Reaching Out to Help the Homeless

October 29, 2018 10:30 AM
by Brian Hardgrave

“Willy” was one of the very first people the C3 Team engaged in March. Willy has been homeless for over 3 years and has lived on the streets of Santa Monica since his mother was placed into a nursing facility. During that time, Willy has worked with C3 to get his ID, get connected to a primary care physician with Venice Family Clinic, and obtain public benefits. Willy has an interview for bridge housing and will soon be connected to a housing team.

---

This article originally appeared in the October edition of Seascape. 

Thanks to L.A. County voter-approved Measure H and significant investments by the City of Santa Monica, today there are more homeless outreach teams working in Santa Monica than ever before. For people who are living outside or in their cars, and in public spaces like the beach, parks and libraries, outreach teams are the important first connection to help people reestablish housing.

In the past two years, the City of Santa Monica launched two new teams with local nonprofit The People Concern and L.A. County Department of Health Services. The Homeless Multidisciplinary Street Team (HMST) takes traditional medical and behavioral health services out of the office and to the streets, serving a group of individuals identified by City officials as the highest utilizers of local emergency services. The C3 Team (City + County + Community) outreaches to homeless individuals in the Downtown Santa Monica area and adjacent parks. Recognizing that every person experiencing homelessness has a unique story, outreach teams specialize care plans for each individual and coordinate with regional partners to get people into housing.

To date, HMST has engaged 31 high utilizers, placing 25 into interim/bridge housing, and C3 has engaged 557 homeless individuals in Downtown Santa Monica.

Between these two new City-funded teams, 12 full-time staff members are out in the community and engaging people experiencing homelessness, referring people to resources and providing essential care, with the ultimate goal of connecting the homeless to safe, affordable housing.

Additional multidisciplinary teams funded through L.A. County Measure H and operated by local nonprofit St. Joseph Center are also at work in Santa Monica, engaging homeless individuals on the City’s streets and in public spaces. For more information on the collaborative local and regional efforts to address homelessness, including ways you can get involved, please visit wearesantamonica.gov and homeless.lacounty.gov.

Authored By

Brian Hardgrave
Senior Administrative Analyst