How the Hilton Foundation Is Addressing Homelessness in LA

Summary

Nonprofit Leadership Podcast: How the Hilton Foundation Is Addressing Homelessness in LA

Hosted by Dr. Rob Harter | Released on March 2, 2025

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Introduction

In this compelling episode of the Nonprofit Leadership Podcast, Dr. Rob Harter delves deep into one of Los Angeles' most pressing issues: homelessness. He is joined by Peter Lahorn, the head of the Hilton Foundation, to discuss the foundation's multifaceted approach to tackling homelessness in LA. The conversation not only sheds light on the strategies employed by the Hilton Foundation but also offers valuable insights for nonprofit leaders aiming to make a tangible impact in their communities.

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Background of the Hilton Foundation

[03:24] Peter Lahorn:

"We were founded by Conrad Hilton, who was the founder of the Hilton hotel chain. He was born in the New Mexico territory before it was a State in 1887... He was educated by Catholic sisters... and that became an important part of his approach to life."

Peter Lahorn provides a comprehensive overview of the Hilton Foundation's origins, tracing its roots back to Conrad Hilton. The foundation was established in 1944 with a broad mission to alleviate human suffering. Over the decades, it has grown significantly, especially after receiving a substantial bequest in 2019 from Conrad Hilton's son, Baron, which doubled its assets from approximately $3 billion to $7 billion.

Key Highlights:

• Global Focus: From inception, the foundation adopted a global perspective, allocating about half of its grants internationally and half domestically within the U.S.
• Diverse Initiatives: The foundation's efforts span various sectors, including ending homelessness in Los Angeles County, supporting foster youth, youth employment, early childhood education internationally, refugee assistance, and providing safe drinking water in Africa and Latin America.
• Unique Programs: Notably, Conrad Hilton mandated that Catholic Sisters remain the largest program beneficiaries, making the Hilton Foundation the world's largest funder of sisters involved in charitable work.

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Peter Lahorn’s Personal Journey in Philanthropy

[08:13] Peter Lahorn:

"I grew up here in LA... I was training to be a Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco, where I lived for two and a half years... then worked with Save the Children in the Middle East and the Horn of Africa."

Peter Lahorn shares his inspiring journey, starting from his early aspirations with the Peace Corps to his extensive work in international development with organizations like Save the Children. His experiences in Mali, where he played a pivotal role in establishing schools in rural villages, underscored the power of community-driven solutions. This foundation of hands-on, impactful work led him to helm the Hilton Foundation, where he has been for nine years.

Notable Insights:

• Community Empowerment: Lahorn emphasizes the importance of empowering local communities, as demonstrated in Mali, where the foundation helped 800 villages establish schools by leveraging local resources like cotton farming to fund education.
• Integration of Experience: His transition from international work to focusing on homelessness in LA highlights the versatility and adaptability required in philanthropic leadership.

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Hilton Foundation’s Approach to Addressing Homelessness in LA

[16:38] Peter Lahorn:

"When you invest in a nonprofit or these grantees, you want to see some tangible results... We have to help government do its work well."

The Hilton Foundation employs a strategic, high-leverage approach to combat homelessness in Los Angeles County. Recognizing that homelessness is a complex, multifaceted issue exacerbated by high housing costs, labor, and land prices, the foundation focuses on collaborating with governmental bodies to optimize the use of available resources.

Strategic Focus Areas:

1. Prevention: Investing in predictive analytics and community observations to identify and support individuals at risk of becoming homeless.
2. Movement from Encampments: Facilitating transitions from encampments to shelters and supportive housing, ensuring that individuals receive comprehensive services, including addiction treatment and job training.
3. Affordable Housing Supply: Increasing the availability and preservation of affordable housing to address the root cause of homelessness.

[22:42] Dr. Rob Harter:

"This year, in 2024, our point in time count showed the first year in six years where it did not go up."

Highlighting the effectiveness of their strategies, Lahorn notes a significant milestone in reducing the homeless population for the first time in six years, attributing this success to the foundation's focused efforts and strategic partnerships.

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Innovative Solutions and Grantee Highlights

[25:11] Peter Lahorn:

"We were working on three large families of work: Prevention, moving people from encampments to shelters, and increasing affordable housing."

Lahorn elaborates on the foundation's commitment to innovative, user-centered solutions. By involving individuals with firsthand experience of homelessness in the planning and implementation phases, the foundation ensures that policies and services are both dignified and effective.

