We’ve got access to the information that every Angeleno needs to make an impact. Our blog features the latest LA2050 news, announcements, features, happenings, grantee updates, and more.

LA2050 Blog

We’re excited to share a mid-year update on some of the incredible work from our 2025 grantee cohort. This year, instead of written reports, five recipients of the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation supported LA2050 Grants Challenge awards joined us for a conversation to reflect on their progress. We’ve summarized that discussion to highlight key accomplishments, lessons learned, and what’s ahead for each organization.

So far this year, the cohort has made significant progress advancing solutions that strengthen youth economic advancement across Los Angeles County, from expanding access to wraparound services, to building trusted relationships that keep young people engaged, and creating real-world pathways that help youth move from goals to action.

Keep reading for key takeaways from our full discussion with: 

Wraparound Support Removes the “Hidden Barriers”

Across organizations, the message was consistent: youth can’t fully engage in training or career planning if immediate needs are unmet. Food access, transportation, housing stability, documentation support, and responsive case management aren’t “extra” services, they’re foundational. When young people feel safe and supported, they can focus on longer-term goals like learning, credentialing, and employment.

What’s working for organizations is meeting immediate needs while building a plan for longer-term stability.

“We engage our clients through varied experiences…we feed them [at] every event…because if you’re hungry, you’re not able to think about going to [programming]. You have other priorities.” - Coalition for Engaged Education

“We understand that workforce works in tandem with housing. We cannot have apprentices on park benches, and expect them to be successful.” - Better Youth

Coaching and Community Build Confidence and Persistence

A second theme was the power of trusted relationships: one-on-ones, mentorship, and peer connection, especially for young people navigating systems and transitions. Organizations emphasized that “showing up” looks different for each participant, and that support works best when it's individualized and trauma-informed. Across programs, early progress wasn’t only about technical skills; it also looked like confidence, readiness, and youth practicing next steps together.

What’s working for organizations is pairing individualized, trauma-informed coaching with spaces where young people can build peer connection and practice together.

“We’ve hired a trauma-informed success coach…and we’re going to provide regular one-on-ones, academic guidance, and mental wellness check-ins for the students.…” - Los Angeles City College Foundation

“We support justice-involved youth through trauma-informed mentorship and wraparound services that address critical needs such as food, housing stability, transportation, identification, and mental health so participants can focus on their future. Through individualized case management, staff with lived reentry experience build trust while guiding youth through vocational pathways—including barbering, office administration, and reentry coaching—that promote healing, confidence, and long-term economic stability while providing crucial resources for successful reentry...” - Pathway to Kinship

Real-world Pathways Make Goals feel Possible

Lastly, the cohort reinforced that youth economic advancement becomes real when opportunities are concrete: practical exposure, honest conversations, and clear pathways to training and work. Several organizations shared how important it is to demystify careers, including the “unspoken” parts of professional life, so young people can make informed decisions and build networks that support long-term growth.

What’s working for organizations is creating tangible, real-world pathways, and giving young people the information and relationships they need to navigate them confidently.

“Young people will do…round robins with five different professionals…ask them questions…even questions about their salary, really open and honest questions about their careers…so they can grow their [professional] network…” - Confluence Rising

Together, these five organizations are showing what it looks like to move youth economic advancement from a concept to reality. We’re grateful to the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation for making this work possible, and to each grantee for the leadership they bring to Los Angeles County. We look forward to sharing more as the cohort continues building momentum, and to learning alongside them as they strengthen the systems, supports, and opportunities young people deserve.

Mid-Year Reflections from our 2025 Conrad N. Hilton Foundation Supported Grantees

Throughout the past month, we checked in with our 2025 grantees to learn how their funded programs, projects, and initiatives are progressing – and to better understand the impact they’re making across Los Angeles. Now, we are excited to share these interviews, with stories of growth, challenges, and community transformation. 

 received funding through the LA2050 Grants Challenge from the Goldhirsh Foundation to support its Emergency & Disaster Readiness training for In-Home Supportive Services providers, equipping caregivers with the skills to serve as frontline responders for older adults and people with disabilities. Below is an edited transcript of our conversation with their team.

The Center for Caregiver Advancement is equipping In-Home Supportive Services providers with emergency and disaster readiness training, positioning caregivers as frontline responders. How does this training model strengthen outcomes for older adults and people with disabilities, particularly in the face of climate-related emergencies?

