Transitional Living Program

Since 2002, the LA Conservation Corps has operated a Transitional Living Program to provide a safe, residential setting for our 18- to 21-year-old corpsmembers who face homelessness while in our program. Our comprehensive Transitional Living Program (TLP), which combines housing and life skills training, helps these corpsmembers remain in our Young Adult Corps work and high school diploma program while preparing them for life after TLP.

The Corps maintains 10 studio apartments and corpsmembers can remain in TLP for up to 18 months. During this time, they participate in mandatory life skills classes, including cooking and nutrition, budgeting, money management and parenting skills. TLP corpsmembers also save a portion of each paycheck earned through the Young Adult Corps work program for future down payments and other costs of establishing their own residences. In the 2007-08 program year alone, a total of 14 corpsmembers completed TLP and secured their own apartments or moved back in with family members or friends.

There are a variety of ways in which you can assist these corpsmembers to help the LA Conservation Corps fill in the gaps left by limited federal funding for our Transitional Living Program:

• Furniture, kitchen supplies and other basic household items in our TLP apartments must be replaced throughout the year. Donations, including but not limited to new or gently-used living room and/or bedroom furniture and pots and pans, will be accepted at any time.


• Our TLP corpsmembers come from disadvantaged backgrounds and we often provide them with basic items, i.e., clothing, shoes and bus tokens, to get through everyday life. We are accepting these and other basic items for our corpsmembers.


• We currently provide corpsmembers with a wide range of life skills trainings, but continually seek out fresh, new subject areas. At this time, we are especially interested in hosting volunteers to address our corpsmembers about various career paths and the professional certifications and/or degrees associated with them. We would also welcome other topics related to leading an independent life.


• As corpsmembers transition out of the Transitional Living Program or the Young Adult Corps, they often move on to full-time employment. However, many of our corpsmembers struggle with what to wear on job interviews or once they get the job. We are accepting donations of new or gently-used business attire for men and women.

For more information about making a donation to the Transitional Living Program or serving as a volunteer speaker during one of our life skills trainings, please contact Reyna Albizures, MSW, Senior Director at ralbizures@lacorps.org or(213) 382-7640 221.

Participants in their TLP apartment.

Lucy Gutierrez, Case Manager, in a counseling session with a corpsmember.

Former TLP participant Ocie Williamson in the kitchen of his apartment.