New Friends Homeless Center was first founded in 2010 when April Belt witnessed the need for resources for the growing homeless population in her neighborhood of the San Fernando Valley. This vision led us to provide every unhoused person that enters our doors with a four-course meal in sit-down, restaurant-style environment where they could get off the streets for a few hours. At New Friends Homeless Center, our guests are treated with respect and dignity. They would be served a delicious hot meal and be able to relax – it was to be a place where anyone in need would feel welcomed, be acknowledged, feel a sense of community, build friendships, receive words of encouragement and hope, and forget about their worries for even a short while.

Over the years, the transformation of the guests has been remarkable. Their basic physical need for food is being met, but they are also receiving much needed emotional and social fulfillment. The guests feel like they are part of a family, where they truly receive the unconditional love from the teams of dedicated volunteers; they feel that everyone genuinely cares about them. Financial contributions and donated food items have sustained the weekly meals, and in-kind donations have allowed for distribution of hygiene kits, clothing (including socks & shoes), blankets, sleeping bags, and pet food.

The New Friends Homeless Center operates from multiple locations within the Los Angeles County. At our Centers, guests are served a delicious, freshly-cooked 4-course meal in a sit-down, restaurant-style environment multiple times every week. Amongst our unhoused guests are veterans, senior citizens, those who are food insecure, those who are disabled, those with special needs, and often their pets. At each meal, guests also enjoy live entertainment which includes a variety of talented performers, singers, dancers and comedians who volunteer their time to be a part of what New Friends Homeless Center is doing. We also have professionals who will come out to engage our guests in hands-on workshop activities, typically involving art and music, that teach them how creative enrichment is beneficial for their brain and body as well as promoting social engagement.

As part of our goal to create a warm and caring environment, we will even celebrate birthdays each month so the guests know that their lives do matter regardless of their situation. At all of our meal services, New Friends Homeless Center hosts the Family Giveback program at both the Encino and Woodland Hills locations. This gives local families the opportunity to volunteer by setting up a table with their donated items to distribute to the guests as they leave for the night.