LOS ANGELES — Ardy Pirnia is pleased with the progress of renovations to an old motel that he’s helping to give new life… around the corner from MacArthur Park.
“It’s going to be a safe haven for almost 200 homeless women and children. They’re going to have three meals a day, full security, tutoring,” he said.
Pirnia goes by the nickname “Uncle Ardy” and runs a foundation with the same name.
He says the state and county paid for the project but came up about a million dollars short to complete it. That’s when his foundation was approached to help close that gap, and he partnered with various businesses to raise the money.
The new housing complex will be called The Uncle and will be run by Hope the Mission, formerly Hope of the Valley.
To help meet their goal, Pirnia also turned to his childhood friend Matthew Arce, a marketing consultant, to create a clothing line as a fundraiser.
It became known as the Save LA Campaign.
“Growing up in Los Angeles and being here all of our lives, it’s just been unfortunate to see the situation get out of control and become the tragedy and the crisis that it is today,” Arce said.
The pair worked with Hot Rod LA, a well-known streetwear company in town to sell hoodies and t-shirts with the Save LA logo.
He says this vintage sweatshirt is among the most popular and the clothing can be more effective than just giving money.
“People stop me all the time and ask, ‘Hey where did you get that?’ and then it just gives me that opportunity to tell them the story, hopefully get them onboard, and hopefully inspire them to do the same,” Arce said.
The clothing features a burning palm tree — a metaphor for LA’s struggles. Pirnia and Arce say a portion of proceeds will go to support the current housing project and future ones.
“If you just give it to the Salvation Army or you donate it to any organization, you actually can’t feel and touch your donation but in this case, Uncle Ardy is giving you a concrete, tangible location where you can come see what you donated,” Pirnia said.
Pirnia admits housing 200 people is a drop in the bucket for a county that has over 60,000 people experiencing homelessness, but it says it shows the power of bringing the private and public sectors together.
“The plan is we show people what we can do here and then we can do it a hundred more times,” Pirnia said. “It’s all about starting small and making a small movement toward a change.”
Change, they say, that’s crucial to saving the city they love.
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