Better Angels, a social movement whose mission is to solve L.A.’s homelessness epidemic by harnessing the power of the entire Los Angeles community, has made its 500th zero interest loan through the Short Term Eviction Prevention (STEP) Fund.
The Fund, which was established for low-income individuals at imminent risk of eviction, has helped more than 2,000 Angelenos remain housed since its inception in 2022. Better Angels was founded by Adam and Staci Miller, Los Angeles-based philanthropists who realized that legacy approaches to the homelessness crisis have not been working.
Homelessness is the number one socioeconomic issue in Los Angeles. Research shows that more than 750,000 families in Los Angeles are just one minor economic crisis away from becoming unhoused. Notwithstanding the magnitude of this crisis, currently LA county spends only ~5% of homeless funds on prevention. Better Angels created the STEP Fund to directly address this issue.
“The goal of the STEP Fund is to prevent people from becoming homeless by providing no-interest micro loans to economically vulnerable Los Angelenos who are at imminent risk of homelessness,” said Adam Miller, Better Angels’ co-founder and CEO.
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“We created Better Angels and the STEP Fund because government-led solutions to the homelessness epidemic simply are not working and the LA community cannot wait around expecting the cavalry to come to save us,” added Miller.
Better Angels is harnessing new models of intervention, community engagement, advocacy, world-class technology, and a strong dose of pragmatism across five critical areas of need: Prevention, Technology, Services, Shelter and Housing.
The STEP Fund utilizes a streamlined process to get loans to those with demonstrated need.
How it works:
Eligibility: STEP Fund offers interest-free loans to low-income residents of L.A. County who are facing eviction in the next 30 days due to a recent financial problem, and who demonstrate future ability to repay their loan.
Application: Individuals fill out a simple online application, and complete a verification interview with a member of the STEP Fund team. The goal is to fund loan recipients that have been accepted within 7 days.
Disbursement: If an applicant is eligible and offered a loan, funds are disbursed upon approval and acceptance by the applicant’s landlord, property manager, or utility company. STEP Fund offers flexible repayment terms and payments can be made in person (at various locations) or electronically..p you get bac
Going forward, STEP Fund will be providing new services to its loan recipients, including connecting them to benefits services, and financial literacy training.
“Our message to those in need is if you live in L.A. and are at risk of losing your housing within the next 30 days, we can help,” said Staci Miller, Co-Founder of Better Angels and the STEP Fund.
For more information please visit betterangels.la
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