Los Angeles County and Exodus Recovery Foundation broke ground last week on Safe Landing-West Athens, a homeless shelter and bridge housing facility adjacent to the West Athens Sheriff’s station and Probation office.

The 90,000-square-foot campus, which will rise from a mostly vacant 3.1-acre site on Normandie Avenue, will serve up to 178 clients with round-the-clock operations.  The project will include:

  • an intake clinic; 
  • an administration building; 
  • a kitchen and dining facility; 
  • a men's dormitory; 
  • a women's dormitory; and 
  • a couple's dormitory.

KFA Architecture is designing Safe Landing, which will be built from prefabricated buildings.  According to KFA, this will result in a 25 percent reduction in construction time and costs versus traditional building materials, allowing Safe Landing to open by Fall 2020.

In addition to shelter and bridge housing, the campus will provide health, mental health, and substance abuse treatments to its residents, as well as case management services.  Safe Landing will also permit clients to live with their pets - removing a common barrier in traditional homeless shelters.

“This type of 24/7 on-site comprehensive health, mental health, and supportive services is essential in helping us serve our clients well," said Health Services Director Dr. Christina Ghaly Director of the County Department of Health Services. "New approaches are needed beyond the traditional models to effectively transition individuals from homelessness to permanent housing. Safe Landing aims to encourage refuge for all individuals by removing barriers that exist in other settings. The Department of Health Services is proud to partner on this project.”

As of the most recent homeless count, there are more than 700 unsheltered persons living within a two-mile radius of the Safe Landing site.