Case Study: The St. Joseph Center in Venice

• Human-Centric Approach: Engaging with every individual in a homeless encampment to understand their unique pathways and needs.
• Coordinated Efforts: Developing comprehensive plans to transition individuals to shelter and supportive housing while maintaining community standards.
• Leadership Integration: Collaborating with government officials like Dr. Valicia Adams Kellam to bridge nonprofit efforts with governmental programs, fostering a synergistic approach.

[31:34] Dr. Rob Harter:

"If someone has done something well, we want to know about it."

This commitment to learning and adopting best practices is evident in the foundation’s willingness to observe and collaborate with successful models like Salt Lake City's approach to veteran homelessness.

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Measure A and Its Impact on Homelessness Services

[28:55] Peter Lahorn:

"Measure A was a real boon to those who are experiencing homelessness... it has a lot of accountability measures built into it."

Measure A serves as a critical funding mechanism aimed at sustaining and expanding homelessness services beyond the initial bond and sales tax measures (Measure H and Triple H) that were nearing their sunset. Recognizing the potential setback in funding, the foundation played a pivotal role in advocating for Measure A to ensure continued support for homeless services.

Key Outcomes:

• Sustained Funding: Prevented a projected 25% increase in homelessness by securing ongoing financial resources.
• Accountability and Transparency: Integrated measures to track the effectiveness of funded programs, fostering trust and public support.
• Replication of Success: Lessons from Measure A’s implementation offer a scalable model for other cities grappling with similar challenges.

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Lessons for Other Cities and Future Directions

[33:34] Peter Lahorn:

"LA is the megalopolis of homelessness right now... we should be providing a model that is affordable and replicable for others."

Drawing from LA’s extensive experience, Lahorn outlines several key takeaways for other metropolitan areas:

1. Government Coordination: Essential for synchronizing efforts across various jurisdictions and sectors.
2. Data Integration: Streamlining information systems to facilitate efficient service delivery and policy-making.
3. Cash Flow Management: Overcoming funding barriers by enabling smooth financial transactions between government bodies and nonprofits.
4. Foundational Support: Foundations can play a crucial role in underwriting the systemic changes needed for long-term solutions.

[36:33] Peter Lahorn:

"We are a funder of the wiring and the plumbing. We're a funder that helps solve problems so that systems can deliver."

Emphasizing the foundation’s role beyond mere funding, Lahorn highlights their commitment to strengthening the underlying systems that support homelessness services, ensuring sustainability and efficacy.

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Conclusion

This episode of the Nonprofit Leadership Podcast offers an in-depth exploration of the Hilton Foundation’s strategic and compassionate approach to addressing homelessness in Los Angeles. Through collaborative efforts, innovative solutions, and a steadfast commitment to measurable outcomes, the foundation exemplifies effective nonprofit leadership. Peter Lahorn’s insights provide a valuable roadmap for other organizations and cities striving to make meaningful changes in their communities.

For more information about the Hilton Foundation and their initiatives, visit thehiltonfoundation.org.

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Notable Quotes:

• Peter Lahorn [03:24]:

  "Assume your full share of responsibility for the world in which you live."

• Peter Lahorn [25:11]:

  "More than just funding services, we are helping to design systems that respect the dignity of every individual."

• Peter Lahorn [33:34]:

  "Foundations can help bridge the gap between what governments want to do and what they can actually accomplish."

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Final Thoughts

Peter Lahorn’s leadership at the Hilton Foundation showcases the profound impact strategic philanthropy can have on societal challenges. By prioritizing collaboration, accountability, and innovation, the foundation not only addresses immediate needs but also paves the way for sustainable, long-term solutions to homelessness in Los Angeles.

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Thank you for listening to the Nonprofit Leadership Podcast. To stay updated on future episodes and resources, visit nonprofitleadershippodcast.org.

