Introduction to the Laura Fellowship
The Laura Fellowship is a weeklong program designed to prepare homeless service workers for a career in the grueling industry. The fellowship aims to educate aspiring workers about what they are getting into and give them the tools to succeed, including a plethora of contacts they can turn to when problems arise.
The Challenges of Homeless Service Work
Helping people get off the street can be a grueling, poorly paid job, one where workers often feel unsafe and lament that they haven’t received enough training on how to help, or an explanation of what to expect, when dealing with people facing some of the worst moments of their lives. Recent studies have found those factors contribute to widespread burnout and turnover among L.A. County homeless service workers, harming the ability to solve a crisis where thousands sleep on the streets.
Planting Seeds
Josh Hoffman, director of homeless services at the Little Tokyo Service Center, recalled a story of a woman with mental health issues who repeatedly refused to move into a new building because birds in the neighborhood told her it wasn’t safe. As a result, she remained on the street, but a couple of years later things changed. Hoffman said his team received a call from another organization saying the woman was now housed and was willing to follow through with the application process because she had already done it several times with them and felt comfortable. “If we had never gotten that call we would have figured … our work with her hadn’t really had an impact on her life, but it did,” said Hoffman. “Planting seeds,” one attendee remarked. “That’s the perfect analogy,” Hoffman replied.
The Laura Fellowship Program
In April, the Los Angeles Unhoused Response Academy, Laura for short, welcomed 15 fellows as part of its second cohort. Fellows received a stipend to attend and learned about different medicines to reduce side effects of street drugs and how to use the county’s online system that service workers employ to connect people to housing. They also learned about actions in their personal lives they could take to reduce burnout and toured multiple service providers on Skid Row. At the Midnight Mission, fellows ate at the cafeteria that feeds hundreds a day, toured a dormitory, a soon-to-open women’s 12-step program and an education center with computers, books and musical instruments.
Tents on Skid Row.
(William Liang / For The Times)
At the end, the mission’s chief communications officer, Georgia Berkovich offered fellows her number. “You can always call for questions, ideas — whatever,” Berkovich said.
Fast-Tracking Training
Justin Szlasa, who founded the Laura fellowship, said that it can take months or years for homeless service workers to gain the contacts and knowledge dispensed over the five-day learning program. By fast-tracking training, the fellowship seeks to educate aspiring workers about what they are getting into and give them the tools to succeed, including a plethora of contacts they can turn to when problems arise. “You are less likely to burn out if you are embedded in a community and you have peers and a support system,” said Szlasa, the director of homeless initiatives for the Future Communities Institute, which puts on the fellowship.
Burnout and Turnover
One contributing factor to burnout is pay. According to a 2023 Rand Corp. study, L.A. County homeless service workers on average earn about $40,000 to $60,000 a year, leaving little left after paying for rent and other necessities. The analysis focused on front-line workers employed by nonprofits who serve as a backbone of L.A. County’s homeless response and connect people with housing, job training, food assistance and medical care. Nonprofits executives told report authors that they would like to pay more, but the government contracts that fund their work don’t pay enough to allow it.
The Impact of Higher Pay
But Rand economist Lisa Abraham, who co-wrote the report, said higher pay could pay dividends in the homeless sector, citing one study that found that after wages were increased in nursing homes, residents had fewer preventable health conditions and reduced mortality. “These front-line workers are directly in touch with the homeless population,” Abraham said. “Having a talented, strong workforce that feels supported, that feels motivated to work … that’s likely to translate into outcomes for their clients.”
Conclusion
The Laura Fellowship is a valuable program that seeks to prepare homeless service workers for a career in the grueling industry. By providing training and support, the fellowship aims to reduce burnout and turnover among workers, ultimately leading to better outcomes for the homeless population. As Szlasa said, “The long-term fix for me is more productivity,” and with programs like the Laura Fellowship, it is possible to create a strong argument for higher pay and better working conditions for homeless service workers.
FAQs
Q: What is the Laura Fellowship?
A: The Laura Fellowship is a weeklong program designed to prepare homeless service workers for a career in the grueling industry.
Q: What do fellows learn during the program?
A: Fellows learn about different medicines to reduce side effects of street drugs, how to use the county’s online system, and actions to reduce burnout, among other things.
Q: How can I apply for the Laura Fellowship?
A: Information on how to apply can be found on the Future Communities Institute website.
Q: What is the goal of the Laura Fellowship?
A: The goal of the Laura Fellowship is to educate aspiring workers about what they are getting into and give them the tools to succeed, ultimately leading to better outcomes for the homeless population.
