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Aug 16, 2011

Jake Maguire's picture Posted By Jake Maguire

St. Joseph Center Brings Hope to Venice, CA

If you saw the Campaign on the CBS Evening News this week, you learned about the remarkable story of Bruce Marzett, a Vietnam combat veteran who survived nearly 20 years of homelessness before moving into a permanent apartment last month. Bruce was housed by St. Joseph Center, the incredible organization leading the Campaign effort in Venice, CA.

(Image: CBS News)

For 35 years, St. Joseph Center has been a beacon of hope to people experiencing homelessness and poverty in and around Los Angeles' Westside communities. From its humble beginnings in a small storefront, the organization has grown to serve more than 7,000 clients each year with a staff of roughly 100 people.

During his interview with CBS, Bruce explained that every other agency and organization he knew had given up on him, but that Taryn Livingston at St. Joseph Center asked for a chance to help him. After so many years of being let down, Bruce couldn't believe it when Taryn said she'd found him an apartment and a rental subsidy to help him escape the streets for good.

Taryn and the team at St. Joseph Center refused to accept a life of homelessness for Bruce, even though so many others had given up on him. That refusal to concede defeat is what our campaign is all about. Together, we are finding and housing the most vulnerable homeless people in America because we believe there is a path to permanent housing for everyone. At St. Joseph Center, that path has been paved for 34 vulnerable individuals in the last year alone.

Bruce's story reminds us that homelessness is solvable and that no one is beyond help.