How social justice dictates spending in WeHo

Two years ago, West Hollywood’s Social Justice Task Force made sweeping recommendations to City Council on how to promote equity and address systemic racism in city government — and the Human Services Division has been hard at work implementing their directives.

The division presented a report of their progress to the task force (now an advisory board) on Tuesday. 

Their chief success story is the yet-to-be-completed Holloway Interim Housing Program, which will provide interim housing for about 20 chronically homeless people. The city received a $6,007,661 grant from the State of California’s Project Homekey Program to purchase the Holloway Motel and convert it to an interim housing facility with comprehensive supportive services. Funding from this State program covers a portion of capital expenditures and a share of operating expenses once the project launches. Recognizing that Project Homekey funding would not cover 100% of capital and operations expenditures for this project, in October 2022, the Social Justice Task Force recommended that the city increase its financial commitment to this program to allow it to materialize.

The Holloway Motel was purchased by the city and is currently under construction.  To ensure the program’s development and implementation, the city has committed resources from its Affordable Housing Trust Fund and its General Fund to cover capital and operational expenses not covered by Project Homekey or other grant sources. The estimated program capital, including the motel purchase, site rehabilitation, and operations expenses through FY 2027, is $20.8 million. Project Homekey funding will cover 31% of these expenses, while the remaining 69% will be funded by the city with monies allocated in its Affordable Housing Trust Fund (32%) and General Fund Capital Reserves (37%). Construction work for this project is currently slated to be completed by the end of Fall 2024 and operations and service to begin in December 2024.

The Social Justice Task Force also recommended that the city create designated safe spaces in every park that offer essential services, including lockers, phone charging stations, showers and bus passes for unhoused community members. The city has since introduced mobile health and mental health response programs at various city locations, augmented homeless outreach services, and has continued to offer in-person drop-in services for the homeless at the West Hollywood Library. The city also subsidizes transportation through the Metro Bus Pass Subsidy program by which older and disabled homeless people can obtain a free monthly bus pass.

In October 2022, the city partnered with Healthcare in Action to provide healthcare services in public spaces through a “street medicine” model, which includes wound care, chronic disease management, gender-affirming care, medication management, HIV specialty care, psychotherapy, psychotropic medications, and treatment for anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, PTSD, medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder and treatment for alcohol, tobacco and crystal methamphetamine use.

In December 2022, the city, in partnership with UCLA Health Homeless Healthcare Collaborative, also piloted a monthly mobile healthcare clinic to serve West Hollywood community members experiencing homelessness. UCLA hosted walk-up healthcare services, alternating months at West Hollywood Park and Plummer Park. The services included urgent care, wound care, medical screenings, preventative care, vaccinations, care for chronic medical conditions and referrals to social services. However, in May 2024, UCLA decided to relocate monthly services outside of West Hollywood to focus on locations where other health services, such as Healthcare in Action, were not available. 

In September 2023, the city created the Care Team, a new behavioral health response program to serve housed and unhoused community members. The Care Team was developed in collaboration with the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health and is accessible via the 988 hotline when additional in-person, local support is needed. The Care Team is operated by Sycamores, a mental health provider and close partner of the County Department of Mental Health.

The Care Team is also designed to receive referrals from West Hollywood’s first responders — including the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the Los Angeles County Fire Department — to assist where calls would benefit from behavioral health or social services support instead of law enforcement or medical responses. The Care Team provides behavioral crisis stabilization, safety planning, connection to community resources and follow-up support. Once fully staffed, the Care Team will offer continuous support 24-7, every day of the year, operating in unmarked vehicles and wearing unmarked clothing.

The West Hollywood Harm Reduction Center, operated by Being Alive, opened to the public on July 9 and is located at 7976 Santa Monica Blvd. The Harm Reduction Center offers syringe exchange, overdose prevention, health education, art therapy, and support services. Being Alive subleased a portion of the Harm Reduction Center to Healthcare in Action to increase coordinated efforts in serving injection drug users and people living with or at risk of HIV transmission.

The city’s contracted homeless services teams (Ascencia, Step Up, LA LGBT Center Youth program, and Health Care in Action) continue to provide proactive street outreach services to unhoused community members daily from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., with extended outreach hours until 11:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and until 8:30 p.m. Saturdays.

The city-funded outreach teams meet with unhoused community members in West Hollywood Park, Plummer Park, and various other locations throughout the city, enhancing the teams’ ability to engage with and provide services to those in need. The teams engage — on the street — for unscheduled visits with community members to conduct a wellness visit, offer services, or provide a hygiene kit; the teams also offer scheduled meeting times at any public location that works for the community member.

The teams offer designated service hours each weekday at the West Hollywood Library for those who prefer a more private and structured setting. In addition to these proactive outreach services, the homeless services providers respond to requests from the city’s Homeless Concern Line at 323-848-6590. The line is actively managed by city Human Services staff during regular business hours and communicated to street outreach teams; after-hours calls are responded to when teams are on call or as soon as possible when they return.

The Social Justice Task Force also recommended prioritizing the hiring of diverse staff, including those with “lived experience.”

According to City Hall:

“Lived experience is crucial in a homeless services setting because it fosters empathy and understanding, allowing staff to connect authentically with clients and address their needs effectively. Individuals with lived experience bring valuable insights and perspectives that can inform and improve service delivery, ensuring that programs are more responsive and relevant to those they serve.”

The city’s contracted partners have prioritized hiring individuals with lived experience. One example is the West Hollywood Care Team in development. Each Care Team is staffed by two Peer Support Specialists, individuals who have personal experience with homelessness, substance use and/or mental health challenges.

 The upcoming planned Community Needs Assessment and next Request for Proposals (RFP) for Social Service contract providers in 2025 will continue to highlight lived expertise and encourage agencies to share the ways they recruit and retain staff with lived experience.