A new player is charging into one of America’s rawest urban flashpoints — Skid Row, the 50-block pressure cooker in downtown Los Angeles where the city’s homelessness crisis thrives.
The privately funded group, A New Era America, is formally launching its effort in Skid Row after quietly piloting its mental-health-first model for three years. Founder Samir Zakir, a Los Angeles County resident, says too many programs emphasize rapid housing placements without first stabilizing people experiencing severe trauma or psychosis.
“We help heal minds and restore humanity,” Zakir said. “If you don’t have safety and security in your mind, you can’t make stable decisions.”
This is not a marginal pocket of poverty. According to the 2025 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count, roughly 4,400 people experiencing homelessness are concentrated in Skid Row alone, with more than half living unsheltered in tents, makeshift structures or on sidewalks.
The scene is brutal. Whole blocks swallowed by tents. Sidewalks turned into makeshift bedrooms and kitchens. Open-air drug use in broad daylight. Untreated mental illness playing out on the pavement. Chronic medical crises unfolding curbside, day after day.
“So much of what we’re seeing on the streets is trauma,” said Zakir. “When people lose everything — their housing, their support system — it impacts their state of mind. And that affects every area of wellness.”
All of this exists against the backdrop of massive public spending. In recent years, the Los Angeles region has committed billions of dollars toward homelessness programs, including shelters, outreach, permanent supportive housing and mental health services.
The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority alone manages hundreds of millions of dollars annually in city, county, state and federal funds. The county’s Skid Row Action Plan has directed roughly $280 million toward expanded housing, healthcare and supportive services in the area since 2022.
Yet thousands remain on the streets.
“My mission has always been to help heal minds so we can restore humanity for people facing instability and displacement,” said Zakir.
A New Era America says it is trying to prioritizes stabilization through what it calls “Kindness Pop-Ups,” volunteers distribute essential supplies and gift cards, connect people directly to licensed clinicians and medical professionals, and enroll participants into a 90-day program known as Forward Steps.
Participants receive a minimum of 90 days of temporary housing, licensed mental health counseling, medical support and trauma-focused care. Therapies can include EMDR and, in some cases, transcranial magnetic stimulation. Enrollment is voluntary, Zakir said, but participants must agree to treatment plans, including medication when appropriate.
The group says it has served 480 individuals from San Francisco to San Diego — the majority in Los Angeles — and that 12 people have completed the full 90-day program. According to Zakir, none of those graduates are currently unhoused.
The numbers are small compared to the more than 75,000 people experiencing homelessness countywide. But Zakir calls it proof of concept.
“We’re not driven by grant requirements,” he said. “We’re driven by outcomes.”
Saturday’s activation marks the first formal public announcement of the initiative in Los Angeles. Volunteers plan to walk several blocks in Skid Row, distribute supplies and begin enrolling participants on the spot.
“This isn’t a press conference,” Zakir said. “It’s action.”
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