On August 14, 2025, Skid Row celebrated the Grand Opening of the Skid Row Care Campus (Campus), as community members, leaders, and elected officials came together to welcome a new home for health, housing, and wellness.
Located at 442 S. Crocker Street, the Campus connects people experiencing homelessness, including families, to showers, restrooms, laundry, case management, medical care, and harm reduction resources. It is operated in partnership by Homeless Health Care Los Angeles, Social Model Recovery Systems (SMRS), and Wesley Health Centers, with support from L.A. Care Health Plan and Health Net.
The celebration, emceed by Charles Porter, SMRS Senior Director of Prevention Services, featured community voices including Pastor Cue and Safe Services Resident Council member Shameka Foster, who called the Campus “a model for how communities can come together to address homelessness … an inspiration for similar efforts across the city and beyond.”
As Daniella Urbina, Housing and Homelessness Deputy for Supervisor Hilda Solis, explained, the Campus was built to do more than meet basic needs: “It not only offers essentials like showers, restrooms, lockers, and laundry, but also connects people to health, housing, and employment resources that support healing and growth. Arts and wellness programs are also available.”
That same vision guides the health services onsite. Dr. Brian Hurley, Medical Director, LA County Department of Public Health, Substance Abuse Prevention and Control, described it this way: “Treatment works best when people are ready for it. On Campus, we’re building an engagement and navigation system to make sure people have what they need, when they need it, and that everyone has the right to advance their health and wellness with the care we offer.”
For SMRS, the Campus is another step in our longstanding commitment to the Skid Row community. CEO Bruce Boardman reflected: “We learned quickly that people here needed more than just a bed and a meal; they needed a voice. Social Model Recovery Systems became a trusted partner, helping the community vocalize its needs.”
While the Campus is an important milestone, leaders stressed it is only the beginning. Dr. Lisa Wong, Director of the LA County Department of Mental Health, noted: “It shouldn’t be a miracle for people to have the resources they need to live the lives they want. It should be normal.”
The Skid Row Care Campus shows what’s possible when government, nonprofits, and residents design solutions together. As Boardman summed it up: “When voices are heard, change happens. This campus is proof of that.”
