U.S. Rep. Laura Friedman met with L.A. Dream Center founder Matthew Barnett during as recent tour of the nonprofit’s Echo Park facility. The Dream Center serves families struggling with homelessness, poverty and addiction.
Courtesy photo
Wave Staff Report
LOS ANGELES — U.S. Rep. Laura Friedman, D-Burbank, recently toured the Dream Center, an Echo Park-based nonprofit serving families struggling with homelessness, poverty, and addiction. Friedman met with Dream Center staff, many of whom are former center beneficiaries themselves, as well as current residents.
“When Los Angelenos fall on tough times, it is organizations like the Dream Center that provide a helping hand in their time of need,” Friedman said. “I’m grateful for their work in the community to protect and support all our community members in need.
“I’m supporting their efforts by fighting to protect and expand nutrition benefits, services for foster care youth, and affordable housing.”
Friedman has long advocated for common sense solutions to uplift those in poverty, experiencing homelessness, or in the foster care system. As a member of the state Assembly, she authored Assembly Bill 766, which was signed into law and allowed minors in foster care to attend college while receiving foster care support. Friedman’s Don’t Penalize Victims Actwould also ensure that victims of Los Angeles’ wildfires earlier this January won’t be penalized for receiving donations and services from organizations like Dream Center.
The Dream Center is dedicated to transforming lives and serving communities in need across Los Angeles. Founded in 1994 by Matthew Barnett and his father, Tommy Barnett, it provides a wide range of free resources, including housing for individuals and families facing homelessness, disaster relief, food distribution, job training, addiction recovery programs, and outreach services that empower people to rebuild their lives.
Following the January wildfires that devastated Pacific Palisades and Altadena, the Dream Center stepped up, providing food, clothing and housing for people left homeless by the fires.
The Dream Center impacts thousands of lives each year, offering hope and a pathway to self-sufficiency, Friedman said. Operating 24/7, the organization partners with local businesses, churches and volunteers to provide critical support for the most vulnerable populations in Los Angeles.
Through its partnerships with Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw and former Dodger Justin Turner, the Dream Center has raised thousands of dollars that keep its many programs operating.
The Dream Center offers a range of social service programs in Los Angeles, including transitional housing with 700 beds, mobile food bank distributions serving more than 20,000 people through more than 23 sites across L.A., and foster care intervention.
