Each year, West Hollywood spends millions to pay for the huge range of human services it offers, such as addiction treatment and assistance finding permanent housing, but mid-year reports reveal how surprisingly few people reap the rewards of WeHo’s robust programs.
The city is spending at least $109,220 on pre-school services for local kids. Only 18 children have received them.
$329,834 is earmarked for homeless outreach services. Only 82 people have gotten direct assistance.
$155,580 on “employment services” landed jobs for just 16 people.
$62,710 on “disability resources” paid for home improvements for only five disabled people.
$122,979 on HIV support services provided medical updates to only 33 people.
In case after case, the big money that West Hollywood budgets for social services trickled down to benefit only isolated handfuls of people — a dozen here, two dozen there.
Many of the 30+ individual agencies contracted to provide those services — Pathways, Ascencia, JVS SoCal, Disability Community Resource Center and Being Alive, in the above examples — are consistently struggling to attract and keep people in their programs, often failing to reach even the modest goals they set for themselves, according to their own reports.
The heavy rains this past spring were cited several times by various agencies as a reason for low numbers. Others said being understaffed was the problem. And many agencies, particularly those that deal with the homeless, blamed a general disinterest in what they had to offer as the root of their unimpressive figures.
The Human Services Commission is set to review the data compiled by City Hall at their meeting this week. The city’s report shines some new light on the vast, often arcane world of contracted agencies and their highly lucrative relationships with city government.
SHORTCOMINGS
The following tables provide an overview of various agencies and the services they provided, along with their achievements in relation to their goals.
| Organization | Service | Performance | Percentage of Goal Achieved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alliance for Housing and Healing | Housing and Health Case Management | 7 new clients | 29% |
| APLA Health & Wellness | Benefits Counseling | 54 new persons | 38% |
| APLA Health & Wellness | Group Counseling | 14 new persons | 33% |
| Awakening Recovery | Long-Term Peer/12 Step-Based Recovery | 2 new residents | 17% |
| Awakening Recovery | Recovery Home Process Days | 123 days | 11% |
| Being Alive | Medical Education Updates | 33 persons | 38% |
| Being Alive | Support Groups | 98 community members | 31% |
| Being Alive | Social/Recreational Activities | 101 people | 34% |
| Disability Community Resource Center | Home Modification Needs Assessments | 1 member | 13% |
| Healthcare in Action | Stakeholder Calls | 150 triaged calls | 10% |
| Healthcare in Action | Ongoing Care Enrollment | 50 new unhoused community members | 33% |
| Healthcare in Action | Patient Interactions | 661 interactions | 22% |
| Healthcare in Action | Coordinated Entry System Enrollment | 31 patients | 26% |
| Healthcare in Action | Transitional or Permanent Housing | 6 patients | 13% |
| Healthcare in Action | Urgent Medication Administration | 8 patients | 20% |
| Los Angeles LGBT Center (Mental Health Services) | STOP Violence Program | 10 new clients | 17% |
| Los Angeles LGBT Center (Mental Health Services) | Emergency Housing | 1 client | 8% |
| Los Angeles LGBT Center (WeHo Life Program) | Condom Distribution | 91,698 condoms | 37% |
| Los Angeles LGBT Center (WeHo Life Program) | Community Engagement Events | 5 events | 28% |
| Los Angeles LGBT Center (Youth Services) | Intake and Assessment Services | 57 new youth | 34% |
| Los Angeles LGBT Center (Youth Services) | Vocational Training | 4 clients | 25% |
| Los Angeles LGBT Center (Youth Services) | Job Placement | 4 clients | 18% |
| Men’s Health Foundation | Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) | 9 new patients | 38% |
| Step Up on Second | Intake | 10 new clients | 21% |
SUCCESS STORIES
| Organization | Service | Performance | Percentage of Goal Achieved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alliance for Housing and Healing | Direct Financial Assistance | 43 new persons | 108% |