Transcript

[Dr. Rob Harder]

This is Dr. Rob Harder with the Nonprofit Leadership Podcast, Making youg World Better. What does it take to be an effective nonprofit leader today? What are the biggest challenges? What are the biggest obstacles? How should nonprofits fundraise in an economy that is constantly changing? All these reasons combined led me to start this show. And it's my hope that through this series, people can learn not only what it takes to be an effective nonprofit organization, but to hear from effective leaders who, who are successfully making a positive impact in their communities. We hope you enjoy the show as together we hear how they are making their world better. Welcome to the Nonprofit Leadership Podcast. Well, today we're talking about a big issue, homelessness. This is an issue that faces every major metropolitan city in the U.S. especially the city of Los Angeles. Los Angeles has the largest percentage of homeless individuals in the U.S. i mean, it's a huge problem and it's a growing problem. Now, what you may find surprising is that one of the world's best known brand name foundations is investing millions of dollars to help solve this issue in la. The Hilton foundation that was started by Conrad Hilton many years ago is addressing the issue of homelessness in Los Angeles. In fact, since its founding, the Hilton foundation has awarded more than $3.2 billion in grants, not just to this issue, but to issues all over the world. In fact, they support a lot of different nonprofits across the world. But today, we're going to focus most of our attention in what the Hilton foundation is doing in la, among the homelessness issue that they're facing. I'm going to be speaking to the head of the Hilton Foundation, Peter lahorn. And among the many questions I ask him will be how the foundation decides to allocate resources, how they have a unique approach as to who informs their policies, and he will share some of the innovative solutions they're coming up with to address LA's biggest problem. So, as always, thanks for tuning in. Now, onto the show. This podcast is sponsored by Donorbox, helping you help others with the best donation forms in the business. Well, welcome to the Nonprofit Leadership Podcast. I have Peter lahorn here from the Hilton Foundation. Peter, first of all, thanks for being on the show and taking time to be with us.

[Peter Lahorn]

Happy to be with you, Rob.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

You got it. Well, I always find it's interesting when you have a name, people immediately know there's name recognition. I mean, your brand recognition is immediate. And yet my guess would be for my listeners, there's a lot of people that don't know perhaps what the Hilton foundation does. They know about the hotel and the hotel industry that Hilton have been involved with for years. But the foundation maybe a little bit of a mystery. So I'm so glad you're here to talk a bit about that. I thought that'd be a great place to start because I think it's the first thing people are going to ask is how did the Hilton foundation get started? It's quite the legacy, I've learned. So, yeah, talk about that. And let me just give a couple of stats for my listeners just to set the stage here. What you may not know is that the Hilton foundation has awarded more than $3.2 billion in grants. So this, that's a lot of money distributed to various good causes and just 270 million just last year just to give you a scope of the having. So, yeah, give us some background on the foundation, how it got started, and what is your primary mission.

[Peter Lahorn]

Sure. Thanks, Rob. As you said, we were founded by Conrad Hilton, who was the founder of the Hilton hotel chain. He was born in the New Mexico territory before it was a State in 1887, and I think shaped by, say, the big skies and the diversity of the state. And he grew up with both entrepreneurial sort of mindset, but also a charitable one.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Okay.

[Peter Lahorn]

He was educated by Catholic sisters. He was devoutly Catholic, and that became an important part of his approach to life. He left us with a whole series of sayings that animate our workplace.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Okay.

[Peter Lahorn]

You know, assume your full share of responsibility for the world in which you live. Every person should have their own policy, foreign and domestic. Look up to people when you can look down on no one. And their trademark phrase, I think, is think big, act big and dream big. And he originally wanted to be a banker. Showed up in Cisco, Texas, which was an oil drilling town, and didn't find a bank to buy, but did find a hotel that was suboptimized. He bought it. He made it really sing. He ultimately built eight more hotels in Texas and then lost them all at the beginning of the Depression, except one in El Paso, hanging on by his fingernails. And he was saved, if you like, by a bellman who lent him $300.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Wow.

[Peter Lahorn]

And he always took that to heart, how important it is that people give you help at a key moment in your life and how you need to pay that back end forward. So in 1944, as he was starting, he had made considerable growth within the domestic US Hotels, but about to start the first international hotel chain.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Okay.

[Peter Lahorn]

Such a truism. Now, everyone knows international hotel chains, but think back There was none at that time.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

That's hard to think about.

[Peter Lahorn]

He started the Houghton foundation in 1944 with the mission of alleviating human suffering, which is quite broad. And I can tell you in a sec about how we have come to interpret that. But I would say we are an 80 year old foundation that has just gone through an adolescent growth spurt because we just received in 2019, the bequest of Conrad Hilton's son, Baron, which doubled our assets from about 3 billion to a high of 8 and a half and now settled around 7.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Wow. Wow.

[Peter Lahorn]

So, yes, I'd say we're one of, depending on how you count the 25 largest foundations in the States and of those that do equal measures of international and domestic, probably in the top 10 or 12.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Yeah.

[Peter Lahorn]

So, you know, in Conrad Hilton's will, He passed in 1979.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Okay.

