Donor Recognition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MEDIA CONTACTS:
Ruth Schwartz, Executive Director, Shelter Partnership 213-943-4580 Christy Wolfe, Director of Communications, Senator Gilbert Cedillo 213-219-2836 DATE: March 6, 2008
RUTH SCHWARTZ, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SHELTER PARTNERSHIP RECEIVES WOMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD FROM THE 22ND DISTRICT’S SENATOR GILBERT CEDILLO
SACRAMENTO– Senator Gilbert Cedillo (D-Los Angeles) has chosen to honor Ruth Schwartz as “Woman of the Year” from the 22nd Senatorial District. The ceremony will take place on the morning of Monday, March 10, 2008 in the Senate Chambers at the State Capitol in Sacramento.
“The Woman of the Year Award provides me with the opportunity to honor an exceptional woman who has devoted more than 20 years to addressing the complex housing, social, and health care needs of people who have the least in our society—men, women and children who are homeless, ” said Senator Gilbert Cedillo.
Ruth Schwartz is the founder and Executive Director of Shelter Partnership, Inc.: a unique nonprofit organization established in 1985 that develops strategic housing solutions and resources for Los Angeles County’s homeless population. Shelter Partnership’s research and planning efforts are widely utilized by public officials, the media and business leaders. Their recent focuses have been on the needs of individuals who have a dual-diagnosis of mental illness and substance abuse as well as the growing population of homeless older adults.
Shelter Partnership’s technical assistance efforts have resulted in more than a quadrupling of the short-term housing system in Los Angeles County, as well as the development of thousands of permanent housing units for homeless persons with special needs and families. The Resource Bank project provides new, donated goods at no charge to agencies that provide housing and services to the homeless. The project has secured more than $150 million in new goods and distributes these goods on a quarterly basis to more than 200 agencies annually. Ruth serves on the California Department of Housing and Community Development’s Loan Advisory Committee. She received her M.A. from the University of California Los Angeles in Urban Planning. On behalf of Shelter Partnership, she accepted the outstanding nonprofit of the year award in 2000 from the National Alliance to End Homelessness at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Woman of the Year: The Woman of the Year event was begun by Assemblywoman Bev Hansen and Assemblywoman Sally Tanner in 1987. Sponsored by the Women’s Caucus, this is now a yearly event.
