Carlos fell into homelessness after suffering an injury that left him unable to work. As a predominately Spanish-speaker, navigating the complex world of benefits assistance and social services is a challenge. With no social support system, Carlos didn’t know where to turn to for help and lost his housing when he could no longer afford it. Carlos had been living unsheltered in Echo Park for four years when he connected with The People Concern. Our E6 Outreach Team met Carlos in the park and began working to connect him to the services he needed.
At The People Concern, we are proud to affirm the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion. We celebrate a diverse staff throughout our organization that is reflective of the community and people we serve. We are fortunate to have bi-lingual staff who can support our unsheltered neighbors, like Carlos, in their journey to permanent housing. Being able to engage with Carlos and speak his language was so crucial to his success. “Sabiendo que mi administrador de casos habla mi idioma me hace sentir seguro y en casa. (Knowing my Case Manager speaks my language makes me feel secure and at home),” says Carlos.
Together, with the help of his team they were able to refer him to one of our interim housing programs where he was provided with a bed to sleep in, a shower, three meals day, case management, benefits assistance and complete wraparound services. “Recibí mucha ayuda y orientación en todos los aspectos de mi vida. Ahora tengo mi propio apartamento (I received so much help and guidance with every aspect of my life. Now I have my very own apartment),” says Carlos.
It wasn’t long before Carlos moved into his very own apartment at El Segundo, one of The People Concern’s permanent supportive housing facilities, which offers 24/7 on-site care and support for our program participants. Today Carlos is housed, healthy and safe! He continues to work on physical therapy for his injury and is made tons of friends while at El Segundo!