Recycling out-dated motels

In 2014, Los Angeles, California, mayor Eric Garcetti pledged to create accommodations for all the city's homeless veterans by the end of 2015. The timeline was impossible, since Los Angeles is suffering an epidemic of homelessness. But the city and charitable groups like STEP UP didn't get discouraged. Instead, they began remodeling this old motel, which had been vacant.

                                                                                                                            STEP UP
Not only does this facility provide shelter for homeless vets, but it also offers much-needed services including job search assistance. Thanks to vouchers from the Department of Veterans' Affairs, veterans placed in this facility may stay up to 15 years, free of charge. Since the mayor's 2014 promise, the number of homeless veterans in Los Angeles has fallen from 4,362 to 3,071. Five hundred new units are in the planning stage, and the city has donated $138 million to combat veteran homelessness.