Doing What Works: Innovations in Homeless Services
St. Joseph Center President and CEO Dr. Ryan J. Smith joins Santa Monica College’s Doing What Works podcast to discuss his personal journey and a more compassionate approach to homelessness services.
In this episode of Santa Monica College’s Doing What Works: Innovations in Homeless Services, Dr. Ryan J. Smith shares how his personal experience with homelessness shaped his approach to leadership and his vision for a more compassionate and effective homeless services system.
Dr. Smith reflects on his path from organizing as a teenager to leading St. Joseph Center and discusses the organization’s work across housing, outreach, mental health, and economic mobility. The conversation also explores the importance of investing in frontline workers, workforce development, and community-based approaches to ending homelessness.
Throughout the conversation, Dr. Smith reflects on the role that care, dignity, education, and lived experience can play in building stronger systems of support.
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