The City of Los Angeles Community Investment for Families Department convened more than 200 leaders from government, academia, philanthropy, and direct service sectors on March 2 to address the poverty and affordability crisis driving housing instability, economic insecurity, and widening wealth gaps. The 2026 Making LA Affordable for All Summit at The California Endowment focused on advancing bold solutions, strengthening cross-sector partnerships, and securing concrete commitments to improve affordability across the region.
"The Summit represents a critical turning point in how we confront poverty in Los Angeles," said CIFD General Manager Abigail R. Marquez, referencing the 2024 City's Poverty Report that documented structural inequities. More than 600,000 Angelenos live in poverty, with one in four Los Angeles County households experiencing food insecurity, underscoring the scale and urgency of the regional crisis.
Keynote speaker Matthew Desmond, Pulitzer Prize-winning sociologist and author of Poverty, by America, brought national perspective to the conversation, while Mayor Karen Bass emphasized the interconnected nature of housing instability, food insecurity, and wealth gaps. "This Summit is about bringing together strong partnerships to turn commitment into action," Mayor Bass stated, highlighting the city's commitment to creating economic stability opportunities.
The Summit featured panel discussions on advancing policy reform to dismantle poverty, strengthening housing stability across Los Angeles, and aligning economic development with living-wage opportunities. Major announcements included the consolidation of four departments—Community Investment for Families, Youth Development, Aging, and Economic and Workforce Development—into a new Community Investment Department to create a more coordinated system of city services.
Most significantly, the Summit served as the platform for launching the Office of Community Wealth and Empowerment, which advances the city's commitment to financial empowerment through anti-poverty programs and policy. Through partnership with the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund at https://cfefund.org, Los Angeles joins over 20 cities in a national network prioritizing municipal financial empowerment. The office will house existing cash assistance and children's savings initiatives while implementing the Financial Empowerment Center model to provide free, professional financial counseling as a public service.
"Local governments have a critical role to play in building residents' financial stability," said Jonathan Mintz, President and CEO of the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund. "This Office of Community Wealth and Empowerment is more than the sum of important individual programs—it's a catalyst for truly embedding financial empowerment work across government."
For business and technology leaders, these developments signal a shift toward systemic approaches to urban economic challenges. The departmental consolidation represents an opportunity for more efficient public-private partnerships, while the financial empowerment initiatives could create more economically stable consumers and workforce participants. The Summit's emphasis on cross-sector collaboration suggests new avenues for technology solutions addressing housing, employment, and financial inclusion challenges in one of America's largest metropolitan economies.
