THANK YOU to our Donors 2020 – 2021

Designed by Maddy Underwood Hands by Diego Carneiro from the Noun Project ©2021

Dear Honored Donor, We, at Ascencia, greatly appreciate you and your beautiful gestures of sacrifice during a global pandemic as your support is invaluable in the fight to alleviate the suffering of our homeless neighbors. As we turn the corner on the COVID-19 pandemic, we are reminded that humanity can create great change when we put our minds to it. With respect to homelessness and its main drivers, we have the opportunity to ensure that our fellow human beings do not continue to fall into homelessness or experience premature deaths. At Ascencia, we see first-hand the difference the combined community strength and might of dedicated donors does to create a weighted force to lift people out of homelessness, one person, one family at a time. For over 15 years, Ascencia has been successfully providing comprehensive homeless services in the greater Glendale area. Five years ago, we expanded our reach to encompass the West Hollywood community. This June, we expanded our reach in collaboration with LA City Councilmember Nithya Raman in Council District 4 to begin providing services in the communities of East Hollywood and the adjacent areas of Los Feliz, Koreatown, and Midtown. This September, we expanded our reach again in collaboration with Providence Health to provide services to a larger number of discharged homeless patients.

Laura Duncan

In the coming months, Ascencia will have more exciting news to share with you as we continue expanding our reach and connecting communities. The current crisis impels us to rise to the challenge to end homelessness and the many forms of individual and community suffering that accompany it. As a small token of our appreciation, this book will provide a snapshot of life at Ascencia this past year, from our volunteers to our clients to our dedicated staff. I hope it serves as a reminder of the power of community, and the impact that your support has had on that community. Years ago, I participated in a debate about whether the practice of truly selfless concern for the well-being of others was in reality, even possible. Knowing first-hand what Ascencia donors selflessly give on an ongoing basis leaves absolutely no room for argument or doubt in my mind. We could not do what we do without the pure altruism each of you have chosen to demonstrate. Thank you so much for your continued support. Sincerely,

Laura Duncan, Executive Director

Expanding our reach, connecting communities

Despite unprecedented challenges, we at Ascencia have worked tirelessly to address the needs of our unhoused neighbors:

916

people served

91

YEAR IN REVIEW We would not be able to accomplish so much this year without the support of volunteers and donors like you!

29 children 413 with disabilities 315 chronically homeless 20 veterans 105 seniors

households placed in permanent housing

11 were families

94%

housing retention rate after 1 year

47 were chronically homeless

$120,550 in Guest Chef meals

564

To address the growing need for mental health support, Ascencia has more than DOUBLED its clinical services:

volunteer hours

264

$18,164

trauma therapy hours provided

+ 26 art therapy hours 95 tele-psychiatry hours 187 occupational therapy hours

in in-kind donations

CLIENT STORY Michele After trouble with her roommates forced her to leave her living situation, Michele became homeless and was forced to live out of her vehicle. Though she was employed full-time, Michele was unable to find affordable housing. In November 2018, Michele met Ascencia’s Outreach team at a local bus station. Ascencia provided Michele an open shelter bed immediately after her intake process. As a shelter resident, Michele had a safe place to rest at night and access to two warm meals per day, while working full-time and committing to weekly case management and housing navigation services. Michele continued to work full-time and commited to weekly case management while Ascencia staff looked into housing programs that would fit her income. Michele was the first of many clients enrolled in Ascencia’s hotel programs in March of 2020, as Ascencia partnered with the City of Glendale to address the needs of vulnerable clients during the COVID-19 pandemic. In November of 2020, Michele moved into a one-bedroom apartment in North Hollywood, where she currently resides. Michele continues to receive the support of a case manager through Ascencia to maintain housing stability. Michele is grateful to Ascencia and the City of Glendale for assisting her through her cycle of homelessness. She has used her experience at Ascencia to refer others living on the streets to get connected to resources and achieve the same success she has.

SERVICES As times have changed, so has Ascencia's approach. Our volunteers have worked hard to meet the needs of our emergency shelter clients by providing breakfast, lunch, and dinner throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. All told, our Guest Chefs have provided over 500 meals to our Emergency Shelter clients. Thank you all so much for a job well done!

From art therapy to tutoring, Ascencia has worked hard to ensure that the children in our shelter have access to services they need to find success.

SPOTLIGHT Kelli Kunckle-Day From hosting bingo nights for Emergency Shelter residents to making sandwiches for our Street Outreach team to provide to unhoused people on the streets, The National Charity League embodies the importance of community in helping our clients maintain dignity and stability during such a tumultuous time in their lives. Kelli Kunckle-Day, NCL Chapter president, has worked tirelessly over the last year to maintain this support as worldwide events have affected the spirit and health of our clients. Unwilling to stand idly by, Kelli and her two daughters have kicked up their game and worked tirelessly to provide a motivating force for Ascencia’s clients.

