For Lourdes Castro Ramirez, president and CEO of the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles, housing is foundational to opportunity.
That belief guides how HACLA serves families and communities across Los Angeles.
“Our approach to delivering housing is to ensure that we’re doing so with a focus on the families that we serve,” Castro Ramirez said.
It also guides HACLA’s growing partnership with National CORE, encompassing both the management of 33 of HACLA’s more than 125 properties and the transformation of Rancho San Pedro, an aging coastal public housing community.
That focus on families is especially important for residents making the transition from homelessness.
At Autumn Courts and Orchid Apartments, two supportive housing communities managed by National CORE for HACLA, property management and resident services work together to help residents establish stability and remain successfully housed.
“When we think about our permanent supportive housing portfolio, we’re not just thinking about traditional property management,” Castro Ramirez said.
“We’re looking at a model of trauma-informed care and bringing in service providers that have both the commitment to the whole person and the commitment to ensuring that this housing community is a place that is safe, that is welcoming and that supports that transition from being homeless into being stably housed.”
Castro Ramirez said HACLA has found that commitment in National CORE.
“We appreciate their professionalism, their resident service approach and their belief that it is important to work in partnership with residents.”
That same focus on families is guiding HACLA and National CORE’s work at Rancho San Pedro, which is undergoing a major phased redevelopment. National CORE is nearing completion of Puerto San Pedro, the first off-site housing for the effort, which will provide nearby homes for residents in stages as renovation of the existing community moves forward.
The approach is designed to minimize displacement and give families the choice to remain connected to their neighborhood as Rancho San Pedro is transformed.
“We’re creating walkable communities, we’re creating job opportunities, we’re also creating a nice mix of housing so that families can choose to stay there for as long as they would like,” Castro Ramirez said.
For its leadership, commitment to the families and communities it serves and partnership in creating greater opportunity throughout Los Angeles, National CORE and Hope through Housing Foundation are proud to recognize HACLA as the 2026 Government Partner of the Year.
