A block and a half away from a bleak-looking concrete jail in downtown Los Angeles, a former parking lot is being transformed into a new vision of what rehabilitation can look like.

The project, called the Robert K. Ross Center for Hope and Healing just broke ground. It will include affordable apartments for low-income residents, including people reentering society after incarceration. It will have a center for learning and job training, a hub focused on mental and physical health, and another hub for community meetings. The whole project carefully considers trauma-informed design—how spaces can support people’s well-being, reduce stress, and foster a sense of safety.

“For the people who are served and touched by this, we think it creates a different road to reduce recidivism and a much healthier pathway for these folks,” says Brenda Solorzano, CEO of The California Endowment, which is leading the project. The foundation, which focuses on health and racial equity in the state, gives out around $250 million in grants each year. But the organization realized that it could also make use of another asset: an empty lot next to its own offices in L.A.

The team decided to use the property to pilot a new model for how society can help people impacted by the justice system. The project is based on the “care first” approach, the idea that by investing in ways to keep people housed and help them heal, it can help them avoid the criminal justice system. The housing intended not only for people returning from incarceration, but also for formerly unhoused people and other low-income residents facing barriers to stability.

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