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For 17 years and counting Ascencia, has been providing comprehensive, solution-driven services with life-changing and life-saving outcomes. We provide everything from street outreach and engagement, hospital in-reach to unhoused patients, case management, housing location, and connection of households to services in the communities where they are housed, with on-going housing retention services for a minimum of one year and indefinitely for some.
What we do works and other parts of Los Angeles County have noticed and are now partnered with us to replicate what we do in more areas.
Since our beginning in 2006, 90% of our housed clients have remained stably housed year over year and since 2020, that percentage has steadily increased from 95% to 98% and most recently, to 100%!
One of the ways Ascencia and our clients have been so successful is because while we have expanded our reach and enhanced our supportive and ancillary services, we have intentionally concentrated on being the operator for numerous Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) projects in multiple cities and with the County through Housing for Health. Through PSH, 264 formerly homeless households are currently thriving. PSH offers more than a Section 8 subsidy as case management support is also included to prevent people from returning to homelessness and as you can tell, it is effective with very little recidivism and much fewer costs than the alternatives.
As Ascencia strives to address the current crisis, we are excited to share with you that we expect to be the operator of at least 140 additional PSH units over the next 2-3 years, a proven way for us to end homelessness, one person, one family at a time.
Thank you for supporting us over the years. Together, we are saving lives.
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Dr. Laura Duncan
Executive Director
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Stacy's Story
“I would not be where I am today without the support of Ascencia.” - Stacy.
Stacy can best be described by her Case Manager Caroline Drazek as a person with a sharp wit, a resilient spirit, and a great sense of humor.
In 2018, Stacy was living in Big Bear and battling severe health issues. She tried to keep up with the mounting medical bills but became overwhelmed financially. After losing her apartment, she was left with no choice but to relocate to Los Angeles to be closer to resources. Little did Stacy know that the next five years would have her living in shelters and encampments.
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You may wonder how Stacy managed to keep her sense of humor while living on the streets. We really couldn’t begin to understand what it takes to keep a positive attitude after being homeless for five years. However, we have come to know here at Ascencia that every person we serve is a unique individual with beautiful nuances and complexities. Like Stacy, they are some of the strongest people you will ever know and are true survivors.
When Stacy enrolled in Ascencia’s Intensive Case Management Services, her Case Manager Caroline discovered she had been issued a housing voucher and immediately took all the proper steps to place Stacy in recuperative care to receive the medical services she needed and began working hard to find her an apartment.
Earlier this year, Stacy was approved for her own place! Congratulations Stacy!!
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Americana at Brand Give-Back Events | |
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What happens when you combine a significant event with an incredible mission? You get to celebrate the 15th Anniversary of the Americana at Brand along with a unique opportunity to give back to your community.
Our friends at the Americana at Brand in conjunction with their 15th Anniversary in Glendale are graciously using their anniversary celebration to partner with Ascencia to give back to their community. At a time when we are seeing record levels of poverty and the rise of people experiencing homelessness, several restaurants in the Americana have already held give back opportunities in support of our mission.
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Ascencia is profoundly grateful to Amici, Frida, and Lemonade for designating a day to offer 15% give back to our mission and also Mendocino Farms for designating 50% of their receipts from their Grand Opening. Ascencia sends our heartfelt congratulations and sincere thanks to Caruso Affiliated and to everyone who shared in these give-back efforts.
Designating a day to provide a give back or a give-at-the-register opportunity is an impactful and meaningful way for your patrons to enjoy their shopping and dining experiences knowing they are supporting efforts to end hunger and homelessness in their community.
If your company, restaurant, or retail store is interested in supporting Ascencia and would like to arrange a give back opportunity, please contact Camille Guerrero, Director of Development at cguerrero@ascenciaca.org.
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Thank you for the Pantry Donations! | | |
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No one should go hungry. But the sad reality is, so many people today are facing serious food insecurities. At Ascencia, we endeavor to keep our food pantry well stocked with nonperishables so that our Case Managers can take canned goods and dry goods to their clients when needed.
Lately, the demand for food has increased, and we have been seeing our food pantry supplies become extremely low.
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So, we put the call out to our community of supporters and volunteers, and you all came the rescue. You opened your hearts, you opened your wallets, and today, the shelves are well stocked with food for Ascencia's clients!
We are so deeply grateful for this incredible outpouring of support. Thanks to you all, we can continue to provide help to those who are food-insecure. We've also had an amazing outpour of offers to host donation drives from service organizations in our community who will be pipelining more food to us in the coming months.
THANK YOU to Steve Mora, Jennifer Bunt, In His Shoes, Paul & Paulette Wood, The Hinckleys, George Assadourian, John and Suzi Sadd, Jessica Henderson, Las Caritas, Glendale Church of Christ, Elks Club of Glendale, Glendale Kiwanis, Soroptimist International of Glendale, Chick-fil-a, The Bussjaegers, Nury Medina and Barden Willits, Bill Vasquez, Ruby Guerrero, and everyone else who donated or has been collecting food for us this month.
As the saying goes, no one goes hungry at Ascencia, and we have you to thank for that!
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In developing Ascencia’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) plan, some of our senior staff completed the fourth cohort of Local Initiative Support Corporation LA (LISC) Alternatives to Incarceration Incubation Academy.
The LISC Incubation Academy aims to train, support, and provide technical assistance to new and existing community-based organizations, especially those who serve underrepresented communities and justice-involved individuals with programmatic capacity to provide housing, assessment, case management, or mental health/substance abuse treatment services to justice-involved individuals, in order to divert or remove them from the justice system at the earliest opportunity.
Pictured here is Ascencia's Director of Programs, Marcell Mitchell, representing our organization and accepting our certificate!
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2024 GALA: SAVE THE DATE!
Ascencia's 16th Annual Gala will take place on April 13th, 2024.
Every year, Ascencia invites community members to join us for our annual Gala, where we honor supporters, share Ascencia's impact, and fundraise for our cause. This coming Spring, we will be holding our event at Oakmont Country Club in Glendale on Saturday evening, April 13th.
Save this date and stay tuned for more information.
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WE REACHED OUR GOAL!
Ascencia would like to express our deepest gratitude for your generous contributions. Your donations will help us provide shelter, food, and other vital resources to individuals and families experiencing homelessness. Your compassion and generosity will give people hope and help bring them home!
Thank you for raising over $55,000 to fund our life-changing programs. However, the work does not stop here. You can still contribute until Sept. 30th!
Please consider a donation. Any amount helps. Just Click Here.
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Do you have a used or unwanted vehicle? We can take it off your hands at no cost to you AND support our nonprofit too!
Give back to your community and support our mission by donating your used car, truck, boat, or RV to Ascencia. Like any other donation, your gift will help us lift more individuals and families out of homelessness.
Call or complete the online donation form at careasy.org/nonprofit/ascencia to get started. We will arrange to have a licensed tow company pick up your vehicle (for free) at a time convenient for you. The vehicle will be sold and turned into funds for our cause.
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Learn more about our car donation program by calling 855-500-7433 or clicking the link below.
Donate Your Vehicle
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Come by our Access Center for a Tour! | |
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Interested in learning more about Ascencia's programs and services? Come to Ascencia headquarters in Glendale for our Development Director's famous "nickel tour"!
Just contact Camille Guerrero at cguerrero@ascenciaca.org or (818) 246-7900 ext. 114.
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