How The Future Communities Institute Is Tackling Homelessness In Los Angeles

Photo by Dan Burton on Unsplash

Los Angeles, a city synonymous with innovation and creativity, faces one of the largest and most complex human crises of our time—homelessness. With over 75,000 unhoused individuals in Los Angeles County, the challenge looms large, demanding solutions that are as dynamic and multifaceted as the city itself. At the forefront of this effort is Justin Szlasa, Director of Homeless Initiatives at the Future Communities Institute (FCI), an organization he describes as an “action tank,” which is focused on rapid-prototyping mission-critical programs that should but currently don't exist in LA's homelessness ecosystem.

Justin Szlasa, Director of Homeless Initiatives at the Future Communities Institute | Courtesy of Future Communities Institute

In a recent interview, Szlasa shared with me his journey to FCI and the transformative work the institute is undertaking to address homelessness in Los Angeles. FCI’s efforts are exemplified by two groundbreaking initiatives designed to tackle homelessness: The LA Working Capital Fund (LAWCF) and the Los Angeles Unhoused Response Academy (LAURA).

Szlasa’s path to FCI was paved with purpose. "About five years ago, I started volunteering with a nonprofit that does outreach to homeless people along the LA River. It was a good way to provide direct relief to people suffering, but more importantly, I wanted to try to understand, from the ground up, why this was happening in our city and how to fix it," he recalled. This grassroots experience, walking the encampments and listening to the unhoused, provided him with a unique perspective. “If you understand what’s happening on the ground, you can spot areas for improvement,” he explained, likening it to “walking a factory floor and listening to the workers.”

Over the years, he developed a long list of discrete project ideas that he reckoned could make dents in the crisis. However, Szlasa also recognized that while generating ideas was easy, execution was the challenge and where things broke down. “When I met the team at Future Communities Institute, I realized they’d built an ideal platform and process where projects can get done,” he said.

Szlasa credits FCI’s innovative model for its success. “We balance innovation and execution to solve tricky social problems. Our process works like this: First, we identify a problem we think we can solve. Then, we convene experts from whatever sectors are relevant, which might be finance, philanthropy, academia, nonprofit, industry, government, or healthcare,” he explained.

By engaging skilled professionals who are eager to contribute, FCI crafts detailed plans and rapidly executes them. “We’ve found a tremendous appetite from people who are willing to lend their expertise to do real work for worthy projects that have a shot at actually getting done. After we convene the experts, we develop a specific, detailed plan, and then our FCI team swings into action to make it happen. We execute at lightning speed—in weeks, not months,” he added. If the proof of concept succeeds, FCI expands or spins it off into a larger initiative. If it falls short, the team takes the lessons learned and moves forward.

As the Director of Homeless Initiatives at FCI, Szlasa focuses primarily on projects in Los Angeles. FCI’s broader scope also encompasses areas like disease prevention and the future of work, which closely intersect with homelessness. While the institute’s current efforts are concentrated in California, these are challenges that resonate in cities and societies around the globe.

The LA Working Capital Fund (LAWCF) LAWCF provides fast, low-cost capital to community-based organizations (CBOs) in the homeless sector, allowing them to maintain operations while waiting for committed funds. “We provide financial oxygen so these CBOs, who support the sacred interface between the frontline worker and the person who is unhoused, can continue to operate while they wait for committed funds from government, large organizations, and foundations. We provide working capital to help homeless service providers stay focused on their mission, and worry less about having to make payroll,” Szlasa explained.

In just a few months, LAWCF has provided over $100,000 in financing with only $20,000 in capital and zero defaults. “We’ve proven the concept works and are actively engaging public and private partners to scale the program,” he noted.

LAURA Cohort in Skid Row | | Courtesy of Future Communities Institute

The Los Angeles Unhoused Response Academy (LAURA) program is focused on strengthening the county’s homeless workforce. Its mission is to build the capacity of the 8,000-strong Los Angeles County homeless workforce—today and in the future. Szlasa highlighted a recent pilot program in Skid Row, which trained a cohort of “LAURA Fellows” over five days. The training mixed classroom instruction with in-field experience, including site visits. “By the end of the program, the LAURA Fellows had a toolkit of techniques to help them excel as Case Managers, a good understanding of the resources available to the unhoused on Skid Row, and a personal connection to the local community of care providers,” he said.

The results speak for themselves: over 80% of the Fellows secured full-time employment in the sector within a month. With new funding from United Way of Greater Los Angeles, the program is set to expand in 2025.

When asked about the broader solution to homelessness, Szlasa is resolute: “The solution to homelessness is not a money problem or an empathy problem. In LA, we have plenty of money; everyone cares about the people on our streets. Our real problem is a lack of coordination,” he stated.

The challenges, he explained, lie in connecting unhoused individuals with the resources they need, fostering a sense of community and purpose, and building the workforce to sustain these efforts. “Ultimately, it takes us all—with locked arms, moving in lockstep—to get there,” he emphasized.

The work of the Future Communities Institute is a testament to the power of collaboration and innovation. By addressing the complex issue of homelessness with practical, scalable solutions, FCI is setting a model for cities everywhere. One initiative at a time, the institute is proving that even the toughest challenges can be met with coordinated action and unwavering purpose.