Kobe & Vanessa Bryant Foundation give the assist to youth homeless center in LA

“I don’t want to get too cheesy and quote Spider-Man, but with great power comes great responsibility.” – Kobe Bryant

A year ago, Kobe Bryant launched the Kobe & Vanessa Bryant Family Foundation whose goal was to raise funds and awareness for the homeless youth in LA. A year later, My Friend’s Place, the safe haven in Hollywood that serves nearly half the homeless youth of Los Angeles, are the beneficiaries of a renovated facility courtesy of Bryant and wife Vanessa.

Los Angeles has a homeless population of approximately 70,000. The drop-in center, located in Hollywood, serves about 1,700 individuals annually between the ages of 12 and 25.

“It puts things into perspective,” Bryant said. “At the end of the day there’s only so many interviews you can do and stories you can write. You have to do something that carries more weight and has more significance and purpose to it.

“My career is winding down and at the end of it, I want to look back and said I had a successful career because I won so many championships and scored so many points. There’s something else you have to do with that.”