NEWS & NOTES

2009 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count  Tuesday, January 27, 2009                8 p.m. – 2 a.m.   Volunteers needed for a biennial census of homeless people in Santa Monica.   Volunteers will be trained prior to the Count.  Trainings will be held in mid-January at convenient times on a weekday evening and on a Saturday.  Dates TBD.   Bring your friends and colleagues!  Spread the word! Get involved!  Be part of the solution!    RSVP to:  dina.aubrey@smgov.net   Call (310) 458-8701 for more information     Update on Santa Monica’s Action Plan to Address Homelessness The Santa Monica City Council recently adopted a comprehensive Plan to Address Homelessness in Santa Monica, which outlines over fifty action steps in six project areas.   Housing the Most Vulnerable One of the major components of the Plan is the housing of Santa Monica’s 110 most vulnerable homeless individuals. Over a three-day period in January, 266 homeless individuals found sleeping on the streets in the early morning hours were interviewed, and 131 were identified as being “vulnerable” due to length of time on the streets, age, and physical and mental health conditions.  These 131 individuals are now on Santa Monica’s Chronic Homeless Project Service Registry and are receiving intensive services. By the end of June, 7 (5%) of the 131 were permanently housed and another 20 (15%) of the 131 were residing in temporary shelter.

LA County Funds Services for Santa Monica’s Most Vulnerable At the initiation of Third District Supervisor, Zev Yaroslavsky, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved funding of approximately $1.1 M over two years to OPCC and Step Up on Second for supportive services to help the most vulnerable and chronic homeless individuals on the City of Santa Monica’s Chronic Homeless Project Service Registry move into permanent supportive housing. Consistent with the City’s recently adopted ”Plan to Address Homelessness in Santa Monica”, both programs will offer targeted community-based and field-based services delivered by an interdisciplinary team with the goal of housing people as quickly as possible and keeping them housed. OPCC’s Safety Net project will serve 40 of the most vulnerable and chronic homeless individuals on the Service Registry. Step Up on Second’s Service Registry Project will target 30 of the most vulnerable chronic mentally ill on the list. Services will include ongoing case management, medical care, mental health care, substance abuse treatment, benefits establishment, life skills training, permanent housing placement and aftercare. People will be housed within and outside of Santa Monica.  Staff from the City of Santa Monica, Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky’s office, OPCC and Step Up on Second worked collaboratively to design the projects and secure the funding. The arrival of additional funding and resources will ensure that Santa Monica’s Service Registry individuals have access to the intensive services and housing vouchers they need.       Panhandling Education Campaign Update Many people are in a quandary as to how to respond when approached by an individual asking for spare change.  The tendency is to want to help someone who appears down on their luck, so many of us turn over our change or a few dollars, and move on.  But for a lot of folks, there’s still a nagging question – “Did I do the right thing?" A campaign to educate the public and encourage them to rethink giving directly to panhandlers, provide and publicize alternative giving mechanisms and increase awareness of Santa Monica’s existing services is well underway. Read about what’s been accomplished in phase 1 of the campaign and what’s planned for phase 2, as well as what other cities are doing on this issue, here (pdf). View a recent PowerPoint presentation here (pdf). Mary's Story:  Innovative Strategies End Long-Term Homelessness   Click here to learn how a local service provider and two City programs helped one woman get off the streets.

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