In this compelling episode of Doing What Works: Innovations in Homeless Services, we sit down with Dr. Ryan Smith, President and CEO of St. Joseph Center in Los Angeles. With a personal history of youth homelessness, Dr. Smith shares how his lived experience shapes his professional mission to create a more compassionate and effective homeless services system.

From the formative influence of his mother to his first job as a youth organizer at 15, Dr. Smith recounts the journey that led him to lead one of LA’s most impactful service organizations. He walks us through the four foundational pillars of St. Joseph Center—Housing, Outreach, Mental Health, and Economic Mobility—and explains why investing in frontline workers and replicating community college programs like SMC’s Homeless Services Certificate are essential steps to ending homelessness. This episode is both a call to action and a testament to the power of care, dignity, and workforce development in driving sustainable change.

In this powerful episode of Doing What Works: Innovations in Homeless Services, we speak with Dr. Sam Tsemberis, founder of the Housing First model and CEO of the Pathways Housing First Institute. He was also on the Distinguished Time Magazine list of 100 Most Influential People of 2024!

Drawing from decades of experience in psychology and frontline mental health services, Dr. Tsemberis shares the journey that led him to challenge the status quo of homelessness treatment—shifting from a "treatment first" approach to one that prioritizes permanent housing without preconditions.

From his early days at Bellevue Psychiatric Hospital to founding Pathways to Housing, Dr. Tsemberis witnessed firsthand the systemic gaps and human costs of policies that deny housing to those not yet "compliant" with treatment.

Through compelling stories, research-backed results, and global replication efforts, this episode explores why Housing First isn’t just effective—it’s a matter of human dignity. Listeners will also hear his thoughts on workforce needs, replication of successful models like SMC's Homeless Services Certificate Program, and why shared public vision is essential to ending homelessness.

In this deeply moving and expansive episode of Doing What Works: Innovations in Homeless Services, host Ashanti Blaze-Hopkins speaks with Matt Walton, Executive Director of Clare Matrix and a longtime innovator in health technology. With a career that spans decades and industries—from DARPA-backed tech startups to pioneering medical record systems—Walton now leads one of the Westside’s most vital behavioral health organizations.

Walton shares how a lifetime in systems thinking and entrepreneurial innovation unexpectedly led him to the addiction treatment field. Through personal stories and professional insights, he illustrates the urgent need for integrated care, compassionate infrastructure, and the kind of recovery-focused models that treat people, not just symptoms.

This episode examines the role of healthcare interoperability, the societal roots of addiction and homelessness, and how institutions like Clare Matrix—and educational partners like Santa Monica College—can fill critical workforce gaps with heart, purpose, and integrity. Walton’s clear-eyed optimism and deep belief in service challenge listeners to rethink what’s possible when tech, humanity, and mission align.