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. [Find each of their stories here.]

Union Station Homeless Services received funding through the LA2050 Grants Challenge from the Goldhirsh Foundation to support its Eaton Fire Housing Assistance Program, which helps households displaced by the fire secure long-term housing stability through flexible financial assistance and individualized case management. Below is an edited transcript of our conversation with their team.

Interview Participants:

Amanda Green, Chief Operations Officer

Max Molina, Senior Director of Programs

Mary Ferguson, Senior Manager, Grants and Foundation Relations

LA2050: Union Station’s Eaton Fire Housing Assistance Program is supporting households displaced after the fires, many of which did not qualify for traditional systems of care. How does this approach help families secure long-term housing stability and avoid falling into homelessness as recovery continues?

Union Station Homeless Services: Our Eaton Fire Housing Assistance Program was designed to fill a critical gap for households that may not qualify for more traditional or federally funded systems of care, but are still at high risk of housing instability after a disaster. By intervening early with flexible, low-barrier support, the program helps prevent displacement from turning into long-term homelessness. A key part of that approach is rapid financial assistance, including short- to medium-term rental subsidies, security deposits, and move-in costs, which can help families secure or maintain housing before instability deepens. The program also pairs that financial help with individualized case management, supporting families through housing searches, landlord communication, and connections to mainstream resources so they can sustain housing beyond the immediate recovery period.

This flexibility matters because many affected households fall into a gray area: they may not meet eligibility thresholds for other programs, but still face serious barriers related to lost documentation, disrupted income, limited credit history, or changing family circumstances. By staying responsive as recovery evolves, the program can offer step-down assistance, connect participants to employment resources, and refer families to longer-term housing options when appropriate. In that way, the work is not only about immediate relief, but about helping families avoid entering the homelessness system in the first place and building a stronger foundation for long-term stability.

LA2050: As you support households through the longer arc of recovery, what challenges have emerged in helping individuals and families rebuild stability, and what successes have you seen

in connecting people to permanent housing and ongoing support?

Union Station Homeless Services: One of the most significant challenges has been the ongoing shortage of affordable housing. Even when financial assistance is available, families often struggle to find units within their budget in a high-cost market, especially amid rising rents, strong competition, and landlord hesitancy around households with disrupted income or prior housing instability. For seniors, people with disabilities, and others on fixed incomes, the loss of those homes represents not only the loss of shelter, but also the loss of long-standing family stability, care networks, and community connection. Many of these households need accessible units, continued support, and housing options that align with limited incomes and higher levels of care.

At the same time, the program has seen meaningful successes. Through persistent housing navigation, strong landlord engagement, and flexible financial assistance, we have helped many households move into stable housing, including families that initially faced significant barriers. To date, our program has distributed over $500,000 providing hotel support, rental assistance, deposits, and moving assistance; and connected households to employment services, benefits, and other mainstream resources. Relationship-based case management has been essential to those outcomes, helping participants not only get housed, but also access the broader support needed to remain stable over time.

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

Union Station Homeless Services: We are focused on helping more households move from short-term stabilization into permanent, sustainable housing. That includes continuing targeted financial assistance, strengthening landlord partnerships, identifying creative housing solutions, and deepening support for households with more complex needs, particularly those on fixed incomes, those requiring higher levels of care, and those who lost generational homes in the fire. We are also working to strengthen connections to mainstream and longer-term resources, including permanent housing programs, public benefits, healthcare, in-home support, and employment opportunities, so that families are not left relying on temporary assistance alone.

The broader LA2050 community can support this work through stronger collaboration with landlords, property owners, service providers, and funders. Additionally, partnerships with organizations offering healthcare, mental health services, and workforce development, as well as flexible funding and policy advocacy related to affordable housing and tenant protections. Needs remain urgent and may intensify as insurance support and other short-term recovery resources begin to expire, leaving more households vulnerable to losing housing in the years after the fire. For us, the goal in these final months is not simply to house people in the short term, but to help ensure that fire-impacted households are positioned for lasting stability and a more equitable recovery.

Photo Credit: Union Station Homeless Services