A Village of Hope:
The Robert K. Ross Center for Hope and Healing
In California, nearly 1.5 million households pay more than half of their income on rent. The state also faces a shortage of 1.2 million affordable rental homes for low-income residents, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition. The affordable housing crisis disproportionately affects communities of color, the elderly, the formerly incarcerated, and low-income communities. There is a call to action for all sectors, including philanthropy, to invest in helping our community members live a dignified, secure life. That’s why The California Endowment (TCE) launched its newest effort, the Robert K. Ross Center for Hope and Healing, a visionary campus in downtown Los Angeles, next to its headquarters, that will offer affordable housing, a multitude of programs, expand access to health and wellness services, and be a source of community gathering and restoration.
The Robert K. Ross Center for Hope and Healing will transform a 1.95-acre dusty concrete parking lot into a community-oriented site aimed at helping the city’s most marginalized populations. It will be a unique integrated space that serves unhoused, formerly incarcerated, and low-income residents of downtown Los Angeles’ surrounding communities who have been impacted by rapid gentrification and displacement. The Ross Center will hold 124 affordable housing units and 66,000 square feet of community space.
The dream for the Center originated in 2019 when Dr. Ross, TCE’s former President and CEO, and Father Greg Boyle of Homeboy Industries, a nearby nonprofit that runs the largest gang rehabilitation and re-entry program in the world, on how to best advance the well-being of Los Angeles’ most marginalized residents. They considered how both organizations were in close proximity to other nonprofits, city- and county-owned housing, and that having one center with wrap-around services in one place could be hugely beneficial. After Dr. Ross began chairing the Los Angeles County Alternatives to Incarceration Commission, these conversations led to the birth of this project — a bold vision situated in between TCE and Homeboy Industries, juxtaposed by the shadow of the Men’s Central Jail.
“The Robert K. Ross Center for Hope and Healing is a representation of The California Endowment’s foundational principles of wellness, inclusion, and shared prosperity coming to life. We hope the Center becomes a model for how philanthropy can influence public institutions to champion racial and social equity.”
Community visioning and engagement for this village of hope has been ongoing to ensure the project is accountable to the community in each phase of its realization. Initial designs of the Center outline a 66,000 square feet community care center across three buildings, so residents can work, learn, gather, organize, and relax.
“The Ross Center is driven by stories of people who have suffered injustice and been oppressed and have dreams and hopes. The way the facility is designed — there is somebody’s story in every element,” Dr. Ross said.
Services may include a community kitchen, counseling, workforce development, creative arts therapy, and mental health support. It will be the result of true collaboration thanks to partnerships with organizations like Homeboy Industries and Linc Housing, an experienced builder of affordable, sustainable housing communities, and others to develop relevant programming and secure additional funding. TCE has also set up a community advisory board, made up of diverse individuals that can advise on project development and operations — a key philosophy that guided Dr. Ross’ approach to community-led and centered philanthropy.
Concept imagery of the view from future residential buildings at the Robert K. Ross Center for Hope and Healing
Concept imagery of the view from future residential buildings at the Robert K. Ross Center for Hope and Healing
“We are honored to partner with The California Endowment on a bold and visionary project that will contribute to a more positive, hopeful future for Los Angeles. The Robert K. Ross Center will open the door to opportunities and possibilities for people most harmed by the legacy of racism and the criminal justice system.”
While there is a great deal of excitement around this project, there is still a long way to go. Once entitlements and funding are secure, construction is anticipated for the Robert K. Ross Center for Hope and Healing to start in 2026 or 2027 with the goal of completing the site in 2028 or 2029. When asked what he imagines downtown Los Angeles will look like after the Center transforms the empty space behind TCE’s office, Dr. Ross said, “Someone will be standing and looking out on that corner at Main Street and see the jail is gone. And what's in its place is this community with housing and mental health services and arts programming and job training…a village of real hope.”
The California Endowment is proud to find new and innovative solutions to advance racial and social equity in partnership with public and private institutions, and highlight the moral urgency of supporting those impacted by the criminal justice system. While the Robert K. Ross Center may be housed in Los Angeles, the spirit of its mission can be duplicated and spread across the country by other funders eager to invest in community well-being and sustainable alternatives to incarceration.
This content was paid for by The California Endowment. The editorial staff at The Chronicle had no role in its preparation. Find out more about paid content.
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