Advocates

Over half a million people are homeless in the United States - 25% of whom are in California. Amid public outcry over the ballooning homeless population in Los Angeles-nearly 54,000 people on any given night-three advocates with three different organizations show what the lost ideal of "care in the community" looks like amid a changing policy landscape. Intensely human and humanizing, The Advocates provides a sweeping look at the historic and current causes of L. A's unprecedented crises, largely due to defunded affordable housing. It goes behind the headlines with pragmatic stories of the transformative work that is possible when the right resources, funding, and compassion are applied. Featuring advocates Claudia Perez, Rudy Salinas, and Mel Tillekeratne, and the organizational work of LA on Cloud9, Housing Works, and Monday Night Mission with experts including: Celina Alvarez (Executive Director, Housing Works), Gary Blasi (UCLA, Professor of Law Emeritus), Jerry Jones (Inner City Law Center), Mary Kirchen (Founder, Housing Works), Steve Lopez (Columnist, LA Times), Alisa Orduna (Homeless Policy Director, Mayor Garcetti's Office), Mark Ridley-Thomas (LA County Supervisor 2nd District), David Ryu (LA City Councilmember CD4), and Paul Tepper (Western Center on Law & Poverty).