Our Programs and Services
Permanent supportive housing
Step Up connects individuals experiencing chronic homelessness to permanent supportive housing, combining stable, long-term homes with supportive services so people have both a place to live and the care they need to rebuild their lives.
supportive services
Step Up provides programs and services to help members improve their physical, mental, and emotional wellness. Programs include mental health services, psychiatric services, activities of daily living, life-skills supports, and other health and wellness programs.
community integration
Step Up offers many programs to support our members in finding a meaningful role within their community, such as employment, school, or volunteering. The program is person-centered to help members achieve their self-directed goals.
Programs for Transition-Age Youth (TAY)
Daniel’s Place is one of the few programs in LA County offering services specifically targeted to transition-age young adults (TAY) 18–28 years of age.
Veterans services
The Veterans Services team helps Los Angeles Veterans move from the streets, shelters, and transitional housing into permanent supportive housing.
Permanent Supportive Housing
Step Up uses the Housing First model to connect individuals experiencing chronic homelessness to housing. Housing First is a proven approach in which all individuals experiencing homelessness are believed to be housing-ready.
Supportive Services
Step Up creates opportunities for social connectedness through member-driven support groups, movie nights, cooking, community dinners, and gardening. In addition, there are classes offered such as art, yoga, computer basics, and money management.
Workforce Development
Step Up’s vocational mission is that everyone who wants to work should work. Services include: Pre-vocational training, resume building, community job seeking and placement, in-the-field job coaching, work experience, focused training, and peer support training.
Programs for Transition-Age Youth (TAY)
Daniel’s Place is one of the few programs in LA County offering services specifically targeted to transition-age young adults (TAY) 18–28 years of age.
Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH)
The VASH team helps Los Angeles Veterans move from the streets, shelters, and transitional housing into permanent supportive housing.
Our Approach
With the creation of its first permanent supportive housing building, Step Up’s three-pronged approach to serving individuals experiencing mental health conditions solidified: permanent supportive housing, community integration, and member-driven supportive services, reflecting Step Up’s core values of respect, dignity, wellness, hope, and collaborative relationships. “Nothing About Us Without Us” is at the heart of Step Up’s programming to help individuals with mental health conditions who have also experienced homelessness heal, recover, and thrive.
Led by President and CEO Tod Lipka from its headquarters in Santa Monica, California, Step Up delivers exemplary housing and mental health services throughout the country. Step Up provides permanent supportive housing through both standalone developments and scattered-site apartments, along with comprehensive case management services for thousands of people.
Step Up has since expanded to the Southeastern U.S. partnering with developers, local governments, and service providers to provide permanent supportive housing and rich wraparound supports to individuals experiencing chronic homelessness in communities in Georgia, and Tennessee.
Each year, Step Up coordinates services for more than 10,600 unduplicated members, with over 7,000 individuals housed through Step Up’s housing programs. Many members find placements in employment or education opportunities.
Step Up members maintained a 95% housing retention rate across all sites!
The Community Need
The community need that Step Up addresses with its services is reflected in the number of people experiencing homelessness as identified in the annual Point in Time (PIT) Counts. PIT counts are a count of sheltered and unsheltered homeless persons on a single night in January. PIT Counts are required by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and determine the allocation of critical federal dollars for housing and other services for the homeless.
The 2024 National Point-in-Time (PIT) Count, conducted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, found that approximately 771,000 people across the country were experiencing homelessness on a single night. This represents a national increase of 18% compared to 2023.
Of those counted, one in three people (about 33%) were experiencing chronic homelessness—meaning they have been unhoused for a year or more, or repeatedly, while living with a disabling condition such as a serious mental illness, substance use disorder, or physical disability. Step Up’s programs and services address the needs of these individuals.