt Project at www.theheartproject.org. You can find them at 1140 North Citrus Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90038. You can call them at 323-465-1404 or email them at info@theheartproject.com.