‘There Is Hope’: Holloway Residents Deliver Emotional Testimony at West Hollywood Commission Review

She came to the meeting with her remarks on paper and her glasses in hand. She told the commission she wasn’t going to cry. Then she did. So did others. So did I.

The woman known only as CJ walked to the podium with her cane at West Hollywood’s Human Services Commission on Tuesday night and described what the Holloway Interim Housing Program has meant to her. What she said about hope and what it means to finally have some said everything. Her testimony closes the story below. 

Tuesday was the first comprehensive operational review of the Holloway since it opened in October 2025. The 20-room facility at 8465 Santa Monica Boulevard — the former Holloway Motel — was acquired with a $6 million state Homekey grant and is operated by Ascencia. It serves chronically homeless individuals living with disabilities and is the first interim housing facility located within City boundaries.

Six Months of Data

Diane Kahn-Epstein, Strategic Initiative Supervisor in the Human Services Division, and Francisco Gomez, Strategic Initiatives Program Administrator, brought the data.

The Holloway has served 32 residents since October. All were chronically unhoused and living on West Hollywood streets before enrollment, and all had at least one disability. The program ran at or near full capacity the entire six months. Three people are on the waitlist now.

Twelve residents have exited. One went to permanent housing. Three more placements were in progress at the end of March. The remaining exits were transfers to other interim housing programs, moves to non-permanent situations such as living with family, or departures without a confirmed destination.

“Exits outside of permanent housing do not represent failure,” Gomez said.

Service participation climbed from 67% at the end of the first quarter to 90% by the second. The program served an older population — 78% were over 45 — and a diverse one. Forty-one percent identified as white, 25% as Black, 19% as Hispanic, 9% as multiracial, and 6% as Asian or Pacific Islander. Twelve percent identified as transgender.

Eleshia Brown, Manager of Expansion Programs at Ascencia, said staff are on site around the clock. Each resident gets case management, behavioral health support, healthcare coordination, meals, transportation, financial literacy classes, and housing navigation. Brown said having a private room changes things for people who have not had one in years, sometimes decades.

“Having a private room and a stable environment often creates the first opportunity many residents have had in years, even decades, to decompress, rest, and begin focusing more consistently with services,” Brown said.

Commissioner Nick Wyville asked about the biggest obstacle to permanent housing placements. Brown said affordability tops the list. Residents want to stay in West Hollywood — the community they know — but cannot afford it. Many are on disability income. Returning to work would cost them both income support and healthcare coverage.

In March, the City and Ascencia partnered on a community donation drive organized by Jenny Ivanova that generated more than $10,000. Commissioner Jimmy Palmieri and friends contributed blankets. Brown said the neighborhood reception has been entirely positive.

“We have only had welcome and warmth from the community. We have had no complaints, no issues, only people wanting to help and give back,” Brown said.

Commissioner Jackie Steele used her time to address the 2026 City Council race directly. She said broad campaign talk about homelessness is not enough.

“That’s not a magic wand conversation,” Steele said. “How are we gonna bridge the gap here?”

She called on residents and advocates to press candidates for specifics — including whether affordable units in new West Hollywood developments could be linked directly to Holloway residents awaiting placement.

“These are our community members. These are our friends and residents. Let’s keep them in West Hollywood,” Steele said.

Palmieri reflected on what he heard from the two residents who spoke Tuesday.

“I heard building confidence, clearing my mind, becoming grounded, getting self-esteem, peace of mind, getting my life in order, learning trust and dignity,” Palmieri said. “And the biggest, of course, is hope.”

He invoked Harvey Milk.

“You gotta give him hope. And I don’t like false hope. So this is very positive,” Palmieri said.

‘There Is Hope’

Erica, a current resident pending a housing placement, spoke first. She was brief.

“I’ve been in the street, I lived in tents, and now I’m in the Holloway house,” Erica said. “I can have my own room, peace of mind. My thing is just getting my place to stay. They are on top of it. Kudos to the Holloway House.”

Then CJ walked up.

“First of all, I want to say thank you. I am so happy for this program. I said I wasn’t going to cry. But I’m really happy for this program. It’s just done so much for me that I feel like there is hope — no matter how much you go through, and no matter how long you’ve been trying to find a place.”

Ascencia has helped me. They provide a way to help you feel better about yourself. That’s the main thing. You get into a place where your mind is just all over the place and you don’t know what to do. What am I going to do next? Where am I going to go? Being there has helped me get grounded and to focus.

I was thinking earlier — the sky is beautiful, but to see a ceiling? That’s nice, too. To lie on the bed and look up at the ceiling and go, ‘Oh, okay. I got a bed.’

They give you a lot of services. Occupational therapy. They have a lady who comes in and teaches yoga — for someone like me, where you can still move around and exercise. That has been very helpful because of certain conditions I have, physically and medically. I’ve gotten better. The before picture — I wouldn’t want you to see it. But this is almost the after picture. It gives you a sense of self-esteem, being able to put on different clothes and make yourself feel better about what you want to do and which direction you want to go in. At some point, you don’t even want to go in a direction. You just sit still and don’t want to think. It can get to that point with mental health, where you’re like, ‘I don’t even want to think today.’

Being [being] there has really helped — because they give you transportation to get to the doctor. Healthcare in Action is what helped me get referred. And the guy was just tremendous. He said, ‘I got you. I got your back. Don’t worry about it.’ I’ve just been in such a position of waiting for the other shoe to drop. When somebody says they’re going to help you, you’re like, ‘Yeah, okay. I’m waiting.’ But they actually have. They have actually helped.

Being able to take a shower when you want to — it’s a simple task. I don’t think a lot of people think about it too much. They take for granted being able to go into a bathroom and take a shower whenever they want to. But being able to do that — I’m just loving it.

The case management — Shequisha — she’s been great. The staff is really cool. They’re always like, ‘You need something? You want something? You hungry?’ They’re always attentive, always trying to help you. It makes you feel better when someone’s asking what they can do for you. I had to get used to that.

With the housing, they’re always giving you resources — lists, flyers, connected to LAHD. They say, come in and talk to us. We’re here for you. And that’s a good feeling.

They also help you budget your money when you get some. What are you going to do when you have money? I’ve been working on that, because I need to learn. They have a lot of classes. A lot of people come in and teach you things you probably wouldn’t even think about.

I guess the biggest thing they help you with is peace of mind to move forward. And I really appreciate it. So, thank you.”

The Holloway has 20 beds. There are three people waiting for one.