Union Station Homeless Services,

a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, is committed to helping homeless individuals and families rebuild their lives.

OUR AWards

OUR MISSION AND VALUES

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About Us

Union Station Homeless Services has been serving our community for almost 50 years. As the lead agency coordinating homeless services in the San Gabriel Valley, we serve a region with a combined population of over 1.5 million across more than 36 cities and communities. Our mission is to help individuals and families end homelessness and rebuild their lives.

Union Station was started in the 1970s by a local faith group who were disturbed by the reality of people in their community living on the streets. After a few years as a church-led program, we formalized as a secular nonprofit organization in 1984 with an independent board of directors and full-time staff. In the early years, we were primarily focused on providing emergency supports such as meals and shelters.

Today, we have grown to be one of the pre-eminent homeless services agencies in the San Gabriel Valley due to the quality of our service and our practice of the Housing First model. This approach prioritizes providing permanent housing and then offering, but not mandating, wrap-around services to help people experiencing homelessness stabilize and improve their quality of life.

Along with a focus on permanent housing solutions, we also build authentic relationships and acknowledge that clients are best able to direct their own path toward personal wellbeing. Our staff becomes partners with clients, listening, learning and walking beside them.

This new model recognizes that trauma, broken systems and lack of support have led people into extreme vulnerability and homelessness. However, human beings are, by nature, resilient and can, with the right supports, move toward stability and wellness.

Since adopting the Housing First model of care, and with a focus on trauma-informed services, we have seen a 97% success rate of clients who have been housed and have not returned to homelessness.

Homelessness has many faces.

We Have effective solutions.

And we cannot solve this issue alone.

Union Station Homeless Services’ Tax ID# is 95-3958741.

our history

The Beginning

Alice Callaghan and volunteers from All Saints Church open a storefront hospitality center on Pasadena’s Union Street to serve poor and homeless men.

Our Growth

Union Station and six Pasadena congregations open The Depot, a 20-bed shelter located in the basement of the First Congregational Church.

The Adult Center, a 6,500 square-foot, 36-bed shelter opens on Raymond Ave.

Rachel’s Center, a day-service program for homeless families, opens. Passageways intake center and Sources career development program open.

Union Station and Pacific Housing Alliance open Euclid Villa Apartments for homeless families.

The 50-bed Family Center and new administrative offices open on Orange Grove Blvd.

Construction of the 20-bed Women’s Dormitory and renovation of the Adult Center is completed. Agency changes its name from Union Station Foundation to Union Station Homeless Services.

Reaching New Communities

USHS starts providing case management and onsite services at Centennial Place, a permanent supportive housing facility with 142 single room occupancy (SRO) apartments for low-income adults. Centennial Place is owned and operated by Abode Communities.

USHS partners with United Way and LAHSA to become the lead homeless service agency in the San Gabriel Valley, coordinating the efforts of more than 40 social services agencies to end homelessness in the region.

The Altadena office opens to provide work space to our field-base staff members, including CES, SOURCES, Advocacy, Multi Disciplinary Outreach Teams and Housing for Health.

Additional field offices open across the San Gabriel Valley, including in El Monte, Irwindale and Pomona.

Became a key partner at two Project Homekey sites in El Sereno. Huntington Villas and Casa Luna are setting the industry standard for converting existing hotels into interim housing.

Launched one of LA’s first Tiny Village in Eagle Rock, a community of 40 pallet shelters that will provide interim housing and supportive services for adults experiencing homelessness.

Over the years as the needs of our clients have changed and our geographic reach has expanded, our services have continued to evolve. One fact is constant: Our commitment to our mission and our belief that everyone deserves a life of dignity and a place to call home.

Our

Mission:

Union Station Homeless Services recognizes the inherent value, dignity, and humanity of the people we serve. Together, with them, we work to end homelessness through housing solutions, supportive services, and connection to community. We advocate for equitable and just systems that ensure all individuals and families will have a safe place they can call home.

Our core Values:

Our commitment to our core values has been an invaluable guiding force and the foundation of an inclusive workplace.

Accountability

We foster an environment of transparency, responsibility, trust, and fairness in our actions and behavior through our interactions with staff, clients, and community. We demonstrate reliability and personal responsibility and take ownership of our work and promptly correct mistakes to the greatest extent possible. 

Community

We demonstrate a commitment to working with our staff, donors, volunteers, business and civic leaders in order to build a better community for all our neighbors, those living with and without shelter.  We respect the views and beliefs of clients, staff, community members and others, and work to make decisions in a collaborative and engaging manner.

Courage

We demonstrate bravery in the face of new challenges, take risks, and walk forward with bold purpose. We demonstrate the commitment to do what is right, even when it is difficult or frightening, to adhere to a higher standard of personal conduct, to lead by example, and to make tough decisions under stress and pressure. 

