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LA:RISE Helping Individuals at Risk of Homelessness Find Full-Time Work

LA:RISE participant Stephanie at her job with the Downtown Women’s Center (DWC)
EWDD is a leadership team partner of the Los Angeles Regional Initiative for Social Enterprise (LA:RISE), an innovative, collaborative partnership that unites the City and County of LA’s Workforce Development System with non-profit social enterprises and for profit employers to help men and women with high barriers to employment get good jobs and stay employed.

The following two stories illustrate the success of the LA:RISE program, made possible through the efforts of EWDD, our partner agencies, and the LA:RISE clients.

Two of EWDD's Targeted Local Hire Program Success Stories

(left to right) EWDD’s Targeted Local Hire Program employees Breeana London and Steven Mason
In partnership with the City of Los Angeles Personnel Department, EWDD’s WorkSource Centers have served as referral agencies and application centers for the Targeted Local Hire Program (TLHP), which seeks to connect under-served and under-employed populations with alternative pathways to civil service careers at the City of LA.

EWDD is proud to share the TLHP success stories from two of our employees. We congratulate them as they continue to build their careers with the City of LA.

South Valley BusinessSource Helps Entrepreneur Launch Family-Owned Bakery

Maria Lopez (right) stands proudly in front of her new pastry display case in Todos Los Pastelitos Caseros, her family-owned bakery and coffee shop located in Panorama City
The South Valley BusinessSource Center (BSC) recently helped Maria Lopez launch Todos Los Pastelitos Caseros, a family-owned bakery and coffee shop located in Panorama City. Maria spent more than a decade in the bakery industry working for major supermarkets.

In the evenings and weekends, she fulfilled orders for baked goods for loved ones and friends and rapidly outgrew her home kitchen. That’s when Maria decided to lease a retail space and open her own bakery and café, with an emphasis on Mexican pastries, cakes, sweets and caffeinated drinks.

Re-Entry Job Seeker Receives Training to Become Skilled Laborer

re-entry job seeker Modesto received training through the Vernon-Central/LATTC WorkSource and become a skilled laborer
The Vernon-Central/Los Angeles Trade-Tech College (LATTC) WorkSource Center (WSC) helped re-entry job seeker Modesto receive training to become a skilled laborer.

After serving 25 years in prison, Modesto was determined to change his path and pursue a career in construction. Modesto enrolled at the Vernon-Central/LATTC WSC, run by EWDD partner Coalition for Responsible Community Development (CRCD), where he received supportive services and registered for job training.

Hollywood BusinessSource Helps Studio Owner Obtain $425K Loan, Create 13 Jobs

Zac Hartog, owner of ZH Productions and LA Hangar Studios
The Hollywood BusinessSource Center (BSC) helped Zac Hartog, owner of ZH Productions and LA Hangar Studios, secure a $425,000 Small Business Administration (SBA) working capital loan, which allowed the company to create 13 new jobs.

LA Hangar Studios is a boutique studio located near downtown Los Angeles that caters to the film and television industry. ZH Productions is a special events design and production company that specializes in experiential event design and fabrication for high-end clients worldwide.

LA:RISE Helps Participants Find Success Through Vocational Training

LA:RISE participant Donna shows off her vocational training Certificate of Completion
EWDD is a leadership team partner of LA:RISE, an innovative, collaborative partnership that unites the City and County of Los Angeles’ Workforce Development System (WDS) with non-profit social enterprises and for-profit employers to help men and women with high barriers to employment get good jobs and stay employed. After working in a transitional job at a social enterprise and leveraging training and services from the WorkSource Center, LA:RISE participants are placed at jobs in the private sector, in public-sector jobs in the City of LA, or in vocational training programs.

Manuel and Donna, both recent LA:RISE participants, share their success stories below.

Compass Rose Collaborative Alum Hired at Metals Company

Compass Rose Collaborative participant Carlos showing his paid internship paycheck
Compass Rose Collaborative (CRC) alum Carlos stopped by the Boyle Heights Technology YouthSource Center on December 3, 2019 to notify his instructors that he was released from parole transitional housing and has started working as a die forge helper at Weber Metals in Long Beach.

“I’m very grateful for the opportunity that the CRC program has given me. I have a good job now and I’m looking forward to being a positive role model to my son.”

North Valley BusinessSource Center Celebrates Grand Opening

Initiating Change in our Neighborhoods (ICON) operates the new North Valley BusinessSource Center in Pacoima, pictured here with staff at the center's ribbon cutting on Friday, December 6, 2019
A crowd of 100 people attended the grand opening of the North Valley BusinessSource Center on Friday, December 6, 2019. EWDD partner, Initiating Change in our Neighborhoods (ICON), recently took over the site and is now the provider for both the North Valley and South Valley BusinessSource Centers.

EWDD Assistant Chief Grants Administrator Jacqueline “Jackie” Rodriguez spoke at the event and thanked ICON staff for establishing the new site.

EWDD Ad Campaigns Promote Gang Injunction Curfew Settlement

Renee, a Los Angeles Reconnections Career Academy (LARCA 2.0)benefit recipient
In partnership with the LA City Attorney’s Office, EWDD recently wrapped up an ad campaign to increase awareness about the City’s Gang Injunction Curfew Settlement, also known as the Los Angeles Reconnections Career Academy (LARCA 2.0).

Through the program, settlement members are eligible for free benefits such as job training, tuition assistance and tattoo removal.

EWDD partnered with local radio stations

Find a Way to Invest in Hire LA’s Youth

Garrett Gin, Bank of America Senior Vice President of Global Marketing and Corporate Affairs, and a City of Los Angeles Workforce Development Board (WDB) member

A Bank of America Executive Shares How LA’s Initiative Benefits Employers and Businesses

The Hire LA’s Youth initiative provides young Angelenos ages 14 to 24 a chance to gain work experience through internships, summer jobs and employment opportunities all-year round.

Vernon-Central/LATTC WorkSource Hires LA:RISE Participant as Career Coach

Jeannine poses next to the "Just Hired" notice board announcing her new job as a WorkSource Career Coach
The Vernon-Central/Los Angeles Technical Trade College (LATTC) WorkSource Center recently hired Los Angeles Regional Initiative for Social Enterprise (LA:RISE) participant Jeannine as a career coach.

Jeannine was experiencing homelessness and struggling with unemployment when she learned about the LA:RISE program through the Vernon-Central/LATTC WSC.

Mid-City BusinessSource Helps Entrepreneurs Obtain $50K Microloan

(left to right) Mid-City BusinessSource Center business counselor Steve Meng with long-term clients Helina Zerfu and Eyob Tadesse, owners of Buna Ethiopian Restaurant & Market
The Mid-City BusinessSource Center (BSC) recently helped long-term clients Helina Zerfu and Eyob Tadesse secure a $50,000 microloan to help them consolidate a high interest debt and upgrade their business, Buna Ethiopian Restaurant & Market LLC.

Helina and Eyob first met with a Mid-City BSC business counselor in 2017 for assistance with their financials and business plan. Their experience was so positive that Helina and Eyob returned to the Mid-City BSC in November 2019 for guidance on financing options to grow their business.