Episode notes
In this compelling episode of Doing What Works: Innovations in Homeless Services, we sit down with Dr. Ryan Smith, President and CEO of St. Joseph Center in Los Angeles. With a personal history of youth homelessness, Dr. Smith shares how his lived experience shapes his professional mission to create a more compassionate and effective homeless services system.
From the formative influence of his mother to his first job as a youth organizer at 15, Dr. Smith recounts the journey that led him to lead one of LA’s most impactful service organizations. He walks us through the four foundational pillars of St. Joseph Center—Housing, Outreach, Mental Health, and Economic Mobility—and explains why investing in frontline workers and replicating community college programs like SMC’s Homeless Services Certificate are essential steps to ending homelessne ...
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workforce developmenthomelessness solutionssupportive housingcareers in homeless serviceseconomic mobilityjob training for unhoused individualsDr. Ryan SmithSt. Joseph Centermental health services for homelessCold Talk programBread and Roses Culinary InstituteFortify programpeer-led outreachwraparound supportyouth homelessness