VOLUNTEERS ADVOCATING FOR THE UNHOUSED

Responding to homelessness in a proactive, compassionate, and effective way

Our Mission

SELAH Neighborhood Homeless Coalition is a 501(c)(3) organization of neighborhood organizers who recognize unhoused individuals as fellow members of our community worthy of the same dignity, respect and representation afforded to any housed person.

We seek to expand that understanding to other members of our community while building relationships with our unhoused neighbors to better understand their unique needs, situations and struggles.

Our goal is to ensure these oft-forgotten individuals have access to as much community support and political recognition as possible. We hope to accomplish this through material aid, connection to existing services and policy advocacy.

There are many homelessness organizations working to end homelessness at the city, state, and county levels. Our work is on the neighborhood, encampment, and individual levels. This allows us to provide detailed, sustained, and relationship-driven support to our unhoused neighbors while demonstrating effective engagement and mobilization of local volunteers to representatives of the city, county, and professional nonprofit organisations.

In line with SELAH’s mission of responding to homelessness in a proactive, compassionate, and effective way, our group does the following things:

• Engage with our neighbors experiencing homelessness to offer resources and advocate for them with our service providers who are often overwhelmed.

• Host weekly programs including case management, showers, essentials, and hot meals.

• Meet with our elected representatives to voice concerns and offer solutions.

• Educate the community by hosting forums, trainings, hygiene kit builds, and clothing drives.

• Produce literature with resources for those experiencing homelessness and for the community at large.

• Research and advocate for policies that support our mission.

• Research, propose and execute on-the-ground solutions to serve acute and/or emergency needs (such as meals and showers).

• Build bridges with other community groups working towards these same goals.

• Support other groups of neighbors hoping to create similar organizations in their neighborhoods using the SELAH model.

Where We Started

SELAH was founded by Darius Derakshan, Dorit Dowler-Guerrero, Cat Kim, Janet Kim and Nithya Raman on May 5th, 2017, over many cups of coffee and after a months-long deep dive to see how our city and our community were responding to the homelessness crisis in Los Angeles.

Our goal was to take an active, compassionate and solutions-oriented approach to helping our neighbors. On May 22, 2017, we invited homeless activists, nonprofits, local service providers, elected officials and eager volunteers to join us for SELAH’s official launch — and to pledge to be part of the solution to this crisis.

Since then, SELAH has grown far, deep and wide. We now host encampment outreach programs 2-3 days per week in Atwater Village, Echo Park, Los Feliz, Silver Lake, Northeast Hollywood and the LA River, and provide clothing, hygiene supplies and hot meals at weekly shower programs in Silver Lake and Echo Park.

Thanks to our hundreds of dedicated volunteers and the support of our community, SELAH’s ability and capacity to help our unhoused neighbors is increasing by the day.

Quick Resources

If you are a concerned neighbor or community member and would like to help connect a specific unhoused neighbor to available resources from the City, County, and professional homeless services agencies, please use (and share) the information below.

Please note that while SELAH outreaches to and advocates for our unhoused neighbors, we are volunteers and not social workers, and therefore should not be considered the first point of contact to request outreach or resources for a person in need. We encourage you to directly access the links and numbers below, especially LAHSA’s self-service help request portal, LA-HOP.

General

Los Angeles Homeless Service Authority (LAHSA)

Submit a non-emergency request for help (good for IDs, long-term medical support and housing assistance) LA-HOP.org

Dept of Mental Health Hotline
1-800-854-7771

General Resources/Shelter Beds/Families
211

Life-Threatening Emergencies
911