Kelli, her two daughters, and board member Kristine Nam, at our Volunteer Appreciation Picnic this May

To Kelli, volunteering with her two daughters has had a profound effect on her family. “Whether it was making hundreds of PB&J sandwiches, knotted blankets or hygiene kits, it was always something we enjoyed doing together and gave my young daughters a better understanding of what it means to be a philanthropist.”

$500–$999 Altrusa International, Inc. of Glendale

Arbella Azizian, Esq. Mary Bertain Richard Bertain Jr. Dr. Carol Burton, M.D. Jessica Cheney Jennifer Christian Shirley Croft Lorena David Mayor Paula Devine Sharon Dobbs

Elly Doyle Economy Office Supply Pamela Elyea Dania Felix Patrick Flaherty Steve Fredricks Pat Ganahl Jessie George Glendale Fire Department Chiefs

Bob Goka Edward Gomperts David Grabias

John Gray Carl Greenblatt Jean Grossman Keith Hamasaki Hoover High School Grace Kang Jenna Kang Doug Kawamura Elvis Keshishyan Kiwanis Club of La Canada La Crescenta - AM

William Luddy

Lauren Lustig Anthony “Tony” Marcus Brent Mason Pegi Matsuda Siavosh Meena Jeanette Meyer Gregg Moore Jennifer Morgan Diane Morrison Jennifer Mullin Kristine Kelley Nam Laurie Newton

Mary Olson Onisko & Scholz Jeri Peterson Michael Pudelko Renal Support Network James Reynolds Richard & Elizabeth Berry Stephen Ropfogel Charles Schafer John Schuning Self Realization Fellowship Emil M. Shustak

Skip 1 Charities, Inc. Christina Smith Wayne Smith John Son Pamela Spiszman Paul Stockwell Anna Tiomico Arlene Vidor Josue Villalta Terry Walker Prisca Yum Valerie Tracy Zografos

$1,000–$2,499 Deacon Ron & Patti Baker Richard Bardowell Brian Bergh Brilliant Corners Bruce Gordon Jennifer & Ken Bunt Burbank Airport Police Department City of Glendale Executive Management Team Crystalmark Dental Systems, Inc.

Dignity Health - Glendale Memorial Hospital and Health Center

Laura Duncan Toni Beck Espinoza First Baptist Church of Glendale

Emily Gabel-Luddy Sharon Guard Ila Gudelj John Gudelj Andrew Gust Kathryn Guyer

James Hagar Kirby Higashi Joe Jiuliano Margaret Kaufman M. Patricia Kersting Lynn Knox The Los Angeles Breakfast Club

Sharon Landin Stephanie Lieberman Rod Longpre

Earl & Rosina Maize Roberta Medford Mica Miyamoto Steve Mora Steven “Steve” Nakasone Stephanie Nelson Netflix Laurel & Jim Patric Anthony Portantino Isabel Reyes

John Sadd, Jr. Safarian Choi & Bolstad LLP John A Saurenman Suren Seropian Alay Shah Randy Slaughter Gene “Chip” Stone West Coast University George T. Whitesides Linda Willing Jane Winter

$2,500–$4,999 David Bolstad Jenny Chen Avery Dennison Anonymous Donor Express Employment Professionals First United Methodist Church of Glendale

Chrissy Florence Glendale Funeral Home Glendale Kiwanis Foundation Bruce & Debbie Hinckley Hutchinson & Bloodgood, LLP Nancy Kachline

Mia Lee Los Angeles County Supervisor, 5th District National Charity League, Glendale Chapter “NCL” Providence St. Joseph Medical Center

StoneTapert Insurance Services

The Wagner Foundation William and Sharon Weisman Thomas W. Williams Jessica Zach

$5,000– $9,999 Zacarias Cervantes Jerry Ching City National Bank Qing Duncan Kim Guard The Jewel City Group at Morgan Stanley Las Candelas David and Janet Lazier Order of St. Lazarus Pacific Western Bank Paul N. & Paulette R. Wood Bob Piatak Janice Casazza Piatak Sue Son Takeda (Shire) Robert Brice Tidwell The Walt Disney Company Gene “Chip” & Nancy Stone

$10,000– $24,999 Annenberg Foundation The Bettie Gordon Neale Foundation, Inc. Community Foundation of the Verdugos David Ho, Jr. The Lord’s Great Commission East Mother Joseph Fund Barbara Perrier

$25,000–$49,999 The Ahmanson Foundation Cathay Bank Dignity Health - Glendale Memorial Health Foundation Anonymous Donor

$100,000+ The S.H. Ho Foundation, Ltd. Weingart Foundation

THANK YOU TO OUR DONORS