LOS ANGELES — Putting pen to paper, 32-year-old Brandon Joseph plots out how he’ll spend his money for the month, accounting for every expense, a practice that is new for him.

“Before I got into this position and taking this journey in life, it was never really a budget, it was always just go!,” he said.

Joseph, a Los Angeles native, is still getting used to solid footing. He was homeless for about 10 years, bouncing between California and other states until he found temporary housing in Torrance last June.

“I sacrificed my life to the streets. It was like, I’ve always bottled up everything I went through emotionally, physically or mentally, like I’ve always bottled it up,” he said. “Due to the program and being here, I’ve learned a lot.”

Joseph is in a transitional housing program called Holliday’s Helping Hands. The program was founded by Katina Holliday, a former nurse, who now helps transition Los Angeles County’s homeless population into productive members of society.

The organization has eight locations throughout the county. Services include teaching life skills such as budgeting, eating healthy, preparing for job interviews, doing laundry — skills sometimes overlooked in the scramble for housing.

“A lot of the males that end up homeless is because they lived with their wife, their girlfriend, they got put out. They don’t know how to readjust themselves or reacquaint themselves to get back into it,” she said. “That is what we are here for, to teach them those skills that they may not have learned in life.”

Holliday says it takes about a year for clients to find permanent housing and she currently houses 206 homeless individuals. However, before they settle into a new place, she also teaches them to be a “good neighbor,” which includes keeping their property clean and not loitering outside or disturbing others.

“Holliday’s Helping Hands has been in areas that they don’t want you there and so once they realize, 'You know what? They are good people. They don’t bother us. They are not criminals and thieves and thugs like they think that they are,' the neighborhood becomes so accepting and we become a whole community,” she said.

Joseph says during his time in transitional housing, he’s gained newfound confidence and landed a job in landscaping and maintenance.

He also recently received a Section 8 housing voucher and working to reunify with his 7-year-old son while applying for permanent housing in LA County.

“I’ve changed a lot in my life as my own self and as a man. It has helped me in a lot of tremendous ways,” he said.