LA county muni achieves homelessness functional zero, SJ lags further behind
Multiple CA cities (Bakersfield, Redondo Beach, etc.) have solved their homelessness crises. Not so in San Jose and Santa Clara County, as the homelessness crisis continues to worsen. Signal Hill is the first city in LA County to achieve a “functional zero homelessness,” and their leaders hope others will follow their model, as explained in the Signal Tribune.
Months of consistently focused outreach on the streets and partnerships across cities, counties and nonprofits has culminated in a remarkable feat. According to County and City officials, Signal Hill has housed every homeless resident the City could find with a private unit, three meals a day and supportive services aimed at permanent housing.
Despite having no homeless shelter within the city, Signal Hill used internal efforts to make this possible, such as taking the responsibility of homeless outreach from the police department and into multiple City departments.
The March 14 operation put 45 homeless Signal Hill residents and 15 Long Beach residents into interim housing units in the same Long Beach location, which could not be made public to protect the privacy and safety of the people.
Pathway Home is led by the LA County Homeless Initiative adopted by the Board of Supervisors in 2023. The program enacts a “full-circle solution” that focuses on bringing people off the streets and immediately into interim housing accompanied by supportive services, an individual space, case management, three meals a day and a pet-friendly environment. s.
Pathway Home partners with local jurisdictions to “eliminate barriers” that usually keep people from moving into interim housing and accepting other services. Pathway Home has provided interim housing for 488 people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles County, and has helped move 56 residents into permanent housing.
“Signal Hill is the only [city] who’s done anything and I’ve been homeless, on the streets day and night since 2016,” said Kelly Wilson, one of the residents who was rehoused with her dog Monkey on March 14. “Not everyone out here is a drug addict, not everyone out here has mental health issues.’
Councilmember Keir Jones asked what the “secret sauce” was that contributed to the success of the program, since all the services provided have been available for years. Chavez responded it was “excellent teamwork, collaboration and the relationships that have been built over the last few years … [as well as] all the boots on the ground from all the service providers.”
Read the whole thing here.
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