Resources We Offer

Los Angeles is home to an estimated 750,000 residents living below the poverty line. Among these, 53,500 households do not have complete kitchen facilities, and 18,700 lack some or all plumbing. While Los Angeles City operates more than 60 public housing projects with a total of 8,000 units, 11,000 families are on the waiting list for these units. World Vision in Southern California exists to assist community groups in building a rich network of resources that help low-income families and their children thrive.

Essential Needs

Essentials such as clothing, shoes, personal care items, and household goods help families meet their daily needs. These items are provided through the World Vision facility in Southern California, and distributed by our ministry partners to families in need. When families receive these basics, parents are better able to budget their limited resources and provide for their children.

Building Materials

For many families living in impoverished communities, home repairs are not possible when budgets already are strained by more pressing needs, such as groceries and health care. World Vision serving Southern California has a nonprofit warehouse that includes a growing selection of building materials available at a nominal handling fee to churches and nonprofit organizations working to improve or create decent, affordable housing.

Second Start

Women coming out of homeless shelters often come face-to-face with new realities, such as how to afford proper work attire for a job search and future employment. As they rebuild their lives, Second Start comes alongside many Southern California women with new job-appropriate clothing—providing them with a head start in regaining stability for themselves and their children.

School Supplies

In partnership with the Kids In Need Foundation, World Vision in Southern California provides teachers in low-income schools the learning tools many families cannot afford. World Vision back-to-school distributions also include new backpacks filled with school supplies, which are distributed at homeless shelters, low-income housing neighborhoods, and other areas where high-need populations are concentrated. In 2008, more than 800 teachers representing 14 Los Angeles schools in low-income neighborhoods will receive supplies from World Vision, benefiting more than 28,000 students.

In 2007, World Vision in Southern California provided essential goods to 7,451 children and 5,639 adults through 135 ministry partners. An additional 93,506 children and 96,198 adults were served with building materials. To make this happen, 246 volunteers contributed 1,296 hours of service to World Vision.