Change Well Project

04/17/2026

🏡 ✨Ready to explore the power of low-barrier housing?

Introducing the Homecoming Toolkit! (Download here ⬇️) www.changewellproject.com/homecoming-toolkit

✨ What is it? ➡️ Practical guidance for creating low-barrier, person-centered housing programs—to improve access, stability, and well-being for people experiencing homelessness, including those who use substances.

✨ Why is it needed? ➡️ Traditional housing models often require sobriety or treatment—creating barriers for those most in need. Low-barrier housing provides access without requirements, so that people feel respected, supported, and empowered.

✨ Who is the toolkit for? ➡️ Housing providers and frontline staff like case managers interested in trauma-informed strategies like harm reduction. But it’s also a great resource for funders and policymakers, community advocates, property managers and landlords, and anyone else interested in housing solutions that work for everyone.

You can access the full toolkit here!
https://www.changewellproject.com/homecoming-toolkit


The Homecoming Toolkit was developed in partnership with the L.A. County Health Services Harm Reduction Division. It is informed by extensive input from participants, practitioners, leaders, advocates, and policy experts working at the intersection of person-centered support services, harm reduction and housing.

04/14/2026

✨ Calling all Angelenos! We’re thrilled to share that the Measure ULA Income Support Program is now open for applications, through April 30! ✨

This innovative initiative will address the critical housing needs of those living in the City of Los Angeles – by providing direct assistance to rent-burdened households where at least one member is a senior and/or has a disability. The goal is to stabilize vulnerable families and prevent homelessness before it happens.

↠ ↠ Eligibility information here: www.programs-forwardplatform.org/ula-emergency-isp
↠ ↠ Apply here: cifd.forwardplatform.com

We’ve been so proud to partner with United Way of Greater Los Angeles, Los Angeles Housing Department, Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, Housing Rights Center to support the implementation of this program, and it was a joy to celebrate its launch with Mayor Karen Bass and many others.

And our work doesn't stop here. We’re looking forward to ensuring that each recipient has access to a holistic range of information about public benefits that can help them remain securely housed.

Please ✨SHARE✨ with your networks – the application period will close on April 30!

04/02/2026

Calling all disability benefits advocates! 📣 Check out this important upcoming event from Justice In Aging - featuring our own public benefits expert Eve Rutzick.

This is a chance to learn more about the barriers facing anyone navigating Social Security Administration (SSA) processes -- and to gain practical strategies for advocating for those in need of critical benefits.

Register here!
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/9517738643945/WN_LQyQy0LCRxqxzzJobuZy6g #/registration

Experts from Justice in Aging, Legal Aid DC, the Change Well Project, and the Office of U.S. Senator Ron Wyden will share strategies for advocates navigating SSA during this turbulent period.

02/06/2026

✨Great news from LA!✨ A unified, countywide response to homelessness

Our partners at the Los Angeles County Homeless Initiative - the Los Angeles County Department of Homeless Services and Housing (HSH) - now have an approved $843 million spending plan centering proven strategies in reducing homelessness -- with a focus on serving disproportionately impacted populations: families, youth, and survivors of domestic violence.

With its mission to lead a unified countywide response to homelessness, connecting housing, health, and social services, HSH works with diverse partners to deliver high-impact programs and services to prevent and end homelessness.

This spending plan will fuel powerful investments in both interim and permanent housing, as well as:

✨65 outreach teams to deploy specialized outreach and engagement countywide
✨3,671 Time-Limited Subsidies to quickly provide housing support to people who have recently fallen into homelessness
✨3,675 locally-funded rental subsidies to support people in permanent supportive housing
✨Wraparound case management services for 24,250 people living in permanent housing to support them in remaining stably housed
✨6,185 interim housing beds to bring people off the streets and safely indoors as quickly as possible
✨ Significant homelessness prevention support for families, youth, and veterans
And so much more

We're incredibly proud to stand with HSH -- and as Director Sarah Mahin has shared, "work together toward an LA County where everyone has a place to call home.”

Learn more about this exciting work here!
https://homeless.lacounty.gov/news/la-county-aims-to-keep-people-sheltered-and-housed-by-focusing-on-proven-programs/

02/05/2026

01/13/2026

➡️ "When Medicaid collection is pursued, surviving family members are often forced to sell the home to come up with the funds the state is seeking.

This deepens housing and financial instability and prevents the ability to pass down even modest assets, keeping families in poverty and widening racial and economic gaps."

A critical issue that doesn't get nearly enough attention: check out this fantastic fact sheet from Justice In Aging

Medicaid estate recovery offers a minimal benefit for state Medicaid budgets, while significantly harming low-income families and communities.

12/16/2025

✨This year we've been incredibly proud to partner with the team at L.A. County Health Services Harm Reduction Unit - who work tirelessly to connect individuals struggling with substance use or other high-risk behaviors with lifesaving care.

As part of this work, LA County has launched By La For La - a community alliance preventing overdoses, expanding harm reduction, and helping people across the County of Los Angeles connect to health, housing, and hope.

This work is grounded in compassion, courage, and an unwavering belief in dignity for all. And we want to make sure the voices of people doing harm reduction, outreach, and frontline care are heard across the county.

Check out some of the incredible stats demonstrating how harm reduction is saving thousands of lives. And explore much, much more on the By LA for LA website here! ✨
https://bylaforla.org/

11/07/2025

🏠💙 November is — a time to stand with the 4 million+ young people in the U.S. who experience homelessness each year.

Education can change everything. That’s why SchoolHouse Connection created a powerful new guide to help use Title I Set-Aside funds to ensure students experiencing homelessness have what they need to learn and thrive.

🔗 Check it out and help spread the word:
https://schoolhouseconnection.org/article/title-1-part-a

11/07/2025

📆 Please join Cal ICH as we recognize November as Native American Heritage Month.

California is home to 109 federally recognized Tribes and many more Native Americans whose deep connection to this land continues today.

As we work to prevent and end homelessness across the state, we are guided by a responsibility to uphold Tribal sovereignty, engage in meaningful government-to-government partnership, and ensure that housing and services are culturally rooted and respectful of community priorities.

Throughout the month, we will highlight:
• The importance of Tribal partnerships in homelessness response
• Insights from Cal ICH’s Tribal Homelessness Policy Brief
• Native Veterans who continue to serve their communities and country
• Actions we can take together — beyond November

Cal ICH honors the leadership, resilience, and living cultures of Tribal Nations across California.

We are guided by one clear commitment: No Native Homeless on Native Homelands.

We must ensure Native individuals and families stay connected to culture, community, and land — the foundation of healing, identity, and belonging.

❓ How can acknowledging the history and leadership of Tribal Nations strengthen efforts to prevent and end homelessness in California?

10/30/2025

We believe ALL community members should have access to the services they need to thrive—from housing and disability benefits to mental health services and a universal basic income.

Food assistance benefits through Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or CalFresh, are a crucial part of that web of support.

While the government shutdown is threatening food assistance benefits in the short-term—there are more threats looming. Over the next decade, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) will cut $186 billion from SNAP - making nutrition assistance more challenging to get.

This will not only leave millions to face food insecurity — it will increase poverty and the risk of housing insecurity and homelessness across the country.

For more on SNAP's benefits for families and our economy, check out this resource from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities:
https://www.cbpp.org/research/food-assistance/the-supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-snap