The People Concern

Founding and History

The People Concern is the result of the 2016 merger between two large homelessness-focused organizations in the Los Angeles area. The older organization was the Ocean Park Community Center (OPCC), which had been founded in 1963. OPCC later merged with LAMP Community, which previously stood for Los Angeles Men’s Place. At the time of the merger, the organizations had combined budgets of roughly $25.3 million. ^{4  5}

The People Concern has since grown dramatically, with over $80 million in annual revenue, 26 housing properties, and a very large social-services program. ^{2  6  1}

Financials

The People Concern reported for the fiscal year ending June 2023 $83,334,236 in revenue (of which $82,083,369 came from contributions and grants), $13,742 in program service revenue, $90,823 in investment income, and $1,312,271 in net rental income. It received $71,167,48185 in government funding, making up 85 percent of its revenue. ³

TPC reported $87,314,713 in expenses, of which $14,788,117 was paid out in grants, $52,463,892 was paid out in salaries and compensation, $6,133,187 in occupancy expenses, $924,935 for travel, and $2,398,747 to a private security firm. It ended the year with a net loss of $3,980,477 and net assets of $41,246,313. ⁷

Organization Philosophy

The People Concern holds a left-of-center worldview and promotes solutions that are nearly entirely reliant on taxpayer funding for operations. It notably identifies diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) as being a core value of the organization and uses jargon such as “social justice,” “anti-racism,” and “implicit bias.” ^{8  9}

Projects and Initiatives

The People Concern’s main activity is the provision of both temporary and permanent housing to homeless people or people at risk of becoming homeless in the Los Angeles area. The organization does not place any restrictions on residents entering temporary housing, stating that sobriety or work are not requirements. Temporary housing is not required, but is often a precursor to entering into permanent housing. ¹⁰

TPC provides several thousand people with permanent housing units in the city. The residents sign a lease to pay 30 percent of their income in rent. Both temporary and permanent housing is designed to provide additional social work support, including things such as medical and mental health services. ¹¹

TPC also provides shelter and services, including in-house pro-bono legal services, to people who are subject to domestic violence. ¹²

TPC rallies volunteers to lobby local, state, and federal governments on various matters related to funding for homelessness issues. ¹³

Leadership

John Maceri is the CEO of The People Concern, a position he has held since August 1999. He previously worked in nonprofit management, including 12 years as the executive director of an AIDS relief organization. In the fiscal year ending in June 2023, he was paid $268,534 in total compensation. ^{14  2  15}