LOS ANGELES — The effects of the pandemic left millions in desperate need. Yet since March 2020, through the Los Angeles Dream Center’s quick-response COVID relief efforts and the support of the community, donors, corporations, volunteers, and small businesses, they were able to distribute 7 million pounds of food processed through their food bank. In total, they have now served 5 million meals, 1.6 million of which were hot meals made right in the Dream Center’s kitchen.

In addition, an average of 60 students per day were supported with remote learning through their Restart Learning Center on the blacktop at the Dream Center’s Echo Park campus. And hundreds of men and women continued to rebuild their lives through their transitional housing programs.

Now, one year since the initial pandemic lockdown, the Los Angeles Dream Center is excited to announce they are embarking on the next phase of helping their city come back from the devastating impact of the pandemic by renewing hope, rebuilding lives, and restoring LA. To kick off this year’s “Restore LA®” initiative, on Tuesday, March 16, the Dream Center is celebrating the expansion of their transitional housing program for families to a total of 42 rooms, allowing spaces for 42 family units to stay together and rebuild their lives. They will be hosting a ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially open the new rooms that are now ready for homeless families in the transitional housing wing on their campus.

“This past year has included ministries and emergency relief I never imagined needing to provide for the people I love in Los Angeles,” said Dream Center co-founder Matthew Barnett. “But watching those in my orbit rally together to provide food, essentials, housing, tutoring and so much more to the folks who need it most has been a silver lining in a cloudy year. I’m blown away with each measure of generosity from those that desperately want to see this city recover. Our work is certainly not over; so as we launch Restore LA, my hope and prayer is that our partners, volunteers, and donors will keep it at full throttle as we seek to revive a community in need.”

Details for the pandemic relief response celebration and transitional housing expansion on March 16 are as follows, and media outlets are welcome to attend:

10:30 AM: The Dream Center commemorates one year of COVID relief and recognizes individuals, organizations, and corporations who partnered together to make their ministry a success.

3:00 PM: The ribbon-cutting ceremony for the expansion of the transitional housing program for homeless families.

Attending the day’s festivities will be representatives from World Vision and Baby2Baby, along with former LA Dodgers first baseman Steve Garvey, Kelly Stone, and others. LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva will also be joining the ribbon-cutting ceremony at 3pm.

Restore LA is the Dream Center’s big push this year to help individuals and families facing homelessness, food insecurity, poverty, addiction, mental health issues, or seeking help from domestic violence situations. They will do this by:

• Reconnecting with surrounding underserved communities through new outreach and resource programs
• Bridging gaps between the community, businesses, leaders and other influencers through collaborative events, partnerships, and fundraisers
• Expanding their current transitional housing program capacity to create even more available spaces and opportunities
• Keeping their life-saving programs free of charge to anyone and everyone who needs them

More details about Restore LA and all that the Dream Center has planned for the rest of the year will be available at dreamcenter.org.

About the Los Angeles Dream Center

The Los Angeles Dream Center is a faith-based non-profit organization located in Echo Park, dedicated to transforming lives and underserved communities in the city of Los Angeles. By offering residential and outreach programs to individuals, families and communities in the areas of homelessness, hunger, poverty, addiction, domestic violence, education, and human trafficking, the Dream Center is committed to enabling immediate and long-term transformation. The Dream Center welcomes those in need into our community completely free-of-charge with the resources, training, and support they need, regardless of faith, age, gender, orientation, nationality, or any other defining factor.

Read more news on Disaster Relief, Faith Based Organizations and the COVID-19 Pandemic.

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