Richard, 63, grew up in El Monte in a family that struggled with addiction. He’d been homeless 10 years, the unofficial “mayor” of an encampment under a freeway overpass, when he secured interim housing at a Project Roomkey hotel through outreach workers.
There, he got to know Giulianna, a housing navigator with Union Station Homeless Services who visited regularly. She secured a permanent housing voucher for him – a time limited subsidy – and helped him find and move to an apartment on a quiet street in Hollywood, where he has the support of case managers who help him access health care and benefits.