Outreach
Outreach is often the critical first
step in putting a homeless person on the path to housing. Experienced outreach teams build
relationships with people experiencing homelessness who are not yet connected to the homeless service
delivery system and connect them to housing, health, mental health, and other
supportive services – a process that can vary in length and is customized to
meet each person’s unique needs.
The Countywide Outreach System
The Countywide Outreach System
(Strategy E6) is improving outreach efforts to connect individuals
and families experiencing homelessness on the streets and in encampments with
supportive services and housing – a significant step to help them move into
interim and permanent housing.
The growth in the number of Measure H-funded Outreach Teams
has increased the number of individuals these teams are able to assist. The graph below shows the
impact of this expansion, with outreach teams contacting nearly 18,000
individuals in the first year of Measure H implementation and more than 22,000
individuals in fiscal year 2018-2019.
The number of people placed into housing is smaller than the
number of those contacted for a few reasons: tight housing markets impact the
time-frame from assessment to housing placement; and many homeless individuals
take time and repeated contacts by outreach teams before they accept help or
engage in services. Furthermore, many people who work with outreach teams enter
other programs, such as rapid re-housing or permanent supportive housing, that
lead to permanent housing rather than going directly from engaging with
outreach to permanent housing placement.
Home after 6 years
Dan is a 58-year-old male who has been homeless for over six
years. He was initially focused on not losing his storage space but
unfortunately could not make payments and also lost his cherished possessions.
He was encamped on the grounds of a church in Highland Park as part of an
arrangement made between a local non-profit and the pastor of the church.
The outreach team built rapport over time and he shared his
aspirations to become a teacher. They
linked him with the Los Angeles Christian Health Center for primary physical
healthcare and mental health services and to Showers of Hope so that he could
regularly access shower and hygiene services.
Dan didn’t think he could find work because of a possible
diagnosis of Attention Deficit Disorder.
After working with the team, Dan’s health and mental health has improved
and he is on a path towards long-term recovery.
He was matched to the Rosslyn Apartments for permanent housing and moved
into his unit in June 2018. To give
back to the community that supports him, Dan started volunteering at Showers of
Hope the same week he secured housing.
Los Angeles County Mobile Shower Pilot
Countywide outreach teams, along with law enforcement officers and service providers from across the region, use the recent mobile shower pilot program at Whittier Narrows Recreation Area as an opportunity to engage people experiencing homelessness, helping to connect them with services and housing resources.