Wellness Project: Building a New Home, One Screw at a Time
Often taken for granted, home is a reality many do not have, like the several thousand people experiencing homelessness in Skid Row. Just a few miles from USC, Trojan Street Aid (TSA) set out to bridge this gap by funneling volunteers from the university to help create a space that feels more like home for the close to 90 residents of Star Apartments, a permanent supportive housing facility in downtown Los Angeles. Gathering biweekly on Sundays, USC volunteers worked together to transform an outdoor space with the hope of bringing comfort and smiles to residents.
Coined as the Wellness Project, the initiative began in September, with our earliest efforts centered around cleaning up the site’s garden beds. With only a handful of volunteers, random gardening supplies, and a few pairs of gloves, USC students gathered on a Thursday morning to pull out weeds, remove dead plants, and leave the garden looking livelier than before. With more garden space, TSA hosted a seed-starting event featuring a variety of produce, including arugula, beets, and carrots which will later be transplanted into the garden for residents to cook with freshly harvested vegetables.
Volunteers Cleaning the Garden Area
Over time, the Wellness Project grew to include up to 40 volunteers. Many had the opportunity to build furniture for the site’s once-empty seating area. “I'm focusing on this in my major, about sustainable housing and how environments play a huge role on your mental health,” says Sarah Hussain, a freshman studying architecture. “The way you guys are cleaning things up and adding furniture, it can be really impactful, and I wanted to be a part of it.”
One piece of furniture at a time, the space began to transform. Two blue couch sets were placed on beige rugs and complemented by black coffee tables. We added two wooden table-and-chair sets and built several brown chairs to fill previously empty round tables. However, our efforts would not be complete without decoration. From adding colorful, potted plants around the blue couches to matching floral centerpieces on the wooden tables, we also decided to weave solar-powered fairy lights through the balcony railings. Automatically lighting up at night, the bulbs create a soft glow, illuminating the new furniture and plants to create a warm, inviting atmosphere for residents to enjoy.
Before adding any furniture, we had to clean the floors. While cleaning floors doesn’t sound exciting, using a pressure washer quickly became a favorite activity. Each site visit, volunteers rotated turns using a pressure washer to clean different sections of the site, watching dirt-filled water drain away to leave behind brighter floors.
On top of these cleaner surfaces, we added the furniture and an abundance of turf for a pet area, inspired by the many residents who own dogs. Laying down turf piece by piece and adding a trashcan stocked with bags for easy cleanup, the completed pet area adds a pop of color to the blaring gray concrete–a transformation appreciated by many of the site residents.
Photo of Pet Area
TSA was founded to foster a culture of service among USC volunteers in the surrounding community. “And I like that TSA is sticking to their goal of igniting this passion, so that we can use our resources to help people who may not have access to them,” says Inayah Abdulmateen, a TSA board member and senior studying public relations.
For many volunteers, that passion came to life through shared experiences. “I really enjoyed working together with others, whether it was building furniture, gardening, or playing basketball,” says Misha Faruki, a senior studying Computer Science. Not only did volunteers work together to build the new space, they also got to enjoy time with each other, whether it was playing basketball, spraying each other with water, grabbing Spudnuts for breakfast before heading to the site, or grabbing lunch together afterwards.
Group Photo of Volunteers at the Wellness Project
And these connections don’t stop within USC. While volunteers worked at the site, residents often passed by, whether it was walking the track or stepping out for fresh air. Hussain shared how meaningful it was to meet residents. “It was really insightful listening to all the stories of how they got where they are in life now,” she says.
Meeting residents, hearing their stories, and gaining their input and appreciation on the site’s transformation made all the hard work worthwhile. It reminded us of our initial goal, which was not only to make a tangible difference to the physical space, but to build lasting connections along the way.
However, the renovation process also came with some challenges. Due to being in Downtown LA, volunteer safety became a top priority. “At first, I was actually kind of nervous, 'cause you guys were, like, it's literally next to Skid Row,” says Hussain. Many other volunteers shared this sentiment, wanting to volunteer but feeling unsafe in Skid Row.
View of Downtown Los Angeles from Star Apartments
“I wanted USC volunteers to be in the heart of Skid Row, but due to safety concerns, this was a challenge for us to accomplish,” says Omer Merchant, the President of Trojan Street Aid. He describes how he had to work closely with the staff of Star Apartments to gain safety accommodations for the volunteers. “It all worked out. We were able to physically and visually be in Skid Row, while also remaining safe by entering a guarded parking structure of the apartment complex,” he says.
Thanks to these safety measures and the large volunteer groups, everyone was able to participate without worry, allowing volunteers to see the part of LA hidden beyond the million-dollar buildings of USC. “It was a really interesting experience to see what the other side of LA is like,” says Hussain.
With the space now furnished and ready for use by residents, we hope to add our final touch through a painted mural at the site. A symbol of hope, life, and growth, the mural is the final piece to tie together a new home for Star Apartments.