[Peter Lahorn]

And he wrote in his will, as the revenues for the foundation have been raised all over the world, so too, should you spend your money without territorial color or religious restrictions. Basically, from the beginning, we thought of ourselves as a global foundation. And pretty reliably over the last 30 years, we've made about half of our grants overseas and half domestically in the US Right now, the US Half focuses on ending homelessness here in Los Angeles county, on foster youth, on youth employment, and on early childhood overseas. About 80% of our funding is in Africa and 20% in Latin America. The African part is refugees, early childhood and safe drinking water. The Latin America part, refugees and youth employment. And then a particularity of the Hilton foundation is that Conrad Hilton wrote into his will that Catholic Sisters would always be our largest program. So we've grown into the world's largest funder of sisters.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Okay.

[Peter Lahorn]

And we, we will fund them almost anywhere where they do good work. And that right now, the largest programs are in Africa, India and Latin America.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Okay.

[Peter Lahorn]

Generally speaking, that's, that's where we are.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Such a wide swath of different things you're involved with. Thanks for breaking that down for people. And again, that's. I think a lot of people would be very surprised and pleasantly surprised of all that you're doing. And it's very large the impact you're having. And I thought maybe we talk a bit about you and your specific role and career in philanthropy. I understand it's been shaped really by your personal journey, number one, and the broader challenges you really are seeking to address. Now at your position, can you share how some of your early experiences perhaps influenced your decision to work in this field to begin with, but also what drives you and your ongoing commitment to really utilize the foundation to make a difference in the world.

[Peter Lahorn]

Sure. I grew up here in la.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Okay.

[Peter Lahorn]

And although I say I didn't leave California in my first two decades, I was really interested in the world as a place studying a lot of foreign languages and knew when I got out of college that I wanted to do a job involving service that was overseas. And at the time, the key option that was available to us was the Peace Corps. So four days out of college, I was training to be a Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco, where I lived for two and a half years. Terrific experience. Really, really loved it. And was a high school teacher and found that I really liked education as a topic, but that I wasn't so much cut out for the chalkboard and to be. To be a classroom teacher.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Okay.

[Peter Lahorn]

So I came back to the States, got a job with Save the Children in their Middle east desk, and then over the next two or three years, migrated to the Horn of Africa desk. We had famines and civil wars in all three countries. Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia. So that was a real eye opener and learning experience for me. And then a job came open in Mali, in West Africa, the country where Timbuktu is. So I spent eight years in Mali. Terrific, terrific time. The 90s were a time of political openness, a lot of experimentation, a lot of ability to do things that were important as nonprofits. And when I arrived in Mali, the world had just signed what was called the World Declaration on Education for all, where every country in the world from the States to Mali, declared that they would get all kids into school, primary and secondary level states. That's not much of a stretch, but in Mali, they were educating about 20% of the primary school age population and spending 25% of the national budget to do that.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Wow.

[Peter Lahorn]

There were maybe 25 high schools in the entire country. Of 10 million people and 10,000 villages in the country, only 2,000 schools. So say the children was working in the southern district of Mali in an area about half the size of Connecticut. No paved roads, no running water, no electricity, and we were building one school a year for 225 villages. So we did the math and we said, neither the Malian state nor Save the Children is on the right trajectory to get every child into school in a decade. Is there a way that we can rethink this? The Malian government said, no, there isn't. There's really low demand in these rural areas and you're just wasting your time. But that was not our value set. We believed A lot in the capacity of local communities. Spent about the next four months just going from village to village saying, could we come up with a way that you would all be able to run schools? They said, we would love that. We actually really want our kids to go to school, but we don't want them, especially our girls, to walk 10km a day to get to school is too dangerous and too tiring for them. If we had a school in every village, we would, you know, we would really put our shoulders to it. And so we ended up helping 800 villages start schools.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Oh, wow.

[Peter Lahorn]

That were essentially gender equal. Nine girls for every 10 boys, as opposed to the one girl for every 20 boys in a typical rural school in Mali. And that covered all their costs because we helped the communities plant an extra hectare of cotton and that paid the teachers.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Oh, nice.

[Peter Lahorn]

And so we ended up helping the number of schools in mali grow by 40% through this program. And it taught me a lot about the power of communities, about there's always a way forward and there are always especially human but also financial resources that are left off the table.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Yeah.