Excellence

We hold ourselves and each other to high standards, set ambitious goals, and constantly innovate to improve the quality and impact of our work. We strive daily, through our professional relationships, to go above and beyond the call of duty. 

Justice

We demonstrate a commitment to the inherent dignity and worth of all people and the belief that safe housing is a human right. We demonstrate justice by advocating for equitable opportunity for all people, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation or economic situation. We work to ensure access to services, resources and information for all people. We consistently promote equity of opportunity and wholesome engagement with our clients and colleagues.

Resilience

We are committed to a culture of health, safety, well-being, and personal and professional growth for all people. We demonstrate the ability to remain productive and positive when faced with stress, uncertainty and change. 

Respect

We demonstrate the belief in the ultimate dignity and worth of every individual, and treat each person with acceptance, fairness, kindness, and empathy. We show acceptance by active listening, respect for experience and differences and accepting people wherever they are and however they present themselves. 

Our Awards

2020-Today

Congresswoman Judy Chu’s Office

  • Lorena Ruiz – A Hometown Hero
  • Union Station Homeless Services Non-Profit of the Year Award for Congresswoman Chu’s 27th District – Congressional Leadership Awards: Hometown Heroes of the Pandemic!

Los Angeles Business Journal

  • Anne Miskey – CEO of the Year Finalist for the Women’s Leadership Series 2021
  • Ja’Vette Pettaway  – Champion of Women
  • Changing the Narrative Series  – Most Innovative Awareness Campaign within the Los Angeles community
  • Reann Gonzalez – 2021 Community Impact Award Finalist

Pasadena Independent

  • Lorena Ruiz  –  Not All Heroes Wear A Cape

 Organizations and Groups

  • “Recommended Local Charity” in San Gabriel Valley — Beacon Media Reader’s Choice
  • 4-star rating from Charity Navigator
  • Great Nonprofit Top-Rated Nonprofit
  • GuideStar Seal of Transparency
  • Best of Pasadena Best Local Charity
  • The H.O.P.E. Award Pasadena Junior Chamber of Commerce
2010-2015

2015              Best Local Charity — Pasadena Weekly

2015              Readers Choice Best Local Charity — Beacon Media

2014-2016   Certified Service Enterprise — Points of Light

2014               Neighborhood Builder Leadership Program — Bank of America

2013               Best Local Charity — Pasadena Weekly

2013               Certificate of Appreciation — Pasadena Chamber of Commerce

2013               Neighborhood Builder Leadership Program — Bank of America

2013               40th Anniversary — City of Alhambra

2013               40th Anniversary — County of Los Angeles — Michael Antonovich

2013               Certificate of Congressional Recognition — Judy Chu

2012               Certificate for Improving the Quality of Life in Los Angeles County — Community Development Commission

2011               Best Local Charity — Pasadena Weekly

2010               Best Local Charity — Pasadena Weekly

2010               Certificate of Appreciation — Family 1s Growth Cap

1990-2020

2015              Best Local Charity — Pasadena Weekly

2015              Readers Choice Best Local Charity — Beacon Media

2014-2016   Certified Service Enterprise — Points of Light

2014               Neighborhood Builder Leadership Program — Bank of America

2013               Best Local Charity — Pasadena Weekly

2013               Certificate of Appreciation — Pasadena Chamber of Commerce

2013               Neighborhood Builder Leadership Program — Bank of America

2013               40th Anniversary — City of Alhambra

2013               40th Anniversary — County of Los Angeles — Michael Antonovich

2013               Certificate of Congressional Recognition — Judy Chu

2012               Certificate for Improving the Quality of Life in Los Angeles County — Community Development Commission

2011               Best Local Charity — Pasadena Weekly

2010               Best Local Charity — Pasadena Weekly

2010               Certificate of Appreciation — Family 1s Growth Cap

2004             City of Pasadena Certificate of Appreciation — Mayor Bill Bogaard

2004             Certificate of Recognition — California State Legislature — Senator Jack Scott and Assemblymember Carol Liu

2003             Outstanding Service — Salvation Army

2001             Daring to Make a Difference — Pasadena Black Infant Health Program

1999             Mayor Certificate of Commendation — Mayor Richard Riordan

1999             County of Los Angeles Festival of Dedication – Governor George Deukmejian

1998             25 Year Anniversary Recognition — Senator Dianne Feinstein

1998             25 Year Anniversary Recognition — President Bill Clinton

1993             20th Anniversary of Service to the Community — President Bill Clinton

1990             Toward a Hungry Free Society  — Nancy Chandler Memorial