At the end of April, Chrysalis, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that has helped over 60,000 people who are formerly homeless or suffered from other disadvantages find and retain employment, announced it was expanding to Orange County, drawn in part by a growing homeless population estimated to total 4,800 people. According to Chrysalis CEO Mark Loranger, further expansion is anticipated in 2019 and 2020. Clearly, Chrysalis is filling a need. But how does the Chrysalis model work? And how is it grappling with the challenges of expansion?
Chrysalis was founded 32 years ago by a young John Dillon, who had done a year of service with the Jesuits and decided to move from emergency service provision to helping people find and retain employment. Loranger, its current CEO, has led the nonprofit since 2009. Loranger notes that Chrysalis is part of an ecosystem of social enterprises in Los Angeles that includes Homeboy Industries, L.A. Kitchen, Los Angeles Conservation Corps, and the Coalition for Responsible Community Development.
“The common thread with all of those,” Loranger observes, “is that they all are producing revenue through jobs programs. They are trying to employ folks that move on to that next step…”