[Peter Lahorn]

And that has powered me through my career since then. I headed a Dutch foundation that was working on early childhood around the world, the Bernard Familier Foundation. Think of it as kind of Head Start in the developing world. And then an organization called the Firelight foundation in California that was funding only African organizations helping kill kids. And we were a grantee of the Hilton Foundation. And when I heard that the Hilton CEO job was open, I thought, I like the way we have worked together. And this is the only gig in philanthropy that combines my hometown of LA and Africa, where I live for 11 years. So I've had the job now for nine years, and it has been tremendous. And I had said to myself, I grew up in LA, but it's taken me 35 years to get a job here. What a job and what amazing challenges we've been given to work on with people.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

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[Peter Lahorn]

Sure. Well, you know, let's start from mission and values. Right. When I spoke about alleviating human suffering in the beginning and respecting the dignity of every person in the States, there are few topics that touch those so deeply as homelessness.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Yes.

[Peter Lahorn]

Unfortunately, Los Angeles, which has, you know, it's traditional brand of palm trees and creativity and entertainment and beach, also has this element of homelessness that's becoming more and more associated with us. We are home to between 20 and 25% of the nation's unsheltered population. 75,000 people in our county of 10 million are on the streets on any given night. And it really is the number one, both political and moral issue in Los Angeles County. Poll after poll shows that we've been working on this topic for about 20 years in Los Angeles, five years before that in New York. I would say we got into it from a value side, but over time we've developed a whole lot of experience. What works, what nuts need to be cracked. We've developed, I think, as well, a lot more political savvy than we started.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Okay.

[Peter Lahorn]

You know, like many when you started in an issue like this, we started with direct services. How do we help people live less miserable lives? Right. And you realize that there are many things that you can do or that you can fund organizations to do, but the value of our funding retail will not solve but a small, small piece of the problem. With the cost of housing, labor and land in Los Angeles, we need to use our money in a high leverage way if it's to really contribute to solving the problem for everyone. And a good example of that is right now, about 98% of the dollars on the table about homelessness are governmental, 2% philanthropic. And we are a largest chunk of that 2%. But the name of the game is helping government do its work better. Also, of course, doing real good for real people in real time, funding service delivery as well. But really for the solution of the problem, we have to help government do its work well.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Right.

[Peter Lahorn]

And you know, you asked about exemplary grantees and challenges that have been overcome. For example, a number of the service providers and the county department of Health realized about 10 years ago that the county was spending more on ER visits than it would have on providing preventive services to the homeless. The county said part of our health department should now be working on housing it makes sense for us to put that funding in housing first, and then that will really ease our own system, but also be good for people in the most difficult situations. That in itself led to public officials, governmental officials, and public support for a $1.2 billion bond and a half cent, a quarter cent sales tax, which amounted to about $300 million a year, that passed in 2016, 2017. That meant that on the basis of that first experience, you have about half a billion dollars a year on the table for homeless services and for addressing this problem. Now, $500 million is a lot.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

It's a lot of money.

[Peter Lahorn]

And I would argue that in la, money is not the issue. Our population has shown that it is willing to tax itself to address this problem. I think we've. When I arrived in 2015 at this job, I thought, this is amazing. Look at what is coming together in terms of funding, in terms of policy, in terms of everyone getting their noses in the same direction. But we've had a few uphill battles since then. And in fact, homelessness has increased since then rather than going down. And I think, you know, one way I like to put that is we were. We were calculating with algebra rather than calculus. There was a growing problem, and we had yesterday's solution for it.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Right, Right.

[Peter Lahorn]

So we've learned that you really need to be planning ahead for the growth of a problem and you need to get a handle on that problem. Right now, we are funding organizations to work on three large families of work. One is Prevention. LA houses more people than any other county in the country. 25,000 people a year.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Got it.

[Peter Lahorn]

If we had no inflow, we would lick this problem in three or four years. But in practice, we have as many people coming into homelessness as is going out. So if we can figure out that issue, we can really help reduce the number. The second is moving people from encampments to shelters and to supportive housing.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Got it.

[Peter Lahorn]

Our new mayor has made this really her priority number one. Number two, number three, and we are very happy to try to support that issue and make it work better. And the third thing is just the increase the supply and the preservation of affordable housing.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Right.

[Peter Lahorn]

This is the Achilles heel for Los Angeles. You know, it is so expensive to construct or to buy housing. We really need to work on that. And there are some creative things that have just started that are really, I think, heartening. But if we get all those three things right, I think the problem will. Will reduce and quite markedly from year to year. This year, in 2024, our point in time count, which is the annual homosensis done in the month of January, showed the first year in six years where it did not go up.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Oh, wow.

