Capital Campaign

Step Up on Second is going to have a bigger reach in the community by serving even more individuals. The wait list for permanent supportive housing at Step Up is currently 3-5 years long, so we set a goal to provide an additional 100 housing units.  After a 3-year search, a suitable lot 3 blocks from Step Up was identified and the deal was sealed in December of 2004.

The new property is called Step Up on Fifth, since it is on Fifth Street, just north of Colorado Boulevard.  The total budget is $17.5 million, which will produce a 5-story building, with 46 single room apartments.

Each unit is approximately 300 sq. ft. in size and contains a kitchenette (refrigerator, microwave and sink), full bathroom and living space along with Murphy beds to maximize living space. The units are permanent housing, which means that once a tenant moves in, they are welcome to live at Step Up on Fifth for as long as they wish.  They also enjoy all the services of Step Up to ensure that they are successful in retaining their housing.

Of the 46 units at Step up on Fifth, 33 are specifically designated for the homeless and chronically homeless mentally ill.  We will also have a local housing preference built into our waiting list.  This is all part of Step Up’s commitment to addressing the homeless issues in Santa Monica.

We will start construction March 1 and open the facility in winter of 2008.   Join us for our groundbreaking ceremony on March 14, at 10:00 a.m.  To RSVP, contact Tod Lipka.

All tenants will be members of Step Up on Second, a nationally recognized treatment center for the mentally ill. Two resident managers will also live on site.

Like all of Step Up’s programs, Step Up on Fifth is being funded through a public-private partnership. The City of Santa Monica and the State of CA Tax Credit Allocation Committee has committed $14.5 million to the project.  The remaining $3 million will come from our capital campaign.  The George Hoag Family Foundation made the lead $500,000 gift and we have enjoyed support from the Weingart Foundation, Ahmanson Foundation, The Annenberg Foundation and many others.

We need your financial support now to help close out the Campaign. Please contact Kimm Baersch, Director of Development (310.394.6889, ext. 46), to learn about the Recognition Levels and Naming Opportunities that are available to donors.

We created a theme for the Campaign: Providing the Mentally Ill with Help, Hope and a HOME. When Step Up on Fifth is complete and our participants move in, we will then know the theme has become a reality.   Additional information on the Capital Campaign can be obtained from Tod Lipka, CEO, or Kimm Baersch, Director of Development.