Liberty Hill is not pivoting. We're rising.

While current political forces threaten to erode democracy at every turn, Liberty Hill and our grantee partners forge ahead. On behalf of immigrants, low-wage workers, neighborhoods overburdened by pollution, the LGBTQ+ community, and low-income communities of color, Los Angeles shows up. Time and again, LA stands tall for social justice, as it always has.

This is not spontaneous solidarity—it is the result of decades of organizing committed to Liberty Hill’s North Star: to build power in communities most impacted by systemic oppression to achieve justice and equity. Together, our strength lies not in reacting to isolated harms, but proactively tending to, and fortifying, the well-structured pathways we have built over time toward a thriving democracy. We continue to take a proactive long view, just as we have for the last 50 years.

The strong civic engagement infrastructure has resulted in broad systemic change: 

• For the second consecutive year, homelessness has declined, with an 18% drop in the City of Los Angeles, as a result of wins such as the passage of United to House LA, the Tenant Anti-Harassment Ordinance, the Right to Council Ordinance, and city and county funding for Stay Housed LA.
• Due to the Ready to Rise public-private partnership with LA County, LA now boasts the largest youth development system in the nation, youth incarceration rates have decreased by half since 2017, and youth arrests are down by 60%.
• LA City and County—as well as the separately regulated Inglewood Oil Field—have passed oil-drilling phase-out ordinances, and environmental justice advocates’ coordinated approach to accessing public funds resulted in $520 million in federal funding for community-based solutions for cleaner, healthier air and water in low-income communities. 

Liberty Hill is not pivoting, re-examining, or shifting priorities. We are rising. In recent months, this work has taken many forms:

• Mobilizing in large numbers to defend immigrants at risk of detainment and protesting the abandonment of democracy and due process that puts every resident at risk.
• Fighting for our legal right to Justice 40 funding for environmental justice projects—awarded under the Biden administration and now blocked—and identifying local and state support for already planned and/or launched efforts.
• Continuing to build strong coalitions of housing and homelessness advocates able to present united, coordinated and well-informed solutions to ensure implementation of hard-won policies results in Angelos remaining safely in their homes and stopping the revolving door of homelessness. 
• Scaling up county-wide, public support for Ready to Rise, and fighting for the rights of incarcerated youth experiencing physical, emotional and sexual abuse at the hands of those entrusted with their care. 

A large part of our success depends upon the shared vision for a thriving democracy among foundations, donors, corporations, and community groups who co-invest alongside public systems to build power of grassroots groups exponentially. These groups are limited only by their resources. With full funding and the latitude to lead, the region’s social justice champions can contribute to, and amplify, a ripple of resistance across the nation.