LOS ANGELES, March 15, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On Thursday, March 24, 2022, at 9 a.m., Southern California Health And Rehabilitation Program (SCHARP) will host a dedication ceremony for the naming of its 45th Street Apartment building at 1458 W. 45th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90062. The permanent supportive housing building will be dedicated to the life and legacy of Ms. Ruth Schwartz, the co-founder of Shelter Partnership, who passed away last March. Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson will be in attendance to issue a Proclamation to recognize the event.
Schwartz was a dynamic figure in the fight to ease the suffering of homeless persons in Los Angeles County. "She was homelessness before Measure H, Proposition HHH, and the ad hoc committee on Black homelessness," said Jack Barbour, Chief Executive Officer of SCHARP.
Schwartz operated Shelter Partnership as her command center for advocating and providing resources for homeless persons to live in dignity off the streets. Shelter Partnership operated a massive warehouse (The S. Mark Taper Foundation Shelter Resource Bank) of donated goods that were expertly distributed to homeless persons through nonprofits. In addition to the Resource Bank, Shelter Partnership was an ally to nonprofit and government entities alike, helping to strategize about how to address the growing homeless crisis.
SCHARP was founded in February 1994 as a nonprofit to provide mental health services to vulnerable ethnic minority populations in South Los Angeles. Founded by two African American psychiatrists who were disillusioned with the traditional services provided to severely and persistently mentally ill individuals who are members of minority groups, they targeted this population.
In the late 1990s, while Schwartz was pitching the concept of Housing First to the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, SCHARP founder and CEO Dr. Jack Barbour realized Housing First could be the answer to the inadequate outcomes that SCHARP continued to see for persons experiencing homelessness, despite receiving quality, culturally relevant, and sensitive mental health and social services.
Through technical, political, and policy know-how. Schwartz assisted SCHARP to acquire and rehabilitate three dilapidated properties that would become a total of 14 Housing First apartment units for SCHARP clients who were experiencing homelessness. After completion of the rehabilitation, Schwartz visited the sites several times and knew many of the tenants by name. Schwartz and Shelter Partnership went on to help pave the way for thousands of Housing First apartment opportunities in Los Angeles.
The 45th Street Apartments is one of those now rehabilitated buildings that is home to persons who had experienced homelessness. The building will be renamed The Ruth Schwartz Apartments.
For further information about SCHARP, please contact our administrative offices at (310) 631-8004 or visit www.scharpca.org.
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