Beyond Shelter

Beyond Shelter was a non-profit organization founded by Tanya Tull in 1988 in response to increasing numbers of homeless families in Los Angeles and the need for a more comprehensive approach to serving them.  The mission of the agency was to develop systemic approaches to combat poverty and homelessness among families with children, and to enhance family economic security and well-being. Beyond Shelter accomplished this mission through (1) responsive service delivery, (2) people-centered community development, and (3) the creation of knowledge for social change. 

In 1988, Beyond Shelter introduced an innovation in the field at the time - “Housing First” for homeless families, which helped to transform both public policy and practice on a national scale.  Through this new approach, rather than remain in shelters and transitional housing for months and sometimes years at a time, homeless families were assisted in (1) moving back into permanent housing as quickly as possible, and (2) then provided six months to one full year of individualized case management support to help them rebuild their lives (including jobs, childcare, and assistance in attaining improved social and economic well-being). The methodology was based largely on the belief that vulnerable and at-risk homeless families were more responsive to interventions and social services support after they were in their own housing rather than still living in emergency shelters or transitional housing. It was also premised on the belief of housing is a basic human right.

 Homeless families were referred to Beyond Shelter from approximately 70 organizations located throughout L.A. County, including emergency shelter, transitional housing, domestic violence shelters and residential drug treatment programs.  All families served were living at or below the federal poverty level, with children under the age of 18, and were primarily single-female-headed households.  Approximately 90% were women of color.

RECOGNITION:  Beyond Shelter’s  “Housing First” Program received both national and international recognition, including one of “25 U.S. Best Practices” presented at the 1996 United Nations Conference on Human Settlements, Habitat II, held in Istanbul, Turkey; one of “100 International Best Practices” chosen by the United Nations on Human Settlements for dissemination worldwide that same year; and one of 19 model programs in the Pew Partnership’s national initiative, Wanted: Solutions for America, a systematic evaluation effort to document and disseminate successful strategies to building stronger communities, coordinated by Rutgers University’s Center for Urban Policy Research in 2001. Beyond Shelter also developed service-enriched, affordable housing in inner-city neighborhoods.

With its pioneering work over 25 years helping to transform national homelessness policies and practices with far-reaching impact, in 2012 Beyond Shelter merged with PATH, another Los Angeles-based homeless services organization.