“You have to throw the whole notion of a background check away: I know you’ve been homeless. You may have gone to prison. That’s all right with me,” says the ‘Top Chef’ star of his staffing approach, in partnership with L.A. organization Chrysalis, at his restaurants Maude and Gwen.
Jonathan grew up with little supervision in a rough neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. Early on, he established himself as a troublemaker, often following the example of the older neighborhood boys. His first trip to Juvenile Hall at 14 years old marked the beginning of 20 years of intermittent jail and prison sentences.
Chrysalis is excited to be featured in the film “Good Fortune,” a new, award-winning documentary about billionaire, businessman/philanthropist John Paul DeJoria.
The first thing Barb did when she moved to Santa Monica eleven years ago was search for ways to become involved in her new community. So when she walked past Chrysalis’ Santa Monica center, it was a perfect, serendipitous encounter. Before long, she was plugged in and providing one-on-one services to her new neighbors – […]
Chrysalis has an exciting new partnership with the Weingart Center that is creating jobs and changing lives!
At 49, Marshall May Jr. could not remember whether he had ever taken his mom out for a meal.
…an increasing number of Chrysalis participants are finding work in L.A. restaurants. The organization’s direct-hire program — in which companies call Chrysalis’ business development manager, Adam Hirsch, directly to find employees — launched two years ago.
A list of celebrities had jobs on their minds at the 16th Butterfly Ball, the June 3 benefit for Chrysalis, which helps homeless and low-income individuals to attain self-sufficiency through finding and keeping jobs.
Rapper Common and Universal Pictures president of production Peter Cramer were among the honorees at the 16th Annual Chrysalis Butterfly Ball Saturday night…
While living out of his car, Demetrious tried to hang on to some semblance of his past. He found comfort in his art, drawing the landscape – hard streets decorated with his fellow neighbors living in various states of homelessness.
“I can’t encourage people enough, when they retire, to find their niche in volunteering with the population that interests them most,” explains Gretchen when discussing her eight years of volunteer service at Chrysalis and her passion for helping those with criminal backgrounds.
In case you missed it, our #Commit2One partner, Chef Curtis Stone, was on NBC’s TODAY talking about Chrysalis and the importance of second chance hiring.
“I live downtown and I felt compelled to do something about the problems I see all around me. Chrysalis allows me to directly help neighbors in need.” -Russ
Stand Together visited Chrysalis to learn how every year we are helping thousands of folks in our community prepare for, find, and retain employment. Check out the video they created about our programs!
Latasha came to L.A. to pursue a career helping others. But after her first employer moved the organization to another state and a second opportunity fell through due to economic downturn, she found herself in a tough spot.
Darlene explains that after years of receiving support from others as she battled addiction, she decided that she was ready to give back and bring order to her life. Her job as a groomer is one outlet that is allowing her to be of service to others – both humans and their animals.
KCAL 9 News came to Chrysalis to talk about the rising issue of homelessness and what Measure H can do to combat it.
Despite struggling with homelessness for the majority of his adult life, Hassan seeks the good in every day. His search for hope led him from New York to Los Angeles…he did not expect his journey to the West Coast to bring him to our Skid Row neighborhood – a place seen by the rest of the country as the epicenter of homelessness.
In partnering with Chrysalis, Metro is supporting a Los Angeles nonprofit committed to changing the lives of low-income and homeless Angelenos through job placement…
Every morning, John Johnson and Sydney Sheiner set out to chat up the people who frequent places such as the Central Library’s Maguire Gardens, the 4th Street overpass and Pershing Square. Their mission is to contact, interview and assist the roughly 130 homeless people living at any time in the west side of downtown.
Omara fled to the streets at a young age, because being on her own seemed a better alternative to living in an unstable and abusive home. Drugs eventually became another escape. On a downward path spurred by her addiction, Omara eventually landed in jail and lost custody of her five children. She realized she needed to create a better future for her family.
“Where do you see yourself in 5 or 10 years?” For an addict with a record like Raymond, this question became, “Where do you see yourself in the next five minutes?”
In one of the country’s richest cities, thousands have no place to stay this Thanksgiving. John Blackstone of CBS News reports on the effort to make life a little bit more manageable for Los Angeles’ homeless population.
It started with an idea – to remember a son, who had lost his life to addiction. Michael Shenkman came to Chrysalis with a plan to bring together his community for a memorial ride.
Chrysalis’ inaugural GO ALL-IN: A Texas Hold ‘em Poker Night was a great success. Over $85,000 was raised in support of our mission to help homeless and low-income individuals find and retain employment.
For over the course of 10 years, Ron was living on the streets, struggling to find work due to a previous offense. It was after he started a family that Ron realized the urgency of his situation. He needed to find work and a safe place to live for his wife and three children.
Enrique grew up thinking that people with jobs were different than he was. And going to an office or having a 9-to-5 was never something that he would have the opportunity to do. However, upon his most recent release from jail, he decided that he was ready for something else.
GOOD reports: “Dinner guests at Gwen, the Los Angeles restaurant and butchery helmed by celebrity TV chef Curtis Stone—who you may know from “The Celebrity Apprentice 3” and “Top Chef Masters”—may not see what goes on behind the scenes.”
Chrysalis is now part of two different rapid re-housing initiatives, Breaking Barriers and the Housing and Jobs Collaborative (HJC), in an effort to end the vicious cycle of homelessness, unemployment, and incarceration by helping men and women gain access to housing and employment.
Growing up in Beverly Hills and Hollywood with a famous father probably sounds like the type of circumstance that would set someone up for success. But for Darrell, a life a partying, drug use, and too much extra time on his hands landed him in and out of jail for over the course of nearly 20 years.