| APLA Health & Wellness | Psycho-educational Groups for Older Adults | 36 new persons | 240% |
| Ascencia | Housing Retention Services | 24 new people | 100% |
| Being Alive | Wellness Center Sessions | 209 sessions | 105% |
| Being Alive | Syringe Services Program Participants | 77 new participants | 321% |
| Being Alive | Syringe Services Program Narcan Doses | 138 doses | 101% |
| Bet Tzedek Legal Services – Eviction Defense | Casework Hours | 2,572.6 hours | 120% |
| Housing Works | Case Management (LACDA) | 33 new participants | 165% |
| Housing Works | Case Management (HACLA) | 12 new participants | 200% |
| Jewish Family Service’s Senior Nutrition Program | Congregate Meals | 11,808 meals | 184% |
| Los Angeles LGBT Center (Legal Advocacy Project) | Immigration Relief for Refugees and Asylum Seekers | 6 new community members | 150% |
| Los Angeles LGBT Center (Mental Health Services) | Individual Counseling | 159 new community members | 106% |
| Los Angeles LGBT Center (Senior Services) | Housing Retention Services | 16 new clients | 123% |
| Los Angeles LGBT Center (WeHo Life Program) | GHB Test Kits | 14,000 kits | 140% |
| Maple Counseling Center | Counseling | 91 new people | 120% |
| Men’s Health Foundation | Intake | 913 new patients | 127% |
| Pathways | Preschool Services | 19 children | 119% |
| Pathways | Developmental Screenings | 20 screenings | 125% |
| Step Up on Second | Psychotherapy Sessions | 249 sessions | 113% |
| The Translatin@ Coalition | Outreach and Engagement Contacts | 229 contacts | 115% |
| The West Hollywood Recovery Center | 12-Step Addiction Recovery Meetings | 1,896 meetings | 158% |
THE BUDGETS
The following chart is a partial list of contracted agencies and what was budgeted for them in Fiscal Year 21-22.
| Organization | Amount |
|---|---|
| Alliance for Housing and Healing | $207,515 |
| APLA Health & Wellness | $258,211 |
| Ascencia | $329,834 |
| Awakening Recovery, Inc. | Fee for service; access to $25,000 treatment pool of funds |
| Being Alive | $122,979 |
| Bet Tzedek Legal Services | $147,898 |
| Disability Community Resource Center | $62,710 |
| Friends Research Institute, Inc. | $308,244 |
| Housing Works | $133,814 |
| Jewish Family Service (JFS) | |
| – JFS West Hollywood Comprehensive Services Center | $1,034,628 |
| – JFS Nutrition Program | $432,044 |
| – JFS SOVA Community Food & Resource Program | $101,755 |
| JVS So-Cal WeHo Works Program | $155,580 |
| Los Angeles LGBT Center | |
| – Mental Health Services | $162,021 |
| – Senior Services | $70,924 |
| – Sexual Health Program | $241,250 |
| – Transgender Economic Empowerment Program | $104,230 |
| – WeHo Life | $49,595 |
| – Youth Services | $142,370 |
| McIntyre House | $80,232 |
| Men’s Health Foundation | $85,154 |
| National Council of Jewish Women | $96,011 |
| Pathways | $109,220 |
| PAWS/LA | $45,000 |
| Planned Parenthood | $87,692 |
| Project Angel Food | $90,729 |
| Saban Community Clinic | $203,629 |
| Episcopal Diocese of LA (Seeds of Hope) | $62,000 |
| Step Up on Second | $376,834 |
| Tarzana Treatment Centers, Inc. | $91,634 and fee for service access to $25,000 treatment pool of funds |
| Transcanwork | $53,543 |
| Translatin@ Coalition | $77,696 |
[…] walks off with $12,393 for pre-school services (which few kids are receiving […]
We need to
Legalize prostitution
Everyone’s doing
People are too lazy to phone up these places for help
They would rather just have sex and get paid for it it’s much easier
I’m very glad to live in a city who tries to take care of the most vulnerable residents.
I’m also grateful to live in a city that was FOUNDED on renter’s rights and rent control.
Not sure why any queen would live here willingly if they had a problem with that. So bizarre.
If you had your way, the future of Weho would be like downtown San Francisco and Portland are today. Filled with drug crazed zombies, empty storefronts, and too dangerous to walk around. Don’t think it can’t happen here. It’s so easy to have faux compassion, isn’t it. Your utopian model of giving everything away, punishing those who invested, rewarding failure is not sustainable over time. I’m so glad I’m not you.