[Peter Lahorn]

And you know, not going up sounds like something meager. For us, it was huge.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Yes.

[Peter Lahorn]

And you know, we expected that will continue in a visible reduction each year. It won't be linear, it won't be easy, but we think we have the right shoulders to the wheel and we'll make progress on that.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Okay, so it sounds like some of the key issues that are really driving the, if you want to call it the critics would say the inability to control the problem. One of the big issues is just the sheer number of people coming in to the county every year, every month, every year. And just so you could solve it at a certain level. And now all of a sudden you just doubled your problem and, and you have no control or you have little control over that. Sounds like that's what you're dealing with right now.

[Peter Lahorn]

It is the case. And you know, this is. I mentioned government before. Government is essential here.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Yeah.

[Peter Lahorn]

We are the largest county in the nation. 10 million people. That's bigger than 42 states.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Right.

[Peter Lahorn]

Bigger than a lot of countries. So we are, in a sense a country ourselves.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Right.

[Peter Lahorn]

We have 88 cities. The largest one is LA. 4 million people. But there are many others. Right?

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Yeah.

[Peter Lahorn]

All those jurisdictions need to be coordinated.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Right.

[Peter Lahorn]

Government coordination is not simple. Yeah, but it is. It's something we've invested a lot in, something I think we didn't originally see ourselves getting into. But I think it has been a logical place for us to put some of our bandwidth. And we have. We actually took the CEO of LA county, the chief administrative officer of the city of la, and some other city managers to Houston.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Okay.

[Peter Lahorn]

Which, which is galling to an Angeleno. You know, hashtag Houston. No. But in the same decade that our, our homelessness had gone up by 50%, there's a gone down by 50%.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Okay.

[Peter Lahorn]

And they did not invest in extra nickel because they coordinated better. They, they work together and they, they really optimized one of those assets. So that is something we've been working on hard here in Los Angeles.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

And I want to get into that. So it sounds like one of the things that I read about what you're doing at the Hilton foundation, specifically along with your partners, of course, community partners, government partners, is that you want the firsthand account of someone who's experiencing homelessness to inform your solutions. Talk a bit more about that, of how you've come up with Maybe more sustainable and even creative out of the box thinking because of having people that have experienced homelessness firsthand at the table, basically helping you develop policy.

[Peter Lahorn]

Well, you know, I think it's. Think about how tech works. User experience is king.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Yeah, right. There you go.

[Peter Lahorn]

If people put a product together, 18 out of 20 people on the product development team will be user experience engineers. Government often doesn't work that way. Often it does the opposite. Right. 18 people are working on policy, then a couple of people on, well, I hope the service gets delivered. Well, what we're trying to do is to help flip that. And part of that flipping is taking your users seriously. Now, people who are experiencing homelessness often get neglected, are often deliberately excluded from people's gaze, let alone brought into meetings and planning. But they are equally dignified as all the rest of us, even if they have problems that make it difficult for them to interact in society or find a job or hold down a paycheck. I think it makes sense from a dignity perspective, but it also makes sense from just getting services to work in the way they were intended. Perspective. Think of yourself. I don't wish this on you, but suppose you lost all of your income and you had no way to feed your family and you found yourselves on the streets. Think of all the things you need, right? You need shelter, you need some access to benefits that you don't understand. You need to protect yourself and you need security. You need many different things, and often the system is not set up to provide them to you in one simple, efficient way. You have to go door one first, door two. You have to go to door four before you can come back to door three. So part of this is to sit down with people who have experienced homelessness and say, how could this system work better for you? How could it deliver in an affirmation that you matter and that we are here to help you get back on your feet? And, you know, the way that manifested itself in Los Angeles was to come up with something called the Coordinated Entry system.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Okay?

[Peter Lahorn]

So if someone shows up at any one of those doors, they get routed to the other doors as well. And as much as possible, you try to give all, you know, one stop services and to have that spirit when you're helping people move from encampments to shelter. And when you move from shelter to supportive housing, the supportive part being services, addiction treatment, mental health, job training, et cetera. So it's, it's housing with A plus and making sure that it works in ways that, that really support the people experiencing the Problem. Come back to the prevention question we talked about. One way to do prevention is to invest a lot in predictive analytics, which is really cool and fun. Use the latest tech and figure out who might be most at risk of homelessness. The other thing is to just invest in the youth in a community and say, who do you observe among your neighbors? Who is most at risk and why do you think so? Right, right. And you know, neither one is perfect. They both have their inefficiencies and they're false positives.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Right.

