COMMUNITY BUILDERS

Last year Would Works was awarded a grant from the USC Marshall School of Business which finances the design and building of outdoor furniture for the waiting area at a drop-in hygiene center called the Skid Row Community ReFresh Spot.  

In May 2021 we won a scholarship to participate in an intensive workshop called “Designing for the Social Systems” through the Stanford d.school.  In this workshop we learned how to lead a community based, equity driven design process with the guests and stakeholders at the ReFresh Spot. 

We are looking to scale this project and process into a new advanced program called “The Community Builders Program” (CBP) which will train Artisans in furniture fabrication and community led design while employing them to build outdoor furniture for supportive housing sites, service providers, and public spaces throughout Los Angeles.

If funded, this program will achieve four main outcomes;

1) Expand our programing for people who complete our beginner workshop and want to learn more advanced techniques in fabrication and design--thus creating pathways for stable employment for economically vulnerable individuals

2) Design and market a repeatable line of accessible outdoor furniture in turn providing Would Works with ongoing commissions and revenue to support our program

3) Furnish safe, comfortable and accessible communal spaces for underserved populations in Los Angeles

4) Empower these communities by way of a peer driven design/build process which trains residents to adapt, create and maintain fixtures in their own collective spaces and neighborhoods.