California Policy Lab

The Solid Ground homelessness prevention pilot was started in 2018, with a goal of serving families in Van Nuys, California (zip code 91405) who may be at risk of homelessness but who do not qualify for the homelessness prevention services provided by the Los Angeles County homelessness services sector.1 The pilot is administered by New Economics for Women (NEW), a nonprofit that administers a FamilySource Center. FamilySource Centers are located in high-need areas and are designed to assist low to moderate-income families with a continuum of services, including financial counseling and referrals to community resources. While Solid Ground was originally conceived as a two-year pilot, it was extended and NEW continues to operate it. The Solid Ground program was previously administered by the Housing Department and now falls under the purview of the Community Investment for Families Department (CIFD). Since 2021, CIFD has created seven additional Solid Ground homelessness prevention programs at FamilySource Centers throughout Los Angeles. This brief summarizes the key findings from three process evaluations the California Policy Lab conducted of Solid Ground over three years. Each in-depth evaluation is also available on the California Policy Lab website. Solid Ground offers two programs: “Full Solid Ground” and “Brief Solid Ground.” To qualify for Full Solid Ground, a family must be imminently at-risk of becoming homeless and score a 16 or more on the Prevention Targeting Tool (PTT). To qualify for Brief Solid Ground, a family must score 16 or more on the PTT or be imminently at risk of homelessness.

This work has been supported, in part, by the University of California Multicampus Research Programs and Initiatives grants MRP-19-600774 and M21PR3278