K.A.U.S.E. Nonprofit Fills Critical Gaps For Families in South Los Angeles 

Los Angeles, CA—K.A.U.S.E., is a fast-response nonprofit organization addressing urgent family needs across Los Angeles, founded by community advocate Yana Shmuliver, a minority woman whose lived experiences with homelessness and survival shaped the organization’s mission and approach.

Shmuliver said her motivation to create K.A.U.S.E. stems from experiencing homelessness in the early 1990s, a period when supportive services were far more limited than they are today. While pregnant, she navigated extreme instability, mental trauma and a lack of social safety nets, experiences that later informed her belief that families cannot wait for slow or inaccessible systems to respond in moments of crisis.

After years of philanthropic and grassroots community work, she launched K.A.U.S.E.—short for Karing Advocates United for Social Equality—to provide immediate, practical support to families in need. K.A.U.S.E. was developed in 2017 as Shmuliver observed ongoing struggles for basic necessities in communities of color, particularly in South Los Angeles and South Central. The organization was created out of urgency, responding to gaps in city and institutional services for families facing poverty, housing insecurity and domestic instability.

The nonprofit now provides a wide range of social and supportive services for men, women and children throughout the Greater Los Angeles Area. Its largest initiative is a monthly baby essentials and diaper program serving more than 2,200 families, offering diapers, baby supplies and parenting support. The organization also distributes monthly groceries, annual homeless survival kits, school supplies, children’s books and computer literacy resources.

Additional services include access to a mobile medical clinic, mental health resources, domestic violence support, community support groups, art therapy and personal development programming. K.A.U.S.E. also assists individuals with DMV identification vouchers, court-approved community service placements and nonprofit consulting for start-up organizations.

Based in Ladera Heights, near South Los Angeles, Inglewood and Culver City public housing communities, K.A.U.S.E. focuses on reaching underserved and often overlooked populations. The organization uses consistent social media outreach and partnerships with resources such as 211, the California Highway Patrol and other community networks to ensure families are aware of and can access free services.

“Our numbers tell the story,” Shmuliver said. “Families need consistent support, not one-time help, and there is no other program serving children at this volume every month in these communities.”

K.A.U.S.E. operates without state or federal funding and relies on private community donors and small- to mid-sized business sponsors. Shmuliver said the nonprofit is 100% volunteer-backed, with no executive salaries or bonuses, a model she believes ensures donations are used directly for programs and people.

The organization’s long-term vision centers on sustainability, dignity and immediate access to resources, reflecting its founder’s belief that lived experience, accountability and community trust are essential to effective social services in Los Angeles.

“Every single dollar goes exactly where it should—back into the community,” she said. “When you elevate your community, you create opportunities for people to thrive.”

Learn More: https://www.kause-la.org