The skid row history museum and archive will create the multi-disciplinary project, "welcome to the vagabond hotel." the project will focus on the interpersonal and holistic pandemic response…

The Los Angeles Poverty Department (LAPD) received a $153,273 Project Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Museums for America (MFA) program on September 1, 2023. The grant will support LAPD's "Welcome to the Vagabond Hotel" project, which will focus on documenting the compassionate pandemic response efforts of Los Angeles County's health workers who operated emergency quarantine and isolation sites for unhoused COVID-19 patients and shelter residents. The project will produce theatrical performances, an exhibition, and transform the gallery into a replica of a quarantine and isolation site. The goal is to educate diverse audiences, including policymakers, journalists, scholars, and the general public, about effective holistic approaches to supporting vulnerable populations during public health emergencies.

The skid row history museum and archive will create the multi-disciplinary project, "welcome to the vagabond hotel." the project will focus on the interpersonal and holistic pandemic response developed on-the-fly by health workers who ran LOS angeles county health department's emergency quarantine and isolation sites created for houseless covid patients and people exposed to covid in shelters. The museum and a team of collaborators, including artists from skid row, will produce theatrical performances, an exhibition, and transform the gallery into a replica of a quarantine and isolation site. Skid row community members and housing advocates, as well as policy makers, journalists, scholars, and public audiences will benefit from knowledge gained about the ways compassionate practices can lead to better outcomes for individuals and society.