Kamlager-Dove Secures $500K for Permanent Supportive Housing Site in West LA

LOS ANGELES, CA — Today, Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-37) presented a $500,000 check to IKAR to assist in the development of the new IKAR Center and Supportive Housing Project. This project is one of fifteen that Congresswoman Kamlager-Dove secured a total of $12.4 million for through Fiscal Year 2024 government funding legislation.

This project will build at least 60 units of permanent supportive housing for unhoused people, including seniors, atop a new Jewish community campus. The project will also include space for supportive services and indoor and outdoor common areas for residents. Located on S. La Cienega Blvd., the development will be situated in a high-opportunity, transit-rich corridor that is lacking in affordable housing and permanent supportive housing.

“Ensuring that all Angelenos have a place to call home isn’t just good policy—it is a moral obligation, often informed by faith. By incorporating permanent supportive housing into their new community space, IKAR is upholding its values and following in the long tradition of Los Angeles faith communities working to combat social and economic injustices,” said Congresswoman Kamlager-Dove. “I am proud to have secured funding for this project that will provide real, lasting housing security for formerly unhoused people in our community. IKAR’s first-of-a-kind community center will serve as a shining example for how other faith institutions can help address the housing crisis in Los Angeles and beyond.”

“We are honored to accept this federal funding award that will help us realize IKAR's mission to build affordable housing as part of our new IKAR Center. Our community is tremendously grateful to Representative Kamlager-Dove for embracing our vision that faith communities can meet the need of the broader community for more low-income affordable housing by building those new homes on faith organization-owned land. We hope that this project will be a model for other faith communities across the district and the state to say ‘yes’ to housing not only in our backyards, but right alongside our communal institutions. We look forward to welcoming our new neighbors home,” said IKAR Executive Director/CEO Melissa Balaban.

Last month, Congresswoman Kamlager-Dove hosted a roundtable centered on the development of affordable housing on land owned by faith organizations, during which IKAR Executive Director/CEO Melissa Balaban discussed this project's potential and how IKAR can serve as a model for other faith institutions.

ABOUT IKAR:
IKAR is a dynamic, multi-generational community rooted in Los Angeles and reaching globally with the mission to reanimate Jewish life and develop a spiritual and moral foundation for a just and equitable society. IKAR, as a faith community, stands with multifaith partners as voices of moral courage, sources of spiritual strength, and first responders to injustice and indifference. IKAR understands that its role extends beyond Jewish religious and spiritual practice, and indeed beyond the Jewish community. IKAR is working to develop a spiritual roadmap for soulful, multi-faith justice work in Los Angeles and around the country.

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