[Peter Lahorn]

But I think both of those lead to a better response than doing only the one that's interesting.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Okay, well, another thing I want to talk about is Measure A that pass, I understand in California that really will help this coalition you've helped put together. Talk a little bit more about that. Does that give you more hope that maybe there are, is going to be an opportunity to really see some measurable improvements? Maybe. Talk about that. For those who are not familiar with Measure A and what you're doing there in la, Absolutely.

[Peter Lahorn]

Measure A was, was a real boon to, to those who are experiencing homelessness, but also to the population of LA that is equal parts generous and impatient on this. On this.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Right.

[Peter Lahorn]

We had the bond and the sales tax that I mentioned to you. Both had 10 year horizons.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Okay.

[Peter Lahorn]

So they were coming up in 2016 or 2026, 2027 on their sunset.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Got it.

[Peter Lahorn]

Which would have wreaked havoc with the homeless services sector in Los Angeles and by some estimates increased homelessness by 25%. This was something we wanted to work against. At the same time, we recognized that there was public skepticism about the results of Measure H and Triple H that were passed 10 years ago. Partly, I think, because we didn't communicate how long it takes to permit housing.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Yeah.

[Peter Lahorn]

Partly because we didn't work hard enough on making that permitting quicker. But also, as we said, we hadn't always shared the news about what worked really well. Measure A has a lot of accountability measures built into it. And it's also, it draws on the experiences that we've had that have been successful.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Right.

[Peter Lahorn]

There's one that I really love, organization called the St. Joseph center in Venice, California, which, you know, is a beach town and a tourist destination. Four or five years ago, there was a homeless encampment on the beach. And you couldn't take a picture of Venice beach without taking a picture of homelessness. And St. Joseph's you know, they said there's gotta be a good way to tackle this. And something like a couple of months before we had had an encampment resolution that really went bad in another part of Los Angeles and ended up difficult for homeless people, for the police, for everybody. And a lot of recriminations. And St. Joe's said, let's do this differently. So what they did, and this is similar to how we approached community development in Mali. They went to every tent and they numbered them and they got to know every person in every tent and said, what was your pathway here? What problems are you struggling with and what help do you need? They developed a plan for 200 tents. How will you move these people out initially to shelter and then to supportive housing? And they also said to those folks, now we're going to help you find shelter, but we are also going to lovingly keep you from coming back.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Right.

[Peter Lahorn]

There will be community groups that make sure that the beach, you know, has no one on it after 10pm Right. And I think it was done, you know, with. In a combination of real humaneness and humanity, but on the other hand, real rigor and logistical precision. So for me, it was. It was really a textbook example of how you resolve an encampment in a way that respects the dignity of people, but in a way that responds to the demand of the neighbors that this is really not on and that is affordable to do across the county. I say notionally because we're still working some of the bugs out of it. Some of the unit costs are too high to be done in that original way, but it got us a lot of momentum. So the head of the St. Joseph center is a woman named Dr. Valicia Adams Kellam. She was tapped by Mayor Bass when the mayor came in two years ago to head the mayor's Inside Safe program, which was an encampment, a shelter program, and then to lead our billion dollar homeless services authority. So I think it shows that if you invest well in people and leaders and they have a pathway into government, that you bring that really practical experience and that drive that you have in nonprofits, and you bring it into a government situation, and it's a magic combination.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Nice. Well, you've obviously had a lot of experience now and many years of you personally in the role of the Hilton foundation, but also the Hilton foundation working with government and for profit partners. What would you say that you all, as a coalition, have to maybe train and teach other cities? Obviously you learn from Houston, but there's probably. I know there's. Homelessness is not unique just to la. What are some of the things that you've learned that you could pass on to other cities that are dealing with the same issue, maybe on a smaller scale.

[Peter Lahorn]

Well, it is true that LA is the megalopolis of homelessness right now, are catching up and it's becoming a more broad red state, blue state issue.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Right.

[Peter Lahorn]

So I think I should be on LA and we should be providing a model that is affordable and replicable for others.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Right.

[Peter Lahorn]

And I think this applies to homelessness, but it applies to other programs that we have, the youth employment, the foster youth, and even internationally. Yeah, but take a metro area in the states to begin with. Often the actors are not well coordinated. Often different parts of government are not coordinating in the way they need to. Here in la, the county provides the services, the city provides the housing. If they don't work together, it ain't going to work.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Right.

