By Lookout Staff

March 5 -- If it takes money to make money, there should be more homeless people in Santa Monica bringing in a paycheck thanks to the Jewish Community Foundation.

The Foundation last week gave Chrysalis -- which has one of its three Los Angeles County employment service centers in Santa Monica -- a $10,000 grant for its program to help the poor and homeless step out of poverty through a steady job.

“At the heart of Chrysalis is our strong belief that every person has the potential to find work and become self-sufficient,” said Adlai Wertman, president and CEO of Chrysalis. “We are deeply grateful for their support to help our homeless and poor clients find work and move out of poverty.”

Chrysalis’ nationally recognized program offers supportive social services and paid transitional employment to help clients secure and retain work, Wertman said. Services include counseling, job-preparation classes and resources, transitional employment and job-retention training.

Since 1984, Chrysalis has helped 25,000 individuals at its centers in Santa Monica, downtown Los Angeles (Skid Row) and the San Fernando Valley, Wertman said.

Ninety-three percent of those completing Chrysalis’s program successfully secure employment, he said.

Foundation officials said they hope the funds will help men and women get off the streets and into jobs and housing.

“We are proud to support an organization that is so effective at combating homelessness and poverty throughout Los Angeles,” said Marvin Schotland, president and CEO of the Jewish Community Foundation. “Chrysalis brings about positive change for many, many people.”

Established in 1954, the Jewish Community Foundation is the largest manager of charitable assets and the leader in planned giving solutions for Greater Los Angeles Jewish philanthropists.

The Foundation currently manages assets of nearly three-quarter billion dollars and, according to the National Foundation Center, ranks among the ten largest Los Angeles foundations based on assets.