The Los Angeles Tenant Centered Collaboratory (Co-LAB) is an extension of CSH’s capacity-building efforts in the Western United States to improve the operations and fidelity to the core principles of quality supportive housing. The goal of the Co-LAB, supported by the Hilton Foundation, is to improve the quality of tenant-centered and racially equitable supportive housing to focus our training and technical assistance (TA) on tenant outcomes, and to do so with the guidance of tenant leadership.
Background
In May 2021, the Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH) launched The Los Angeles Tenant-Centered Co-LAB (Co-LAB) Training series. The training was designed as a collaborative, peer-to-peer learning environment for teams comprised of people with lived experience, housing developers/owners, services providers, and property manager partners that are within 1-3 years of leasing up their Los Angeles County supportive housing developments. Additionally, the purpose of the Co-LAB was to foster the co-creation of community environments centered on tenant choice, racial equity, safety, and wellness. The Co-LAB also focused on navigating operational challenges common in the first year while ensuring equitable tenant retention, promoting tenant leadership, and sustaining staff for long-term success. Additional information can be found here.
Following the participation of the Co-LAB, participants were offered follow-up Technical Assistance (TA) for up to 18 months (TA provided at 6 months, 12 months, and 18 months). Technical assistance that was offered included:Â best practices on the coordination between supportive services and property management for quick lease-ups during the COVID-19 pandemic, assistance with understanding the developments pro-forma, budgeting for the lease-up process, and developing trauma-informed training for property managers.
Focus Groups
In 2023-2024, the Co-LAB hosted eight (8) Focus Groups that included representation from Los Angeles supportive housing developers, service providers, tenants, individuals with lived expertise of homelessness and working in homeless services, a Black Affinity Group, and property managers. The purpose of the Focus Groups was to 1) understand the perspectives and learning needs of each group, 2) to inform the Co-LAB curriculum development and 3) to guide how to support pressing training and technical assistance needs.
Below is a summary of each focus group type. The summary includes information about the focus group format, participants, and considerations for expanding access to quality supportive housing in Los Angeles County.
