What is the Success Bell?

When a Chrysalis client secures a job, they are invited to ring the Success Bell, lovingly displayed in each of our centers. We come together to celebrate their hard work and well-earned position - a milestone that creates positive ripples of change throughout our community.

Los Angeles Times: Starting on the path to permanent housing

Every morning, John Johnson and Sydney Sheiner set out to chat up the people who frequent places such as the Central Library’s Maguire Gardens, the 4th Street overpass and Pershing Square. Their mission is to contact, interview and assist the roughly 130 homeless people living at any time in the west side of downtown.

Success Bells: Omara

Omara fled to the streets at a young age, because being on her own seemed a better alternative to living in an unstable and abusive home. Drugs eventually became another escape. On a downward path spurred by her addiction, Omara eventually landed in jail and lost custody of her five children. She realized she needed to create a better future for her family.

Success Bells: Raymond

“Where do you see yourself in 5 or 10 years?” For an addict with a record like Raymond, this question became, “Where do you see yourself in the next five minutes?”

Success Bells: Ron

For over the course of 10 years, Ron was living on the streets, struggling to find work due to a previous offense. It was after he started a family that Ron realized the urgency of his situation. He needed to find work and a safe place to live for his wife and three children.

Success Bells: Enrique

Enrique grew up thinking that people with jobs were different than he was. And going to an office or having a 9-to-5 was never something that he would have the opportunity to do. However, upon his most recent release from jail, he decided that he was ready for something else.

A Note from our CEO: Rapid Re-housing and Employment

Chrysalis is now part of two different rapid re-housing initiatives, Breaking Barriers and the Housing and Jobs Collaborative (HJC), in an effort to end the vicious cycle of homelessness, unemployment, and incarceration by helping men and women gain access to housing and employment.

Success Bells: Darrell

Growing up in Beverly Hills and Hollywood with a famous father probably sounds like the type of circumstance that would set someone up for success. But for Darrell, a life a partying, drug use, and too much extra time on his hands landed him in and out of jail for over the course of nearly 20 years.

Success Bells: John

As John makes his rounds in Downtown Los Angeles, he greets individuals —some all too familiar faces— all struggling with homelessness. Maybe today will be the day they are ready to come to him for help. After experiencing homelessness, incarceration, and a 24-year off-and-on battle with addiction, John knows what a challenge it is to admit when it’s time to get help.

Success Bells: Robert

Despite having a diverse work history, a positive attitude, and the drive to find employment, Robert was being turned down for jobs time and time again. Though he was focused on moving forward, every rejection from potential employers reminded him of his past.

Success Bells: Kellie

After more than two decades of running on empty and serving time in jail, Kellie came to Chrysalis with the determination to change her life and learn how to navigate a new pathway to self-sufficiency.