New affordable apartments in North Hollywood for women fleeing domestic violence

99 percent of homeless women placed in permanent supportive housing by Downtown Women’s Center have staying housed.

Los Angeles city and county officials praised the newly completed NoHo 5050, a 40-unit affordable and supportive housing development in North Hollywood that opened on Thursday, May 9, offering its units by lottery and aimed largely at women who have fled domestic violence.

City and county officials say the project was designed to house survivors of gender-based trauma such as sexual violence, intimate partner violence, stalking and other forms of violence and coercive control. According to the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, survivors of gender-based violence are at high risk for depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide attempts.

In a prepared statement, Los Angeles City Council President Paul Krekorian noted that the project “received the unanimous endorsement of the NoHo Neighborhood Council” — the locally elected body in the North Hollywood community — and he added, “Most of the tenants will be drawn from the immediate neighboring community.”

Krekorian obtained $500,000 from Proposition HHH, the $1.2 billion bond measure overwhelmingly approved by L.A. voters in 2016 to build permanent supportive apartments for the homeless and to fund temporary shelters.

NoHo 5050, named after its address at 5050 Bakman Avenue in North Hollywood, was developed by Daylight Community Development and Decro Corporation in cooperation with the Downtown Women’s Center and L.A. County Mental Health Services. L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, in a prepared statement, called the project “truly something to celebrate,” describing it as “both housing and support services tailored to clients’ needs, so they remain housed.”

Greg Comanor, a partner at Daylight Community Development, thanked the local community and multiple agencies who made it happen, saying in a prepared statement, “We are so proud of this community and what it will represent to our tenants.” And Ted Handel, CEO of DECRO, in a statement noted, “We’re not just building housing, we’re building a supportive community and providing dignified homes.”

According to Krekorian’s office, 99 percent of homeless women placed in permanent supportive housing by Downtown Women’s Center have staying housed. At NoHo 5050, 32 of its 40 units are for homeless women fleeing domestic violence, and the remaining units are for families. In addition, the project will offer onsite services for those recovering from trauma.

Krekorian vowed, “We’re not stopping here. This is one of six supportive housing projects we’ve opened in this (city council) district, with more on the way and another opening as early as next month.”