Stitching Solutions for a Revitalized DTLA

Access to tech and creative industry employment

Central LA

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

Make It Work and its introductory program, The Story Pillow Project, address homelessness, poverty, and social disconnection in DTLA—especially among women. The root causes run deep: systemic racism, gender inequity, and economic disinvestment have created generational poverty. Since 2015, the number of unhoused women in LA County has surged 63%, from 13,643 to over 22,000. Traditional services offer critical relief but are stretched thin. We need community-based, participant-driven solutions that restore agency and opportunity. After three years working with the LA Mission’s Job Services, we’ve seen the barriers firsthand: not just employment gaps, but deep wounds to self-worth. Our model combines practical skill-building—making saleable products from garment deadstock—with mentorship, peer support, and mental health resources. We believe in these women until they believe in themselves. Make It Work is more than job training—it’s a movement for dignity, healing, and economic justice.

The Story Pillow Project is the gateway to Make It Work, a social enterprise in Downtown LA supporting women experiencing homelessness or in recovery. In immersive 8-week workshops, participants learn to turn landfill-bound deadstock fabric into beautiful, saleable items—pillows, totes, and accessories—sold to local hotels and businesses. No sewing or business experience is required—just a willingness to begin.
Participants gain hands-on skills in sewing and design, plus financial literacy (with Chase), entrepreneurship training, and storytelling exercises that rebuild confidence and connection. Each woman’s personal story becomes the blueprint for her creation. Industry guests lead creative labs, and materials are donated by local fashion partners, turning textile waste into income and pride.
Our pilot proved the power of the model: 13 women with no experience made 15 pillows in 4 weeks. The expanded 8-week version deepens that impact and prepares women for peer mentorship or entry into Make It Work’s broader workforce development pipeline.
We’ve secured our first B2B partner—Conrad Hilton Downtown LA—and are in talks with other major hotels and online retailers. By Year 2, the program will grow into a year-long initiative creating a trained, creative workforce serving DTLA’s hospitality sector and beyond. This is healing through the act of creation, steered by the women it is designed to uplift.

LA is a city of makers and storytellers. Our vision is to harness that spirit to revive legacy industries—like manufacturing and textiles—while creating purpose-driven solutions for women in crisis. We’re not just producing goods—we’re building a model of community-powered recovery. Like our ally Homeboy Industries, we’re reframing how communities advance economic equity through creativity, recycling, and collaboration. Inspired by Homeboy’s success, we created this program with the belief that anything is possible with heart, conviction, and the right support.
We built Make It Work by connecting the dots—linking people, resources, and untapped potential to create a solution rooted in community. We see this model taking root in cities across the country, where local leaders align networks of creativity, care, and opportunity.
We imagine a city where business and social impact work together to solve what gov alone cannot—and where those once excluded help shape the economy of tomorrow.