Well done on this article, Brandon. Hat tip from me. Is it any wonder we are very close to having a Fascist President of the United States. No wonder most of America blames us, sometimes rightly, for lots of their problems. Every single one of these “programs” is a total waste of money. The only thing I would do is make sure people don’t go hungry, (as long as they are fed free quality food no less than a free 2 hour plus bus ride from any city). And remember, we already have Fascists on our City Council, who don’t… Read more »
Not surprised.
Maybe the city should promote these services more to let them know they are available, as I’m sure most people are probably not aware they exist?
Nepotism, Marxism, Progress!™️, anarcho-tyranny.
That’s the chimera that is WeHo city government, and most of urban California as well.
I don’t think most people even knew about the serious mismanagement of the city’s coffers & the waste that the taxpayers have to foot the bill for. ($280 million for that We Ho Park is far, far beyond the pale.) I doubt that the city council (or anyone else) monitors expenditures like these & accounts for them or seeks to make adjustments on the designated amounts where they feel it’s necessary. I don’t expect the CC to understand figures like the cost of the park, or even have them explained to them by those who do. Not many people are… Read more »
I agree with you here & might I add definitely about Arevalo & Jenkins. They both were classy & well mannered & really quite polished gentlemen. Yes they were & I’m sure they still are!
We need to consider a guaranteed minimum income for the lowest 2 or 3% of WeHo’s population, people we know struggle to pay for rent and the necessities of life rather than a scatter shot approach that hits all of the politically correct categories but does not reflect an effective use of resources. I know our Human Services commission works really hard to make sure we get as much bang for our social services buck as possible, but maybe we need to take a few steps back and try to focus on the larger picture. Paying $500 or $600 a… Read more »
Hey, keep the communism to Venezuela.
Do you think the ritzy Dallas suburb of Southlake, median household income about $240,000 per year, should also have a guaranteed minimum income for their lowest 2 or 3%? Maybe people in downtown Dallas want to live in Southlake, but they “struggle” to pay Southlake’s required rent, so they also need to be helped out by the successful people, so they can bring in people who can’t really afford to live there. In other words, why is Weho so special, that we have some desire, some need, to have people here who can’t afford to live here? I know it’s… Read more »
You mean the “fringes” who founded West Hollywood?
Your whole example of some random place in Texas is moot. The voters/residents of West Hollywood want it this way. Otherwise, there would be a city council that eliminated rent control. Hope this helps!
What’s stopping you from moving to Southlake? I can recommend some moving companies 🙂
Weho is special because the real guaranteed income is going the the non profits and their employees. The people that can’t afford to live here are used for tax credits, trust funds or disability incomes. It’s hard to get paid for looking after a disabled relative if they don’t live here.
Hell yea!!!! Like the state’s tax on millionaires, West Hollywood should incorporate a thousandaire tax on those making say $50,000? Buffoon speak.
I wonder if the writer considered that when you are dealing with numbers related to humans the fact that they are humans should not be discounted. When you’re referencing human services people who have signed up NEED & WANT the help. Now is not the time to target critical programs because they aren’t popular, or you cannot feel better about yourself because you have more need than you have program. So you can boast No! Away with that logic. Keep things as they are.
the writer gets his facts from the report that is compiled by the city staff for next weeks discussions at human services. Your point is better made in the public comment space at the Human Services Commission meeting tuesday June 13th, 6:00 pm at Plummer Park rooms 5 and 6.
And I wish people would join us, including you Larry as well as Brandon to see how we disect each providers scope of service in comparison to the amount of clients served. Although Brandon’s article, a simple copy and paste, put out numbers, it does not explain the hundreds of hours Commissioners spend studying these services snd the thousands of hours staff spends auditing them. We also reclaim dollars for certain services most years. It would be so nice if Brandon made it to our meetings rather than put out a cut and paste article. Larry, you of course are… Read more »
Would you please reexamine your figures and consider correcting those regarding Alliance for Housing & Healing.
Fantastic piece of really important information! Great job and thank you, Brandon!