“I’m incredibly humbled and honored by this distinction as it highlights the work St. Margaret’s team – staff & volunteers – has been doing in the Inglewood area for nearly 40 years!” Erlandson said. “The Rams organization has been a long-time partner in our efforts, and is an awesome neighbor and collaborator in supporting our local communities.”
Their services include food programs, a drop-in center, housing navigation for the unhoused, adult education and tutoring for youth, immigration processing, benefits enrollment, counseling, health screenings, rent and utility assistance. They also provide basic supplies such as diapers and hygiene, along with a Christmas program.
The Center serves around 10,000 unduplicated individuals annually in the Los Angeles “LAX” area, as well as parts of the South Bay and South Los Angeles, according to their website.
Their goal is to be “a one-stop center for low-income residents in our community,” Erlandson said. It’s always especially rewarding when children of families they’d helped come back to volunteer later in life because of the difference St. Margaret’s Center had made for them.
“I guess in a micro sense, I think of (inspiring change) as helping people who are struggling with all of the challenges that life can throw at you, showing compassion and solidarity, and inspiring hope that the future can be brighter for them,” Erlandson said. “In a macro sense, advocating for equity and justice and an abiding concern for the ‘least among us.'”