HUMAN SERVICES DIVISION

While the services funded, in part, by the City, have successfully served 5,000 unduplicated adults over the past 5 years (placing 1,365 in permanent housing and 1,459 in transitional housing), there remains a subset of the homeless population which has very special needs. These individuals are the most vulnerable segment of the homeless population in that they are gravely disabled and/or chronically homeless. For this population, the traditional Continuum of Care has not been as effective as it has been for others. The City has worked hard to come up with some innovative approaches to meet their needs and link them to services and ultimately housing. Learn more about these approaches here.

The second reason is quite simply inflow. While our continuum works hard to move people off the streets, our capacity to do so in a region with approximately 73,700 homeless people is impossible. Until homelessness is addressed throughout the region, there will be homeless people on the streets of Santa Monica.

Santa Monica is a small community perched on the edge of the largest homeless population in the country. Over 73,700 people are homeless in Los Angeles County on any given night; almost a quarter of a million people are homeless in the County annually. Only about 20% of all of the homeless people directly counted during the January 2007 Homeless Count were in sheltered locations (in emergency shelters, transitional programs, or other programs). The rest were unsheltered. The Homeless Count showed that Santa Monica is heavily impacted, along with Skid Row and Venice, but that doesn’t mean we should do less. Others should do more. The City’s position is that homelessness is a regional issue. Santa Monica is doing its part but all of the jurisdictions in the County must do their “fair share”. We cannot solve homelessness alone.

Some people may come to Santa Monica because this is the place where the services they need are available. They can find safe shelter and connect to a case manager in order to begin the process of transitioning to self-sufficiency. In all likelihood, though, these aren’t the people you continue to see on the streets or in the parks year after year. If people are coming for case management, they are working within our continuum in order to move off the streets.

Homeless people choose to come to Santa Monica for the same reasons people from all over the world come here: Santa Monica is a relatively safe community with beautiful open spaces and year-round access to the ocean; the City is small and easy to navigate; the climate allows for outdoor living. But some of Santa Monica’s most desirable characteristics may enable people to remain on the streets: the local parks offer places for people to congregate and space for food distribution; a large tourist population means that panhandlers have a constant stream of people to appeal to; because this is a beach community, there are public restrooms and showers; and unlike many beach communities, we have open spaces (like parks and beaches) right near our commercial neighborhoods. These are often the “services” that attract homeless people to this community.

The City recognizes that the qualities that are our greatest assets for tourism and the infrastructure provided for residents and tourists make us attractive for homeless people. We are actively addressing a number of strategies to provide alternatives that are linked to services.

The City has banned camping in public spaces, enacted prohibitions on soliciting money, outlawed sitting or lying in specific doorways at night, required permits for certain public feedings and has posted rules for public restrooms and other public facilities.
OPCC, a City grantee, operates SHWASHLOCK, which stands for Showers, Washers and Lockers to alleviate some of the burden on public restrooms and link people with case management.
City staff, including the City Manager, are working with the local volunteer meal providers to move the outdoor meal programs from the parks to indoor locations where there is a link to case management services. Currently, two meal providers, Hand to Hand and H.O.P.E. have moved their food distribution activities indoors. As planned, community outreach teams and social service providers have been available whenever the food programs are operating. Additional sidewalk cleanings have enhanced the appearance of the immediate neighborhood and SMPD has continued its increased patrols in the vicinity to address concerns for safety and security.

The City’s goal is to engage people in services, assist them to become stable, move them off the streets and parks into appropriate housing and help them maintain their housing.