History
Founded in 1931 in the midst of the Great Depression, the legacy of today's JVS SoCal began with a single desk in a Bunker Hill office in downtown Los Angeles, serving job seekers who were struggling to survive amid overt workplace discrimination. Eight decades later, the agency is a recognized regional leader in the field of workforce development, offering a broad range of innovative programs to 50,000 individuals each year and advocating on issues of public policy that impact the people we serve. In 2017, an intensive strategic planning process involving board and staff members as well as donors and volunteers, resulted in a 5-year plan to guide the organization into the future. An agency-wide rebranding campaign was one of the results, including an updated, name, and new mission, vision and values statements. The organization officially became JVS SoCal on January 1, 2018.