Check out our collection of hand-crafted solid wood cutting boards.
Looking for holiday gifts for your whole team? Check out our fully customizable wholesale line here for discounts on orders of 10+
After closing for Covid in March 2020, we just relaunched in August 2021 with an outstanding new cohort and leadership team. We are busy cranking out cutting board orders and gearing up to build outdoor furniture for Skid Row.
Help support our relaunch by donating to Would Works today.
The opportunity to simply work hard for wages in order to afford the basic comforts of life is a great privilege that many of us in this country enjoy, and even take for granted. Would Works provides people who are homeless or living in poverty with the dignity of doing good work.
Would Works was so much more than I expected it to be. I felt like I was part of a family. I learned so much more than wood work-- I learned work ethics, responsibility, accountability, and preparation for re-entry into the workforce. Participating in the Would Works program was the very reason I was able to obtain employment and stay employed.
--Glasha Williams
2019 Would Works Artisan
Presently Community Health Worker at UC Irvine
By providing work experience and resources to those who need it most, Would Works offers critical support to individuals experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles' Skid Row. But beyond that, Artisans build community and life skills in a space were they are treated with dignity and care.
Elizabeth
“I had a rough life growing up,” Elizabeth explains. She battled addiction for 20 years, did 4 prison terms and was arrested 63 times. But, she's grateful to the people who believed in her and gave her a second (and third) chance. Now housed and a decade into sobriety, Elizabeth came to Would Works to pay her rent and to find community.
Marella
In 2016 Marella lost her job, and when her husband fell ill, she stayed home to care for him. Ultimately, she lost her home and found herself living on the streets. Marella's Would Works goal is to pay her phone bill and buy winter clothes. Then she plans to buy a laptop and print resumes for job applications.
Artisans take a tour of our creative partners around LA
Come along on our tour of local lumber yards, mills, and furniture shops! Program Director Michele Liu takes our Artisans to see the work of some of the great creative businesses that make our work possible. "As we transition into building a more robust training program we felt it was important for the Artisans to see the full picture what woodworking is like from beginning to end." says Liu.
Designing Furniture That Makes Waiting Not Feel Like Waiting
For the last month, a team of Would Works staff members and community partners have been participating in an intensive design workshop at the Stanford d.school. Through interviews, co-design sessions, observations and prototypes, our team is helping to redesign the waiting area experience at the Skid Row Community Refresh Spot.
Would Works @ Stanford d.school
Would Works won a generous scholarship to attend an intensive workshop called Designing for Social Systems (DSS) at Stanford's d.school this month! We put together a great team that will be helping to design the outdoor waiting room experience at the Skid Row Community ReFresh Spot
Welcome Our New Program Director Michele Liu!
In addition to leading the relaunch of Would Works existing programs this Spring, Michele will be developing the new "Outdoor Workshop" model as we pivot our program to include the design and fabrication of outdoor furniture for public spaces around LA.We rely on the generous support of our community partners
Would Works thanks the following funders for supporting our programs
