On Wednesday, June 5th, ACOF hosted its 2024 Awards Celebration at VALENTINE DTLA, hosted by Actress Devin Sidell with music by DJ Tyler Boudreaux. This year, we had three honorees: Veteran and Celebrity Chef Andre Rush, honored with our Advocacy Award, ACOF Tenant & Community Volunteer Robert Jones, recognized with the Achievement Award, and journalist Anna Scott, who received our inaugural Media Award.
Chef Andre Rush, a decorated U.S. Army combat veteran, has served four Presidents as a White House chef and is a passionate advocate for mental health, focusing on veterans and children. Known for his impressive 24-inch biceps, Chef Rush uses his public profile to support veterans and their families living with PTSD. He was working at the Pentagon on 9/11, which led to his PTSD diagnosis, and he has since deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, trained over 10,000 troops in the culinary arts, and served as a combat trainer to over 1000 service members and civilians in hand-to-hand combat.
ACOF Tenant, Robert Jones moved to Los Angeles decades ago to start a new life away from the drugs, violence, and alcohol he grew up with. After years of living on and off the streets and in and out of prison, he achieved stability eleven years ago when he moved into 39West Apartments. Over the past 16 years, he has volunteered at his church and served as a recovery group leader for Celebrate Recovery. Through his resilience and perseverance, Robert reconnected with a daughter he had not seen for 31 years and found part-time work.
Journalist Anna Scott, known for her extensive reporting on housing and homelessness in LA, spent 12 years at the Santa Monica public radio station KCRW. She created and hosted the podcasts City of Tents: Veterans Row and Samaritans, and reported and co-hosted the podcast There Goes the Neighborhood: Los Angeles. Scott has also reported extensively on LA’s homelessness crisis for NPR.
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