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Rehousing LA
LA Homeless Services Authority

Rehousing Los Angeles

The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) is the lead agency responsible for the coordination of the Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count. The goal of the count is to identify important trends, key demographics, and location information to determine what’s working, what needs to be done, and where we’re falling short. This is the largest homeless census count in the nation and the data is used to educate practitioners, providers, politicians, and the public–all in service to end homelessness in Los Angeles. We partnered with LAHSA to provide message framing, help bring the numbers to life, and create a narrative of storytelling to give context and meaning to a real-time crisis.

Cutout of man and woman—the woman's hand is on the man's shoulder.
Photo of a man and woman standing together in front of greenery
Rehousing LA – The Challenge

1 — The Challenge

Humanizing the Homeless Count

Data-centric information is by its nature impersonal, sterile, daunting, and lacks human context. We set out to ensure that we spent time highlighting the people behind the numbers–volunteers and frontline supporters with lived experience–to contextualize the data, bring humanity into frame and communicate in simple and relatable ways.

Rehousing LA – The Brand

2 — The Brand

A warmer take on the identity

LAHSA has an established and reputable brand, but it lacks the warmth and humanity that this campaign called for. As a part of telling the stories of LA’s frontline support, we expanded the brand guidelines for a more approachable presentation.

LAHSA Logo on a green background
A collection of the brand elements used in the campaign

Modern colors and type — We were careful to honor LAHSA’s existing brand guide, while also adding a modern and approachable twist.

Rehousing LA – The Website

3 — The Website

Not heroism, hard work

The website worked to connect the homeless count to the progress and impact on the ground through diverse multimedia offerings, engaging photography, and simplified data visualizations. Connecting sterile numbers to stories of neighbors on the streets and colleagues in the field.

Grid of data visualizations

Simplifying complex data — By connecting the complex numbers being released with simplified visuals, we were able to make the report more approachable.

Rehousing LA – The Campaign

4 — The Campaign

A little help from our friends

We created a series of ads based on the personal stories of the five frontline service providers featured on the landing page to boost public understanding of the 2022 homeless count results. By utilizing LAHSA partner ad accounts including HOPICS, St. Joseph’s, and Union Station Homeless Services, we were able to engage in the community in an authentic way and use these trusted service providers as the messenger while also promoting the organizations themselves.

Bringing stories to life — Video ad content like Pamela’s path to advocacy helped viewers connect the work being done with the people doing it, while also driving them to learn more on the website.

Grid of social advertisements with stats, quotes, and photos of people

Digital ads — Balancing story and data, we assembled an ad campaign that was both informative and optimistic.

Rehousing LA – The Impact

5 — The Impact

Changing the narrative

The primary objective of the campaign was to change the data-centric narrative around the homeless count by driving traffic to the Homeless Count 2022 Report landing page, resulting in increased education on the meaning behind the statistics and the rehousing system in general.

Through our robust ad campaign, we reached nearly one million people in Los Angeles at a critical moment to emphasize progress and optimism over cynicism and apathy. And more than 5,000 people visited the site to learn about the efforts service providers are taking to help those experiencing homelessness.

Storytelling is a powerful tool, and we feel honored to have been trusted with raising up the people behind the point-in-time numbers.

Case Studies

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