It's 2024, and we continue to open doors to change for our clients! Thanks in huge part to your unwavering support, many individuals and families were able to get back into permanent housing with their lives on track in 2023.

Happy New Year to you, our supporters and to those who are now stably housed heading into 2024 full of hope! Sadly though, as we celebrate, we cannot rest because there are still thousands of unhoused people struggling to survive in Los Angeles County with some at risk for premature death by continuing to live outdoors. What we do together saves lives and we simply cannot do this work without you.

Where we are and where we are going… Ascencia has risen to the occasion to tackle the severe homelessness crisis, and we have doubled in size over the last five plus years. This growth has been due to an effort to help more people in immediate need during the pandemic and the exploding crisis itself. What we do works, and we are committed to doing more going forward. We are now operating programs and or providing services in some capacity all over L.A. County. We have partnered with additional cities, the county, managed care medical plans, additional hospitals, housing corporations, and more colleges and universities to expand our reach and enhance our services.

I will share a few of the essential projects that are on the horizon for Ascencia in 2024 and beyond... We expect to be operating a second, 20-bed Interim Housing program in the City of West Hollywood towards the end of 2024, to hire a DEI (Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion) Coordinator to further our work and be able to locate and serve hard-to-reach demographics in need, and to be the operator for multiple Permanent Supportive Housing projects - giving us access to 175 more (and counting) apartment units throughout Los Angeles County between 2025-2027.

Though the holidays have passed, we urge you to support our Holiday Giving Campaign and help us reach our funding goal for our life-saving programs.

Please help us spread the word and keep us and the people we serve in the forefront of your mind as you continue to be part of the solution in 2024 as we continue to tackle this crisis one person, one family at a time!

With sincere gratitude,

Dr. Laura Duncan

Executive Director

Client Story: Vanessa and Andrew

It has been a long and very challenging journey for both Vanessa and her son Andrew. Never did Vanessa think that she and her son would have to flee their home and seek the services of an emergency shelter. But, the physical and mental abuse at home got so bad, they had no choice but to leave.

For any mother fighting to keep their child safe, the typical default is to escape immediately. But where do you go? Who do you turn to? By the time persons fleeing domestic violence enter our doors, they have been through tremendous trauma, often arriving with only the clothes on their backs.

From the moment Vanessa and Andrew turned to Ascencia, their journey of hope and healing started with intensive case management, connections to vital resources like trauma care, and a safe environment away from the dangers their abuser and the streets.

The family's Housing Navigator, Everlyn Osorio, shared, “During my time working with Vanessa, I've seen her exhibit great resilience and determination to create a better future for herself and her son. She's been working on improving her mental health and is becoming a strong, independent woman.”

Ascencia’s solution-driven mission is focused on creating pathways towards independence, and ultimately permanent housing. We are so happy for Vanessa and Andrew, who just enjoyed their first Christmas in their new home!

Adopt-A-Family

We are overwhelmed with joy following the success of our Adopt-A-Family program last month! All 172 families were adopted by you, our incredible community. Their holidays were made so much better thanks to the outpouring of gifts you all provided. Thank you for giving back to families and individuals who might not have the funds to buy gifts, or family around to spend the holidays with.

You truly made the season brighter for so many clients, and your donations gave hope to families who may have been struggling during this time of year. We are so so grateful!

The photos below showcase just a few donors, clients, and gifts from the program.

Glendale Community Support

The holidays around Ascencia were filled with such an outpouring of support from our community—including our Glendale first responders also adopted the children in our shelter and showered them so much love!

Our grateful to thanks to the Glendale Fire Department for stopping by Ascencia to personally deliver gifts for our children. We also had another incredible visit from the Glendale Police Department, and we'd like to thank the Glendale Police Officers’ Association for the support we received from them.

Seen here are Fire Chief Christopher Stavros, Enrique Sanchez, Meri Stepanyan, and Patty Mundo, who all came by our shelter to deliver gifts. Glendale Fire personnel worked closely with our case managers to purchase items the children had specified and wanted for Christmas. Thank you for the support GFD!

Seen here are three Glendale Police Officers, Sergeant Aaron Zeigler, Police Services Officer Amy Tate, GPD Facility Dog Brisket, Lieutenant Steve Corrigan, and one pup, the GPD Facility Dog, named Brisket who came by our shelter to deliver gifts. All 10 of our children at Ascencia received a $75.00 Target gift card and age-appropriate toys. Thank you Glendale POA!