Our Emergency & Disaster Readiness training strengthens outcomes for older adults and people with disabilities by preparing In-Home Supportive Services providers to respond more confidently and effectively when emergencies happen. Caregivers are often the first, and sometimes only, point of contact for people who are especially vulnerable during wildfires, extreme heat, power outages, and other climate-related events. When they have the tools to recognize risks early, implement safety protocols, plan for emergency evacuations, and adapt care in real time, they can help prevent avoidable injuries, complications, and hospitalizations, and save lives. The training also helps caregivers maintain continuity of care during disruptions, whether that means making sure someone can still access medications, use medical equipment safely, or stay connected to essential services in a rapidly changing situation.

Just as important, the model strengthens communication and trust. Caregivers learn how to communicate clearly with consumers, families, and emergency responders so that people with mobility limitations, cognitive impairments, or language barriers are not overlooked in a crisis. Because these providers are already deeply embedded in the communities they serve, this approach builds on relationships that already exist. That means consumers are receiving support from someone they know and trust during some of the most stressful moments they may experience. For us, that is a major part of resilience: not only having a plan on paper, but having a trained, culturally responsive person there who can help carry it out when it matters most.

Given the intersection of workforce challenges, climate vulnerability, and the needs of low-income and disabled populations, how are you navigating these complexities, and what early successes or insights have emerged from the rollout of this training program?

As we’ve rolled out the program, one of the biggest things we’ve had to navigate is the reality of caregiving work itself. IHSS providers are balancing unpredictable schedules, multiple responsibilities, and limited time, so we knew from the start that a traditional training format would not work for many of them. That’s why we designed the course as a self-paced, asynchronous e-learning model. We also paired it with stipends and emergency kits, because we wanted to reduce barriers to participation and make sure caregivers could engage with the training in a way that felt realistic and supportive. More broadly, we’ve tried to build a program that recognizes caregivers not only as essential workers, but also as people who may themselves be vulnerable during climate-related emergencies.

We’ve seen really encouraging early signs that this approach is resonating. We received more than 400 applications for 100 spots, which tells us there is real demand for this kind of training. Participants have responded positively to both the flexibility of the format and the relevance of the content. One of the clearest insights so far is that caregivers want training that reflects the full scope of their experience, they need practical tools to support the consumers they serve, but they also want to feel prepared to protect themselves and their own households in a crisis. That has reinforced for us how important flexible, culturally responsive, skills-based training can be in strengthening both workforce development and climate resilience across Los Angeles County.

What do you hope to achieve in the last six months of the grant, and how can the broader LA2050 community support?

In the final six months of the grant, we’re focused on fully implementing the program and measuring its impact in a meaningful way. That means successfully training 100 IHSS providers in Emergency & Disaster Readiness, continuing to support the current cohort through completion, and potentially launching a second cohort later in the summer, depending on graduation numbers. We’re also tracking knowledge gains, pre- and post-survey data, and how participants apply what they’ve learned around emergency preparedness, communication, and continuity of care. We want to understand not just whether people completed the training, but how it is changing their confidence, their readiness, and their ability to support consumers when emergencies arise.

The broader LA2050 community can support this work by helping us build stronger connections to aligned organizations, public agencies, and emergency response stakeholders so this model can continue beyond the grant period. We’d also really value opportunities to participate in spaces like funder roundtables and other conversations that can help strengthen coordination and long-term sustainability. More broadly, we think there is an important narrative shift needed around caregiving. Caregivers are essential every day, but that becomes especially visible in times of crisis. Support from the LA2050 community in helping uplift that story, and in recognizing caregivers as critical frontline responders in climate emergencies, would make a real difference.

Center for Caregiver Advancement is Preparing Caregivers to Respond in Times of Crisis 

We’re excited to share mid-year updates on the incredible work of our 2025 grantee cohort. This year, our 15 Goldhirsh Foundation winners of the 2025 LA2050 Grants Challenge joined us for conversations to reflect on their progress. We’ve transcribed those discussions to highlight key accomplishments, lessons learned, and what’s ahead for each organization.

So far this year, the cohort has made significant progress in implementing solutions to the issues that matter most to Grants Challenge voters, from housing and homelessness to income inequality and more.

Click on the links below to read each organization’s update….

In addition to our 15 grantees, we also are tracking progress of organizations funded by two of our funding partners.

Check out our additional blogs featuring organizations supported by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation and the Eli & Edythe Broad Foundation.

LA2050 Blog

Our 2025 Grantees Share Mid-Year Updates!