West Hollywood-funded social-service agencies helped 9% more clients in 2016 than in the prior year. The mix of services and clients also shifted. That is according to a new analysis by WeHo by the Numbers based on city reports.
The city spends roughly $4.5 million a year on social services through contracts with nonprofit agencies. A total of 10,125 clients used those services in the year ending September 2016. (People who received different services may be counted more than once.)
One-third of clients used HIV/AIDS services. Another 18% of clients got services for seniors and the disabled, 15% used city-funded health and mental health services, and 11% got help with food. The remaining 20% of clients used homeless, youth, legal, employment and substance abuse services.
The mix of services delivered to clients changed between 2014 and 2016. The share of clients receiving HIV/AIDS services dropped from about half to a third. The number of clients using nutrition, homeless and youth services increased.
The share of clients over the age of 60 jumped from 30% in 2014 to 39% in 2016. That age group makes up a smaller part of the city’s population — 20% — according to estimates from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.
The share of clients who were female rose from less than 30% to at least 35% and probably higher. For comparison, the Census Bureau estimates 43% of the city’s population is female.
The number of transgender clients increased over the last three years. There were about 150 in 2014, roughly 180 in 2015, and over 230 in 2016.
To find out more, see the full analysis, How many clients use West Hollywood’s social services?
And yet, we still have lots of homeless all over the place, camping out.