Ascencia

10/04/2026

This October 4th to 10th, join us in observing Mental Illness Awareness Week!🧠

Established by Congress in 1990 thanks to the advocacy of NAMI, this week is a time to raise awareness, fight stigma, and support mental health.

At Ascencia, programs like Trauma Therapy, Art Therapy, and Occupational Therapy encourage clients to come together to share stories of resilience, learn about available resources, and have open conversations about mental health. By breaking down barriers of stigma, we can create a more judgement-free environment for all.

09/30/2026

Wishlist Wednesday is back! 💖

Right now Ascencia needs: canned food, deodorant, men's and women's undergarments (all sizes), chapstick, travel-size shaving cream, shoelaces, and men's clothing like jeans, kakis, and cargo pants, and new sweats (all sizes).

These basics run out fastest and keep our neighbors ready for everything from job interviews to daily life. Drop off at 1851 Tyburn St, Glendale (Mon-Fri, 8am-11am) or shop our wishlist. Link in bio 🔗

09/29/2026

We're proud to celebrate longtime volunteer Siddhartha Biswas, who has been recognized with Takeda's 2026 Roots in Service Award. The Roots in Service Award honors employees who demonstrate an outstanding commitment to volunteerism and make a meaningful impact in their communities through service with nonprofit organizations like ours.

For more than a decade, Siddhartha has volunteered with Ascencia, preparing and serving home-style meals for shelter residents and creating moments of connection, comfort and dignity. His generosity, consistency and compassion have had a lasting impact on our community and the individuals we serve. Ascencia serves 50,000 meals at their shelter annually. Please join us in congratulating Sid on this well-deserved recognition!

We thank and honor our partnership with Takeda Pharmaceuticals and send our warmest congratulations to Sid for his incredible dedication over the years!

09/23/2026

Last week, our friends from the Kiwanis Club of The Verdugos made a meaningful contribution to our mission by donating $300 towards our Save our Shelter Summer Campaign and an incredible 200 snack bags! These snack bags help our Glendale street outreach team provide immediate, practical support to people who need it most.

Ascencia’s Glendale Street Outreach team goes directly into the community every day, scanning our communities and approaching individuals who may need assistance. In 2025 alone, Ascencia enrolled 337 individuals through Street Outreach.

Our street outreach services include:

Providing water, food, and blankets to encampments and individuals on the streets
Street-based education and outreach
Intake and enrollment into our Access Center
Information and referrals
And so much more

Every snack bag, every conversation, and every connection can be the beginning of a path toward stability and hope.

From all of us at Ascencia, thank you to the Kiwanis Club of the Verdugos for your ongoing generosity and for standing with Ascencia to help many more in need.

If you would like to contribute towards our Save our Shelter Campaign, any and every amount helps towards our $75,000 goal! Please link in bio, and thank you!

09/21/2026

09/17/2026

Free haircuts are back at Ascencia.

On August 20th, AmeriCorps VISTA member Ryan Phan revived a dormant program by partnering with Borner Barber School. Educator Nicole Gruenebaum-Martinez, who has trained stylists for 33 years with Paul Mitchell, Joy Co., Elite Salon Services, and Nova Salon Services, stepped in when a colleague couldn't make it.

For Nicole, barbering goes beyond aesthetics: "This is the one industry where we're allowed to touch people. It's healing and it's therapeutic."
Student barber Jordan cut hair for unhoused clients for the first time. He's volunteered at recovery centers and back-to-school drives before, but this was different. Residents treated him with respect and gratitude. He said giving back felt personal.

Jordan noticed something else too: "Y'all just seem like a family here. I can't tell if someone's walking around as staff or if they're a client."

Residents left with fresh cuts. Students left with real practice. Ryan is already planning the next one.

Link in bio to support programs like this. 💈

09/13/2026

Success Story: Meet Allison 💛

In August 2024, Allison lost her housing to fraud and spent months without stable housing in West Hollywood.

She later connected with Ascencia’s Street Outreach team, who met her where she was. Within two weeks, Allison had a shelter bed. From there, Ascencia’s case managers continued working alongside her through an extended shelter stay and a significant health setback.

In Fall 2025, Allison was referred to the Holloway Interim Housing Program in the City of West Hollywood. She moved in the same day she completed her intake, becoming one of the program’s first residents.

At the Holloway, Allison worked with her case manager to create a housing plan, build a budget, and apply for apartments. Just weeks later, she was approved for permanent housing in West Los Angeles.

By December 2025, Allison was housed!

Allison’s story shows the impact of having a safe place to stay, consistent support, and a clear path toward permanent housing.

The Holloway Interim Housing Program is operated by Ascencia in partnership with the City of West Hollywood.

Your support helps make success stories like Allison’s possible. To support Holloway, visit give.ascencia.org/holloway.

Adding important links for your staff to use when promotion the program or asking for donations.

Ways to contribute
• Financial donations: give.ascencia.org/holloway.
• Holloway Interim Housing Wish List: ascenciaca.org/holloway-wishlist.
• go.weho.org/holloway-howtohelp

09/11/2026

On September 11, we at Ascencia remember the lives lost, honor the courage of first responders and ordinary people who helped others, and stand with the families and communities forever changed by that day.

We remember. We honor. We will never forget.

09/09/2026

Happy Wishlist Wednesday!

This week our permanently housed and onsite client's need canned food, deodorant, and women's undergarments (S, M, L, XL).

These items run out fast. Your donation keeps shelves stocked for our neighbors. 🙏

Drop off at 1851 Tyburn St, Glendale, Mon-Fri 8am-11am. Or shop our Amazon Wishlist: link in bio.

09/08/2026

For Jonathan and his family, keys meant more than an apartment. They meant safety, stability, dignity, and a place where their daughter could grow up with her parents. A kitchen for shared meals. A bedroom of her own. Most importantly, a home where they could begin building a future together.

Today, the family is housed, together, safe, and maintaining sobriety.

Jonathan shared, “We are a family of two adults and a three-year-old daughter. We are just starting out on our own, and we appreciate everything you have done for us. It has helped us out more than words can describe. Thank you so much for your support.”

For this family, your support helped turn years of uncertainty into a place they can finally call home. Today, we're asking for your help once again.

A donation to Ascencia helps provide the intensive case management and resources that can move someone from surviving on the streets or cycling through temporary programs to living safely and permanently in their own home.

Your generosity helps us reach many more — and help turn homelessness into home, one person, one family at a time. Donate now at give.ascencia.org.