Community Highlights: Meet Angelica Brightmon of The RIS Foundation

Today we’d like to introduce you to Angelica Brightmon.

Hi Angelica, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.

My story starts with trying to build a better life for myself and my daughter, Rose. During my pregnancy and after Rose was born, I lived in poverty, at times without working plumbing, electricity, or heat. We lived near San Pedro Street and 83rd Street in South Los Angeles. I will never forget trying to care for my daughter while struggling to meet our most basic needs.

In July 2020, I left an abusive relationship and decided to go back to school. On January 3, 2021, I began my first class at Los Angeles City College. I was still figuring out how to move forward in my own life, but I knew I wanted to help people going through some of the same things I had been through. So in May of that year, I started The RIS Foundation.

Around the same time, I started training myself for what was ahead. I set my alarm a little earlier, then earlier again, until waking up before dawn became normal. I was nowhere near where I am now, but I knew I would get here, and I wanted to be ready when I did.

Education has been the biggest part of my journey. While working toward my Associate Degree in Business in 2021, I also earned a certificate in Grant Writing and Administration from California State University, Dominguez Hills, and a certification in Mental Health First Aid. In 2022, I earned my Associate of Arts in Business and my Associate of Arts in Liberal Arts from Los Angeles City College and went on to California State University, Los Angeles, to pursue my Bachelor’s Degree in Rehabilitation Services.

While earning my Bachelor’s Degree, I kept building RIS. At the same time, I returned to Los Angeles City College to study real estate with the goal of getting my license, and I took health administration courses at other community colleges. I was learning everything I needed to build and run an organization.

By my last semester at Cal State LA, I had opened our first location. That experience made it clear to me that health administration was where I was meant to be, so I applied to UCLA’s Master of Health Administration program to better understand how to sustain and grow our services.

Today, I’m in my final quarter at UCLA. This month, I’m also preparing to take my Adult Residential Facility administrator certification exam, and I plan to take my real estate licensing exam in December.

RIS has grown from a five-room location to a 28-bed, 27-bathroom facility. We are scheduled to open a 30-bed, 30-bathroom site by the end of October, and my other company, Brightmon Housing LLC, is opening a 12-bed home by November 1.

My ultimate goal is to open a hospital and build a healthcare organization with the reach of systems like Kaiser Permanente and UCLA Health. I want to expand across California and help people who have faced the same struggles I have. I’m proud of how far we’ve come, and I have a much bigger vision for what we can build.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?

It has definitely not been a smooth road. One of the biggest challenges has been balancing motherhood, my education, and the responsibility of running an organization, all while trying to move out of poverty. While I was earning my degrees, I was also learning how to operate housing programs and build relationships with health plans. There was a lot I had to learn as I went, so I took additional classes and taught myself medical billing to keep our services going.

As RIS has grown, the challenges have changed. Finding housing for people, navigating authorizations and payments, and making sure we can consistently meet our clients’ needs takes a lot of work. There are people depending on us, and I take that responsibility seriously.

Now, I wake up at 3 a.m., seven days a week, and some nights I only get four hours of sleep. I’ve cried in the shower more times than I can count. Honestly, I feel like quitting every day because it’s so hard, and some days I’ve asked myself, “Why am I doing this?” Making payroll, never having enough hours in the day, studying for a final while knowing I have a life-changing meeting ten minutes after it ends: that kind of pressure is still a burden, and it’s stressful. But even when I’m not ready, I have to be ready.

Being determined doesn’t mean I don’t get overwhelmed or tired. But I know why I started, and I know what it feels like to be the person who needs help. That keeps me committed to finding solutions and continuing to build.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about The RIS Foundation?

The RIS Foundation is a nonprofit organization with a mission of “Housing, Healing, Helping.” We specialize in recuperative care and short-term post-hospitalization housing for people experiencing homelessness who need a safe place to recover after leaving the hospital. We contract with Kaiser Permanente and Molina Healthcare, subcontract with Pear Suite, and help connect people to ongoing healthcare, mental health services, and housing support.

Our services include meals, transportation, medication oversight, case management, and community health worker support. We help people get to their appointments, navigate services, and work toward stable housing. Having somewhere to recover is essential, but so is having consistent support with everything that comes afterward.

What sets us apart is the personal understanding behind the work. Our team includes people with lived experience, myself included. That matters because people deserve to feel understood and respected when they ask for help. Our community health workers attend appointments with clients, and we help connect residents to medical care, mental health treatment, and substance use counseling.

What I’m most proud of is seeing the mission become real in someone’s life. We have helped clients move into permanent housing, and five of our program graduates have become employed as community health workers. Seeing someone who once needed support become the person helping others means a lot to me.

As we grow, I want the personal understanding behind our work to remain part of every location and every service we provide. Our goal is to give people a stable place to recover, practical help, and the opportunity to decide what comes next for their lives.

Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?

I want people to know that it’s possible, even when it’s hard. I didn’t choose every circumstance I found myself in, but I learned how to play the cards I was dealt. That took time, and I’m still learning.

I know how hard it is to think about your future when you’re worried about getting through the day. I’ve been there. You don’t have to have everything figured out to take a step forward, and needing help along the way doesn’t take away from what you accomplish.

Rose is a big part of why I keep going. I want her to see that where we started does not have to determine where we end up. That’s what I want for the people we serve, too: the support and opportunity to build a life beyond their current circumstances.

Contact Info:

• Website: HTTP://risfoundation.org
• Instagram: @risfoundation , @angelicabrightmon
• LinkedIn: Angelicabrightmon