Homelessness in Santa Monica: An Update
August 7, 2018 10:51 AM
by Alisa Orduna
Here in Santa Monica, we saw a 4% increase in homelessness in 2018, which shows a significant decline in growth from last year’s 26% increase. We are confident that we will continue to see a difference, especially with the launching of the Council’s approval of a one-time investment of $1.4M.
Alisa Orduña, the Senior Advisor on Homelessness, is focusing the City’s efforts on three priority areas for collective impact:
Preventing Housed Seniors From Falling Into Homelessness
Countywide, the number of persons experiencing homelessness aged 62 and older increased by 22% in 2018. This is why the Housing Department’s Preserving Our Diversity (POD) program is so critical. This program provides supplemental funding so housed seniors do not have to make life-threatening choices between rent and food or healthcare. Seniors not enrolled in the POD pilot can access eviction prevention programs sponsored by the County and funded through Measure H, by calling The People Concern at 213.488.9559 or St. Joseph’s Center at 310.399.6878.
Coordinating Care For Unsheltered Residents Living With Mental Illness And Substance Abuse
The new City-funded multidisciplinary team launched in March and has engaged over 500 persons experiencing homelessness. This five-member team includes a nurse, licensed clinician, substance abuse specialist, housing navigator, and person with lived experience. While our Homeless Multidisciplinary Street Team is people-focused and case-manages our top 25 most vulnerable residents, this new team is geographic-focused. It serves the Downtown community and Reed Park five days a week, engaging persons experiencing homelessness and connecting them to social and housing services.
Building Regional Capacity
Santa Monica cannot solve homelessness alone. We must act with our regional cities such as Culver City, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Malibu, and Los Angeles around a coordinated strategy. This is why the City supports Mayor Eric Garcetti’s “A Bridge Home Program” to help move an additional 1,800 people off the streets into interim housing and on a pathway to permanent housing, relieving pressure on surrounding cities such as Santa Monica. The City also supports the County’s “Everyone In” campaign, asking neighbors to say yes to housing and services in their communities. In addition, the City strongly advocated for its state delegation to support Governor Brown’s budget proposal, which includes the allocation of $700 million in state general fund spending to local governments as emergency aid for homelessness housing and services. Approximately $81 million will be allocated to the Los Angeles Continuum of Care, to which Santa Monica belongs.
The Big Picture
The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) revealed its 2018 Homeless Count Results in early June. For the first time in four years, homelessness countywide has decreased. The County experienced a 3% drop and L.A. City saw a 5% decrease. These results reveal that targeted investment and a coordinated regional strategy are impactful and make a difference!
In the first 6 months (July - December 2017) Measure H delivered these results:
Interim Housing: 12,248 people were sheltered / served in interim housing
Permanent Housing: 8,220 people were permanently housed
Homelessness Prevention: 5,870 people in families were prevented from becoming homeless
Measure H Goal: House 45,000 people in 5 years (all populations)
For more information, visit LA County's Homeless Impact Dashboard.
This article was originally published in the August edition of Seascape.
Authored By
Alisa Orduna
Senior Advisor to the City Manager on Homelessness