Dr. Steven Hochman
Director of the LA Street Medicine team for Akido Care and triple board certified (internal medicine, pediatrics, addiction medicine). Dr. Hochman is on the forefront of innovation for street medicine care for treatment of addiction.
Julie Hudman, PhD
LAURA Program Director focused on creating and nurturing thriving, healthy communities. Her extensive experience includes work at local, state, international, non-profit, foundation and academic organizations focusing on health finance and public health, creative problem-solving, team building and communications.
Justin Szlasa
Director of Homeless Initiatives at the Future Communities Institute and the founder of LAURA. Justin is a hands-on executive with 25+ years of experience in technology, production, finance, accounting, marketing, media, and board service/corporate governance. He currently serves as Commissioner to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA).
Ariana Barlas
Supervising Attorney for the Lawyers Preventing & Ending Homelessness Project at the Inner City Law Center. A 2017 graduate of the University of Miami School of Law, she has worked for Legal Aid Foundation, Homeless Veterans Project, and Inner City Law Center, with a focus on immigration, family law, veterans, and homelessness issues.
Douglas Walker
Lead Navigator / Emergency Department Coordinator, JWCH Institute and an advocate, consultant, and trainer for community health workers who engage with populations experiencing homelessness, PSMI and SUD. He has spent over 10 years in Los Angeles with the goal to understand the needs of severely under-resourced populations and barriers within the systems that serve them.
Yusef-Andre Wiley
Founder and CEO of Timelist Group, a non profit that provides reentry services, inmate programs, homeless solutions, and youth violence prevention in California. He has over 17 years of experience in the field, and he is a justice impacted person and a visionary leader.
Shelle Welty, PsyD
A licensed psychologist and Clinical Director at the Headington Institute and deeply influenced by her work with Central American refugees. Her clinical interests include trauma treatment, group psychotherapy, spirituality, and building resilience in those who live and work in chronically stressful environments.
Josh Hoffman, MSW
A clinical social worker based in Los Angeles and currently serving as the Director of Homeless Services for the Little Tokyo Service Center, overseeing the organization's Street Outreach, Eviction Prevention, ICMS, and Permanent Supportive Housing programs.
SELECT FACULTY & ADVISORS
SELECT FACULTY & ADVISORS
a bold vision to support our most important workforce
Why LAURA?
The LA Homeless Sector workforce is a significant part of our region’s economy.
There are currently over 8,000 frontline workers and approximately 2,000 unfilled positions in the Los Angeles Continuum of Care homelessness services system—not counting the thousands of healthcare workers who serve the unhoused.
When we successfully solve homelessness in Los Angeles, it will be the thousands of front-line workers—the case managers, the outreach specialists, the program managers—who will carry us there.
Our ability to recruit, train, and retain our homeless sector workforce is critical to our response to the homeless crisis. Any casual observer of the sector can detect signs of crisis: service providers struggle to recruit, staff turnover is high, and front-line workers often suffer from burnout, frustration, low compensation and low morale.
We have established a new institution called the Los Angeles Unhoused Response Academy (“LAURA”). The mission of LAURA is to build the capacity of the people of Los Angeles to respond to homelessness—today and in the future.
Future Case Managers wanted!
Looking for a job with heart?
Considering a career in homeless services?
The LAURA Fellows curriculum is an innovative training program for people who want to start a career in Case Management and frontline work with the unhoused. Our first two cohorts focused on the Downtown Los Angeles area and future programs may cover other areas of Los Angeles County.
Our program is specifically designed for people who have not worked full-time in the homeless services field…but who may have had some experience (e.g. as a volunteer, as an intern, or as a part time employee) with people experiencing homelessness. We especially encourage candidates to apply who are transitioning from another industry.
The LAURA Fellows Program is a five-day intensive conducted in-person by experienced professionals. Training will mix classroom time with in-field experience and site visits. By the end of the program you’ll have a tool kit of techniques to excel as a Case Manager, a good understanding of the resources available to the unhoused in a specific part of LA, and a connection to the local community of care providers. LAURA Fellows will be provided with a stipend and a per diem during the training period and will be well positioned to join full time roles with service providers who are currently recruiting.
We recently completed our second cohort of the LAURA Fellows Program in April 2025 and are not currently accepting applications for the fellowship. Please follow us on social media or subscribe to our email list above to learn about future opportunities.