Dear Friends,

One thing is certain – when you roll with Heart Forward, you are charting a new course. Each day is an adventure, and our newest adventure involves our exploration into the ecosystem that supports L.A. County’s Office of Diversion and Reentry (ODR).

This project, funded by the Hilton Foundation in 2025, is affording us a closer look at this program that seeks to divert people with mental health conditions out of the county jail and into community settings. Read more on our website, here!

Hilton Foundation supplemented our grant this year to allow us to hire a peer support specialist for the next year so that we could “adopt” two ODR houses and bring our Radical Hospitality Initiative inside.

We are pleased to introduce the newest member of the Heart Forward family, Tommy Collins, an Oklahoma native who brings to this role the wisdom of his lived experience with incarceration and the journey of recovery. He is enthusiastic about this new role and exudes a palpable commitment to come alongside people and Heart Forward.

Having completed his first month learning about Heart Forward, building relationships with the residents and staff of our two ODR houses, and participating in our Friday “third place” at Willow Brook, he adds an important dimension to our small staff team that has already opened our eyes and hearts to new possibilities.

Kerry, Evangeline, & Tommy

SEASON 6 IS LIVE!

Season Six of Heart Forward Conversations from the Heart has launched! This season, we are excited to share with you some amazing people and their work from which we know you will draw inspiration and hope.  

We will explore this simple question:  

What if the way we treat people is just as important as the services we provide? Or, perhaps, more important?

You'll hear conversations with Father Greg Boyle of Homeboy Industries, psychologist Dr. Gordon Flett, experts in diversion and recovery, and others who press for system change and ask us to reimagine how we care for one another.

Listen on Spotify, iTunes, or our website, HERE!

With special recognition to our key sponsors:

• Presenting Sponsor, Tony Hale

• Community Impact Sponsor, Peter Lizotte

And a special thank you to those who have helped to make this season possible:

Sarah Dusseault, Brian Folb, Dave Pilon, Nick Halaris, Jae Lee and David Israelian.

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY, SANDBOX!

And just like that, The Sandbox celebrated the one year anniversary of coming alongside Heart Forward as our peer advisory team! Hear from members, Goldah and Mikayla, about their experience with being a part of The Sandbox, and read more about the team (and why they chose their name, The Sandbox!) on our website HERE. Shout-out to The Sandbox team: Maurice, Jane, Maria, John, Wally, Mikayla, Goldah, and Jesse!

STAY CONNECTED WITH US!

We invite you to follow us on Instagram to stay connected to our work and our mission to demonstrate the transformative power of practicing Radical Hospitality! From our recent Tamale Day at The Mark Twain (interim housing) to musical explorations at Willow Brook with our friend, Cortney, we love sharing what our community is up to!

INTERESTED IN VOLUNTEERING?

We have two opportunities available for community volunteers with experience and a fondness for gardening who would like to participate in our Radical Hospitality Initiative:

• At Bel Air Board & Care, we have a community garden club and resident caretakers who would benefit from the guidance and presence of gardening volunteers at least twice a month.

• At an ODR home in North Hollywood, we are looking for an artist (or two!) to help us foster opportunities for creativity, expression, and healing through art. This does not require expertise, but presence and encouragement: This is about coming alongside others through art!

Please contact Evangeline to explore these opportunities further!