The People Concern, a nonprofit housing and social service agency based in Santa Monica, provides the two full-time outreach workers that help Malibu’s homeless get into housing. The organization has just announced that Joan and Burt Ross, Malibu residents and longtime supporters, will be matching any donations made to The People Concern of up to $250,000. This matching gift is the largest of its kind ever made for the express purpose of helping Malibu’s unsheltered move into permanent, supportive housing throughout LA County.
For every dollar donated to The People Concern’s “Malibu Match” program, the Rosses will double the impact up to $250,000. With these funds, The People Concern would be able to significantly expand the rate of housing beyond the current placement average of one person a month — they could connect 30 additional homeless people in Malibu with permanent housing over the next two years.
“So many of Malibu’s unhoused population are ready or near ready to benefit from permanent housing, but don’t yet have the means to make the transition,” Joan and Burt Ross stated. “We’re hopeful that our neighbors’ donations, matched by our gift, will help facilitate a transformation in the lives of our least fortunate, by more than doubling the rate at which Malibu’s homeless population moves into permanent supportive housing.”
The People Concern, one of LA County’s largest housing and social services agencies, has been serving people experiencing homelessness in Malibu since 2016. With funding from the City of Malibu and hundreds of Malibu residents, The People Concern has transitioned 54 local unhoused people into permanent housing and nearly 325 people into interim housing so far.
There are currently about 125 people experiencing homelessness in Malibu, and The People Concern’s Malibu Homeless Outreach Team is actively engaged with 80 of them. With funding from the Malibu Match program bridging the gap between participants’ available income and rising rents, “we have the chance to help more than a third of our Malibu program participants take their next step and move into permanent housing,” said John Maceri, CEO of The People Concern.
“There are people living on the streets, in bushes and in vehicles,” said Jason Flores, Pacific Palisades and Malibu Outreach Program Manager for The People Concern. “With Malibu Match donations, with no other service providers in the city, the Malibu Homeless Outreach Team plays a crucial role in linking people experiencing homelessness to services and housing resources. Our team can move closer to our goal of ensuring that everyone is housed, healthy, and safe.”
The People Concern works to end homelessness through a proven approach that focuses on getting people into housing first, and then providing wraparound services. Their full-service integrated system of care includes outreach as well as services for housing, mental and medical health, and substance abuse. In addition, they also provide support to homeless individuals for obtaining documentation like drivers’ licenses, benefits, employment, life skills, and wellness.
Of all the program participants placed in supportive housing by The People Concern, 94 percent never experience homelessness again.
Malibu residents and businesses are encouraged to help those experiencing homelessness move into permanent housing by participating in The People Concern’s Malibu Match program. Donations are tax deductible, will go exclusively toward permanently housing Malibu’s unsheltered neighbors, and are matched to double the impact.
Donations can be made online at malibumatching.funraise.org/ or by a check made out to The People Concern (with “Malibu Match” in the memo section) to The People Concern, 2116 Arlington Ave., Suite 100, Los Angeles, CA 90018.
For more information, contact Josh Hertz, director of development at The People Concern at (323) 363-4901 or jhertz@thepeopleconcern.org .