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HUMAN SERVICES DIVISION - CITY HALL, 1685 MAIN STREET ROOM 212, SANTA MONICA CA 90401 (310) 458-8701 /TTY (310) 458-8696

HOMELESSNESS

OUR COMMUNITY IN ACTION

About Homelessness In

Santa Monica

 

The Community Responds: Action Plan & Initiatives

 

What Services Are Available?

 

How Can I Get Involved?

 

Frequently Asked Questions

 

How We Collect Data: HMIS

 

Learn More: Links & Resources

 

 

Click on the logo above to sign up for our  e-newsletter Bringing it Home

 

Click on the logo above to submit a question or concern

 

HUMAN SERVICES DIVISION HOME

 

The City of Santa Monica recognizes that homelessness is a complex and troubling issue.

 

Our vision is to transform Santa Monica to a place where our effective action and compassion end the impact of homelessness on our community.  Learn more:

 

About Homelessness in Santa Monica

The Community Responds: Action Plan & Initiatives

How Can I Get Involved?

Frequently Asked Questions

How We Collect Data

Links and Resources

 

Vulnerability Index Skid Row, Los Angeles

In December 2007, Common Ground worked with LA City and LA County to create a by-name list (registry) of the people sleeping on the streets of Skid Row who were at the greatest risk of dying through the use of our Vulnerability Index Survey.

As a result over 50 people were housed!

Click here to visit the project's Facebook group.

Click here to visit the webpage of LA County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky and learn more.
 

The Costs of Homelessness

People who are homeless often use a variety of costly public systems. National data illustrates the ways in which homelessness can be costly.

Click here to learn more.
 

Year-End Wrap-Up: By the Numbers

• 30% reduction in homeless-related calls to Paramedics (2006 to 2008)
• 8% reduction in homelessness (2007 to 2009)
• Drop of 13% in residents’ perception of the seriousness of homelessness in Santa Monica (2007 to 2009)
• 15 presentations, conversations and learning opportunities with faith, neighborhood, civic, student, academic and hospitality groups (FY08-09)
• 4 City Departments/Divisions (Rent Control, Police, Fire and Facilities staff) trained to respond to the needs of homeless individuals (FY08-09)

 

Service Registry Update

Elizabeth, a 68 year-old woman who was homeless in Santa Monica for over 10 years, is one of the people on the Service Registry. Last winter Elizabeth was surveyed and found to be vulnerable and likely to die on our streets unless she was housed. Six months ago, OPCC Daybreak staff helped Elizabeth move into her own apartment in Santa Monica. Today she’s living on her own, part of a micro-enterprise art project, is an active member of a senior center and stays connected to the strong Daybreak community.   

Nationally, identifying people who are vulnerable, using intensive interdisciplinary teams and doing “whatever it takes” to get people into housing is considered a best practice. Since 2004 when the Chronic Homeless Project launched, the City of Santa Monica and partners have been using this model and other approaches to help people exit homelessness.

Additional vulnerable homeless individuals have been added to the Service Registry, bringing the total number of people on the Registry to 391. The new individuals were identified by service providers, the Santa Monica Police Department and the Santa Monica Fire Department as having been homeless for long periods of time and frequent users of local resources. Click here for their outcomes.

Reducing Homelessness: Innovations and Results
Report to the Santa Monica City Council
April 14, 2009

Innovations, collaborations and the dedication of an interdisciplinary team have lead to dramatic results.
Click here to download a copy of the presentation.

Updated Action Plan to Address Homelessness Approved

In March 2009 the Santa Monica City Council approved an update to the Action Plan to Address Homelessness in Santa Monica. Click here to download the plan.

Results from the 2009 Santa Monica Homeless Count

This year, the City of Santa Monica worked in conjunction with the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) during LAHSA’s region-wide homeless count. The City amped-up local efforts, organizing more than 250 community volunteers to cover every block within the City’s borders.

Santa Monica’s new, more rigorous methodology has resulted in the most accurate count findings ever, reflecting the City’s commitment to the issue of homelessness. The data will serve as benchmark from which further reductions in street homelessness will be tracked and the success of local efforts to end homelessness evaluated. The same methodology will be used in future counts.  

The 2009 Santa Monica Homeless Count showed a reduction in the number of homeless individuals living in Santa Monica.  

·         The overall homeless population shrunk 8% from 2007.

·         The point-in-time homeless count is 915; point-in-time street homeless population is 480.

·         Of a total shelter population of 435 in 2009, nearly 75% were individuals, while 25% were families. No homeless families were found on the streets.

On January 27, 2009, 260 community volunteers were divided into 70 small teams, each of which was assigned a specific territory. Together, volunteers covered every street and alley in Santa Monica, a total of 226 linear miles.

Volunteers were instructed to tally every homeless individual they encountered as well as every car, RV, tent or box that someone appeared to be living in. Homeless individuals in shelters, jails, motels, and hospitals were simultaneously counted by LAHSA.

Improvements in Methodology between 2007 and 2009:

·         The 2009 Count has produced city-wide data from all of the city’s 19 census tracts. No multipliers or projections were used.

·         In 2007 only 12 census tracts were counted; projections were used for the remaining 7 tracts. Multipliers were used to determine the number of people in vehicles and tents and boxes.  Projections from a county-wide telephone survey were also applied.

·         If this year’s methodology had been applied in 2007, the 2007 total of 1,506 would have been 999 individuals.

Click here for the presentation and map.

 

 

This page was last modified on 11/05/2009

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