As the Founder and Executive Director of Project Ropa, I want to share the story behind our organization and how it came to be.

I founded Project Ropa in 2016, inspired in part by a beloved family member who has struggled for years with mental health challenges and chronic homelessness. Watching him navigate systems that often failed him—and seeing firsthand how he was denied access to services as well as employment and housing opportunities simply because of his physical appearance—was a turning point. It became clear to me that no one should be excluded from care or dignity because they lack clean clothing. That injustice became the heart of our mission.

Before starting Project Ropa, I volunteered with several local nonprofits supporting people experiencing homelessness and those transitioning into housing. During that time, I became acutely aware of a significant and often overlooked gap in services: many individuals were unable to access clean, high-quality clothing, shoes, and accessories that were appropriate for their size and style. While food and shelter are rightly classified as essential, clothing is not, even though it’s illegal to be in public without it. This contradiction leaves many people, particularly those experiencing homelessness, without access to a basic human need.

When I began speaking with other organizations across Los Angeles County, I heard the same story repeatedly. Most did not have the resources, staff, or physical space to handle the sorting, storing, and distribution of donated clothing. They struggled constantly to find clean, well-fitting clothing in the appropriate style and size to meet the diverse needs of their clients. Even when donations were available, they were often unusable due to poor condition or lack of organization, and the burden of managing them fell on already overstretched teams.

At the time, most clothing distribution was happening at brick-and-mortar nonprofits with limited hours, eligibility restrictions, and often limited or poor-quality selection. The dignity of the experience was often missing.

In late 2016, I came across an article about Lava Mae, a mobile shower service for unhoused individuals that had launched in San Francisco and was expanding to Los Angeles. It sparked an idea: what if clean clothing could be offered alongside a hot shower, restoring not just hygiene but a sense of humanity and self-worth? That was the beginning of Project Ropa’s Mobile Clothing Closet—a one-stop service to help people feel seen, respected, and cared for.

In our early days, I operated Project Ropa entirely as a volunteer, collecting high-quality surplus clothing and shoes from individuals, nonprofits, and corporate partners—including manufacturers—and delivering them out of my personal vehicle to service sites across the city. Clothing was neatly displayed on racks, and paired with mobile showers through our partnership with Lava Mae, people could walk away with clean skin and clean clothes, often the first step toward renewed confidence and opportunity.

In 2019, thanks to the generosity of a donor, we purchased and retrofitted our first van into a Mobile Walk-In Closet. In 2020, we hired our first employee. Since then, our team has grown steadily, supported by compassionate volunteers and donors who believe in our mission. We now operate three vans and a warehouse, serving thousands of people annually across Los Angeles County.

We’ve also expanded our impact by partnering with community-based organizations to distribute essential items to unhoused and low-income individuals and families in areas we don’t directly serve. Each partnership helps us extend our reach and deepen our connection to the communities that need us most.

Since our founding, we’ve witnessed thousands of transformative moments—people who’ve walked away not just with new clothes, but with a renewed sense of self, hope, and dignity. Something as simple as a clean outfit can change how someone is treated, how they feel, and what they believe is possible for themselves.

I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished, but I know our work is far from over. The challenges faced by unhoused and housing-insecure individuals continue to grow. At Project Ropa, we remain committed to expanding our reach, advocating for systemic change, and continuing to meet people where they are—with compassion, respect, and the resources they need to move forward.

I hope you’ll join us in our mission to restore dignity, one article of clothing at a time.

With gratitude,
Caitlin Adler
Founder & Executive Director
Project Ropa