Award recognizes combined efforts of 23 nonprofits for their work in alleviating L.A. County’s housing crisis.
Los Angeles, CA — June 21, 2019
Union Station Homeless Services was honored with a Community Impact Award from the Los Angeles Business Council (LABC) today for its efforts to address the escalating homelessness and housing crisis in Los Angeles County. The award was presented to Union Station as part of the LABC’s 49th Annual Los Angeles Architectural Awards.
Due to the region’s current housing crisis, the LABC’s Community Impact Award did not go to an individual organization, but rather a collective of 23 nonprofit groups leading the way in providing shelter to those most vulnerable in our community. Each year, the award honors a project or body of work that exemplifies transformative civic development within the City of Los Angeles. With this year’s award, recipients were recognized for their leadership in building and financing new housing, as well as providing related services, for low-income and homeless individuals in L.A. County.
Due in part to the tireless work of these nonprofit groups, 21,613 people were placed in homes last year.
“This year we wanted the Community Impact Award to reflect the depth and complexity of L.A.’s homelessness crisis,” said Mary Leslie, President of LABC. “No single organization will be able to fix this problem alone. It will take years of hard work by a wide range of committed groups to change the lives of the thousands of homeless or currently at risk Angelenos.”
Union Station received the award for its work in ending homelessness and helping adults and families experiencing homelessness to rebuild their lives. With over 45 years of experience, Union Station proudly offers a full continuum of programs throughout the San Gabriel Valley; services including street outreach, intake assessments, care coordination and navigation, meals, shelter, housing, and employment development.
“We are honored to receive this award alongside these partner organizations. It’s not possible for us to stand alone in this battle to end homelessness,” said Anne Miskey, CEO of Union Station Homeless Services in Pasadena. “Homelessness is an issue that impacts every community differently, which is why we’ve been focusing efforts on building capacity at the city level as well as partnering with housing developers, architects and community partners to support people experiencing homelessness in their city by ensuring services and resources are accessible, targeted to the community need, and coordinated with larger regional efforts. There’s still a lot of work to do, and thankfully we have amazing partners and community supporters who are with us every step of the way.”
This year, the LABC’s Architectural Awards honored the best in architecture and design with projects running the gamut from urban micro-living units to beachfront hotels. Winning projects reimagined public spaces, both old and new, to foster community and engender civic pride. This year’s grand prize winner, the groundbreaking LAFC Banc of California Stadium in Exposition Park, was built entirely around the fan experience, with team executives soliciting ideas directly from soccer fans as part of the design process. Google’s Spruce Goose project took home the esteemed LABC Chairman’s award for its dynamic, utterly unique adaptive reuse of the old airplane hangar in Playa Vista.
Representatives from Union Station, along with leading architects, city officials and business leaders, attended the awards ceremony at the Beverly Hilton. The keynote was delivered by OMA partner Shohei Shigematsu, who is making his mark on Los Angeles with the new Audrey Irmas Pavilion and the The Plaza at Santa Monica.
A full list of honorees and Community Impact Award winners is attached. For pictures of the winning projects, please visit the Los Angeles Business Council website at www.labusinesscouncil.org.
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