One man's belief that the downtrodden and hopeless could transform their own lives, sparked the creation of Chrysalis. Founded in 1984 by John Dillon, Chrysalis now continues to follow the vision of its founder to help the homeless survive, stabilize and become economically self-sufficient - change lives through jobs.

In 1984, at 22-years old, John Dillon arrived in Los Angeles to work on Skid Row assisting the area's homeless population. What he saw was an emerging crisis and an urgent need to help the homeless help themselves out of poverty out of unemployment out of homelessness and into new lives.

Chrysalis was founded in 1984 as a food and clothing distribution center serving homeless men and women living on the streets of Los Angeles' Skid Row. As the agency grew it became clear that longer-term solutions were needed in order to eradicate poverty and homelessness. Chrysalis developed an effective and nationally recognized program to help homeless people become job ready and ultimately find and retain employment. Today, Chrysalis' philosophy remains the same - a steady job is the single most important step in a person's transition to long-term self-sufficiency.

Over the years, communities throughout Los Angeles County demonstrated the need for our program. In 1994, in partnership with the City of Santa Monica, California, Chrysalis opened the Santa Monica center. In 2001 we opened a facility in Pacoima, San Fernando Valley and most recently an additional downtown facility.