[Peter Lahorn]

So, you know, you have to help them work together well, and there has to be a civically generated expectation that they will. Because often, you know, big governmental agencies have their own gravity and their own internal situations. Right. You have to help them do the work they were supposed to do. There are certain things that we've seen across the country that are challenges. One is data. People over decades just pile one information system on top of the other. They don't talk to one another. This agency has that system. This has another. There is a book and a thinker that I would point people to on this. A woman named Jennifer Palka, who was the deputy tech officer for President Obama, written a book called Recoding America that is about fixing that issue, which I think will help a lot of municipal issues around the country. A second one is how cash flows. It's amazing to me how governments often stiff other levels of government or their nonprofit suppliers. Governments will not advance money to a nonprofit. So essentially the nonprofit is subsidizing the government. And who has worse cash flow? If we did that as a foundation, we would get D's and F's for donorship.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Right, Right.

[Peter Lahorn]

But I think we have to help. There are reasons that governments have those laws. Yeah, there was something that went wrong 50 years ago.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Right.

[Peter Lahorn]

Or 100 years ago that put that system in place. But if you want to have a billion dollars coursing through your, your large government agencies, your housing authority and then the service providers getting to people and doing what it's supposed to do. You have to be a master at cash flow, cash management and just knowing how the blood circulates within the system. Right, right. I think there is actually there's a craft of working with a metro area.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Right.

[Peter Lahorn]

And I think Foundations are really well placed to help practice that craft. You know, I say to folks, we've got our name on buildings all over the world. We don't need a name on another building.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Right.

[Peter Lahorn]

We are a funder of the wiring and the plumbing. We're a funder that helps solve problems so that systems can deliver. And, you know, in my experience, governments really have a hunger for that because they've got huge budgets, but they have low risk tolerance.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Right.

[Peter Lahorn]

And low levels of flexibility. So a foundation, government, partnership can be really good. It can be frustrating, too. But, you know, developing that skill and delivering on it is really important.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Well, this has been a fascinating conversation. I have a feeling my listeners want to learn a little bit more about what the Hilton foundation is doing. I know we could talk even more about things you're doing across the world, but if people do want to find out more about you, number one and number two, more about the Hilton foundation, where would you send them?

[Peter Lahorn]

The foundation is more important. So that's the hiltonfoundation.org and we have lots of information on the website about strategies, about experience, about grants we've made, about successes and about failures. So. And our staff loves to interact with others. So just reach out for me. You can find me on. On. On that website, LinkedIn, you know, and I likewise am happy to compare notes with people and help think through similar challenges elsewhere.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Yeah. Well, I've been fascinating again, to hear your insights on this. You've got a lot of experience on this, and you're really. I love your passion to really try to solve these big issues and specifically homelessness there in la. I mean, that's. You've got your hands full. So thank you again for taking time to be on the show and share all that the Hilton foundation is doing.

[Peter Lahorn]

And, Rob, I should also give a shout out to Utah.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Oh, yeah.

[Peter Lahorn]

And to the city of Salt Lake. You know, the way Salt Lake has tackled homelessness and particularly veteran homelessness is just really, really good. So feel proud.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Well, I appreciate you saying that. Yeah. They got an award a couple of years ago for how they've handled that issue. And so I do think that's interesting that I wondered if there was any coordination between you and the Salt Lake crew, but I've actually know several friends.

[Peter Lahorn]

Anywhere to learn about good approaches on homelessness, we would go to Antarctica.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Good point. That's a really good point.

[Peter Lahorn]

No pride and no shame.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Right.

[Peter Lahorn]

If someone has done something well, we want to know about it.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Yeah. Love it. Well, again, Peter, thank you. Thank you so much for being on the show and thanks for all you're doing. Hey friends. Well, I wanted you to know that this podcast can be found on itunes, Spotify, Amazon, Google Podcasts, and wherever you listen to other podcasts. I also want to encourage you to like subscribe, subscribe and share this podcast with others. This will actually help us get this great content out to more nonprofit leaders just like you. You can also join the nonprofit Leadership Podcast community, find other resources and interviews of past guests, all on my website, nonprofit leadershippodcast.org well, thanks again for listening and until next time, keep making your world better. This podcast is sponsored by DonorBox, DonorBox, helping you help others with the best donation forms in the business.