Supporter Highlight: David L. Ho, Jr.

We would like to express our immense gratitude to David L. Ho, Jr. (Pacific BMW, S. H. Ho Foundation) for being the presenter at our upcoming 2024 Gala.

For several years now, Pacific BMW, led by Mr. Ho as the President and CEO, has been the presenting sponsor of our Gala events, and we are incredibly appreciative of their unwavering support. Mr. Ho's dedication to Ascencia's mission has resulted in the saving of thousands of lives year after year, and have allowed us to expand our work in the communities we serve. The S. H. Ho Foundation, led by Mr. Ho and his family, has donated over $4 million to Ascencia over the years, making them an integral part of our mission and the work we do in our community.

The 16th Annual Gala event is an opportunity for us to celebrate the progress we have made in our mission to help people experiencing homelessness, and to raise awareness and funds to continue our work. This year's theme, "Opening Doors to Change," reflects our commitment to creating a better future for those in need. We eagerly anticipate this year's Gala and invite you to join us in supporting Ascencia's imperative work towards ending homelessness in our community. We extend our gratitude to David L. Ho, Jr., and the Pacific BMW team for their ongoing support and commitment to our mission.

The support of our community remains fundamental to our mission of eradicating homelessness. Every year, we witness an increase in the number of individuals and families requiring assistance, and it is through the generosity of individuals like David L. Ho, Jr., and the Pacific BMW team that we can sustain our services.

Guest Chef New Year Signups

You can now sign up for our 2024 Guest Chef slots at signupgenius.com/go/guestchef2024!

We are so grateful for everyone who consistently volunteers and donates to cover meals. However, looking at pre-pandemic numbers, we used to have 90% of our Guest Chef meals donated. In 2023, we had 55% donated, or 604 of the 1,095 meal slots covered.

With food costs skyrocketing, Ascencia is struggling under the weight of increased expenses across the board. We provide breakfast, lunch, and dinner to our 45 shelter residents every day of the year. That’s 50,000 meals served per year. We desperately need more help.

If you cannot come on-site as a Guest Chef, please consider donating meals, whether it’s a monetary donation or signing up to drop off food. If you’d like to know more about our Guest Chef Program before signing up, you can reach out to our Volunteer Coordinator, Karina Moreno, at kmoreno@ascenciaca.org.

Guest Chef Signup

Volunteer Highlight: Pillow Project

At Ascencia, we are continuously amazed by our incredible volunteers who help us fulfill our mission! Today, we would like to highlight Lila. Lila is a high school sophomore and started her Pillow Project for Ascencia in 2021. Her belief and mission is that everyone deserves a place to lay their head on a pillow. This is Lila’s second time making 45 pillows for our clients! While balancing school and life, she still found time to make our unhoused neighbors a priority. Over four months, Lila picked out the fabric and hand-sewn each pillow.

When Lila came to drop off her pillows, Councilmember Paula Devine stopped by to support Lila and her project. Lila and her mom Jennifer’s biggest wish for 2024 is that we can put an even more significant dent in getting people off the streets!

January All Staff Meeting

Earlier this month, we held our first staff meeting of 2024! After sharing our department updates, we also discussed upcoming new projects and our goals for the new year.

We were so lucky to be joined by our Board President Bryan Longpre and Board Member Ron Scott. The two specials guests got some insight into what our monthly staff meetings are all about, and shared their appreciation for our hardworking staff. Mr. Longpre treated staff to a delicious taco bar to enjoy throughout the afternoon!`

Because Mr. Longpre is a former MLB baseball player for the Toronto Blue Jays, we all dressed in our favorite sports team gear to make him feel welcome. Here are a few photos from the meeting, including one of our ever growing team of staff...

Ascencia's GALA

Ascencia's 16th Annual Gala, "Opening Doors to Change" will take place on Saturday, April 13th at Oakmont Country Club in Glendale.

Ascencia not only provides life-changing support, but also literally opens doors by bringing people off the streets and into permanent housing.

The funds raised at our annual gala are essential to our organization. The demand for our services is rising, but your contributions help us continue our work. Please join us on April 13th for a night of dinner, drinks, dancing, awards, and auction to support Ascencia.

Sponsorship packages and tickets are available now! We have updated packages with new perks, so please check them out here: give.classy.org/AscenciaGala2024