Best known for its wealthiest pockets (there are more than 5,200 people with over $30 million in assets in L.A.), sprawling Los Angeles County also suffers from severe poverty and economic inequality. Concentrated wealth and gentrification have led to exorbitant rent prices and a lack of affordable housing, adding to an acute homelessness problem. On an average night 55,000 people in L.A. County experience homelessness, many living in encampments. 

According to the Census Bureau’s 2013-2017 data on L.A. County:

• 17.0 % of the population, or 1,688,505 individuals, lives below the federal poverty level
• 19.6% of families with children live below the poverty level

Family-to-Family works with two community partners in L.A. — one supporting our Sponsor A Refugee program and one supporting our flagship Sponsor A Family program.

Families in need for Sponsor a Family are recommended by the non-profit organization FEAST in L.A. (Food, Education, Access, Support, Together), whose mission is to help families live healthier lives. FEAST offers wellness programs to low income families that focus on food and nutrition information, and offer access to fresh, healthy foods. Providing these families with monthly grocery gift cards through our sponsorship program enables them to purchase the kinds of healthy foods FEAST encourages for lifestyle changes.

Many L.A. families struggling in poverty are also part of the county’s large and diverse immigrant population, a group that makes up 36% of its total population.  

The city has voiced a strong commitment to supporting refugees — in 2019 the city council passed a resolution naming L.A. a sanctuary city and additionally declared L.A. a “welcoming city” for refugees. To provide support for impoverished refugees in the LA. area, Family-to-Family works with Human Rights First, a non-profit, international human rights organization that identifies families in need to our organization and acts as a liaison to the families we sponsor. 

Community Contacts:

Diana Diaz Madera
Human Rights First
3680 Wilshire Blvd. Ste PO4-414
Los Angeles, CA  90010

Amy Vu
FEAST
3655 South Grand Ave. #210
Los Angeles, CA 90007  

Yes, I’d like to sponsor a family!

Yes, I’d like to sponsor a refugee family!