April 3, 2025 Breaking News, Latest News, and Videos

Santa Monica City Council Approves Homeless Strategic Goal Action Plan and New Coordinated, Proactive Investments in Homelessness

At its meeting on November 28, 2017, the Santa Monica City Council unanimously voted to approve a Homeless Strategic Goal Action Plan and a series of new investments included in the plan to address homelessness. Recommendations came as part of staff’s Annual Homelessness Report to Council at a time when homelessness is up by 23 percent throughout Los Angeles County in 2017.

“Homelessness is the biggest issue in front of us. People are suffering on our streets and throughout the county in unprecedented numbers,” said Mayor Ted Winterer. “We want the community to know that we understand the daily impacts and we are deeply invested in proactive and coordinated engagement to see change in our neighborhoods and public spaces.”

The City is maximizing the use of existing resources and on October 24, 2017, Council authorized $1.4 million in one-time funds to support the roll out of new investments identified through the Action Plan. The plan includes coordinated, proactive outreach approaches with new, multidisciplinary outreach teams, place-based engagement strategies and additional resources at the Santa Monica Public Library. Here’s a look at some of the concepts included in the Action Plan approved by Council:

New coordinated, proactive outreach teams to connect homeless individuals to services

  • Place-based engagement by 10-12 new outreach workers, starting with a C3 homeless outreach team.
  • Santa Monica Police Department is enhancing officer training so the entire department is focused on proactive engagement, re-deploying existing officers to high-impact areas and expanding the Homeless Liaison Program (HLP) team.

Ensure effective, safe and respectful use of the Library

  • Two additional Library Services Officers will be funded for an 18-month limited term pilot.
  • A full-time social worker will be funded for a 12-month pilot to conduct homeless outreach and train staff.
  • Regular Pop-up Resource Fairs are bringing local and regional agencies to the Library.

Increase availability of housing and homeless prevention

  • Housing staff recommend use of locally allocated federal funds to support rehabilitation of a Venice supportive housing development in exchange for three units being dedicated to Santa Monica homeless residents.
  • Preventing homelessness among existing residents through flexible funding for eviction prevention, housing rights education and protection, tenant harassment and eviction defense through Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, and the Senior Housing Taskforce to prevent vulnerable low-income seniors from losing housing.

Activate city and community stakeholders to collectively address homelessness

  • The City is investing in a Senior Advisor on Homelessness who will actively engage with the growing number of county and regional partners in ever-accelerating homeless efforts. The Senior Advisor will ensure the City is participating in policy and resource discussions regionally, while facilitating coordination across City departments.
  • The City secured $70,000 in LA County Measure H funds, through United Way of Greater Los Angeles, to design a flexible training curriculum for City staff, businesses and residents to safely and effectively interact with homeless neighbors.

“We are committing to unprecedented coordination and proactive engagement to do everything we can to connect homeless individuals with the services and interventions needed to become stable,” said City Manager Rick Cole. “To deal effectively and humanely with this regional crisis and keep our city safe, we need the entire community to participate in this effort in new and creative ways.”

The success of these new investments will be regularly monitored through the City’s performance management system or “SaMoStat” process to do more of what works and change what doesn’t. 

The City’s nationally recognized best-practice approach to focusing services on the most vulnerable maintained stable homeless count results in Santa Monica from 2010 to 2016. In 2017 however, the community documented a 26% increase in homelessness at the annual point-in-time count, bringing the local count total to 921 people. This growth was in step with a 23% region-wide increase, bringing the LA County homeless tally to 57,794 people.

The City has a long history of coordination and innovation to help the most vulnerable people experiencing homelessness off the streets and into permanent housing. The City’s local homeless service system, parallels the regional model, and consists of three parts: (1) outreach, (2) care management and supportive services, and (3) permanent housing. To resolve homelessness among known vulnerable homeless individuals, the City has invested heavily in supportive services, permanent supportive housing and regional affordable housing developments.

Santa Monica City Council Approves

Homeless Strategic Goal Action Plan and

New Coordinated, Proactive Investments in Homelessness

In 2015, Council identified that continued local success would be contingent on broadening participation in regional partnerships to increase capacity of the Los Angeles homeless service system to address homelessness. Council established taking a leadership role in regional efforts to address homelessness as a top five Strategic Goal.

<>Related Posts

Hands Off the Phone: SMPD Launches Distracted Driving Enforcement Campaign

April 2, 2025

April 2, 2025

One Text Could Cost You: SMPD Goes Into Heightened Alert in April The Santa Monica Police Department is stepping up...

Board of Supervisors Votes to Break from LAHSA, Create Independent County Homeless Department

April 2, 2025

April 2, 2025

With Billions on the Line, LA County Moves to Centralize Homeless Response Los Angeles County is making a dramatic shift...

Montalvo Custom Tailors Offers Complimentary Wardrobe Recovery Services to Fire Victims

April 2, 2025

April 2, 2025

Tailoring Confidence: Montalvo Helps Residents Rebuild Wardrobes with Grace Montalvo Custom Tailors, a staple of luxury menswear in Los Angeles...

Caruso Sets Expected Timeline for Palisades Village Reopening: Report

April 2, 2025

April 2, 2025

Caruso recently told a local outlet that bringing life back to the village is essential Palisades Village remains closed in...

County Moves to Clear Fire Debris from Unresponsive Properties

April 2, 2025

April 2, 2025

The County plans to launch additional efforts, using data and community partners to reach roughly 1,000 unresponsive owners The Los...

County Report Finds Malibu School District Proposal Fails to Meet Standards: SMMUSD

April 1, 2025

April 1, 2025

The LACOE feasibility study stems from a 2017 petition by the City of Malibu to form its own school district...

Nonprofit Warns of Heavy Metal Contamination in Santa Monica Bay

April 1, 2025

April 1, 2025

The contamination is linked to storm runoff carrying toxic debris from burned structures and scorched land in the Palisades, Topanga,...

(Video) Spending an Afternoon at Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier

April 1, 2025

April 1, 2025

Go To Pacpark.com For Tickets and More Information. Go To https://t.co/PUWlOc89JQ For Tickets and More Information.#amusementpark #rides #rollercoaster #summer #spring...

Matū Kai to Debut in Brentwood With Grass Fed Wagyu and Global Flair This Week

April 1, 2025

April 1, 2025

Farm-To-Fork Beef, Wood-Fired Flavors, and Sustainability Meet on San Vicente The team behind Beverly Hills’ acclaimed steakhouse Matū will soon...

USC Launches Free Soil Testing to Assess Post-Fire Contamination

March 31, 2025

March 31, 2025

Residents Can Submit Samples to Check for Lead and Other Toxins A new program led by researchers at the University...

Los Angeles County’s Measure A Raises Sales Tax On April 1, And It’s No Joke

March 31, 2025

March 31, 2025

Santa Monica, West Hollywood, Culver City, and Malibu Will See Higher Increases Starting April 1, Los Angeles County residents will...

Malibu Schedules Two Key Public Meetings for Wildfire Recovery and Insurance Guidance

March 31, 2025

March 31, 2025

City Officials to Provide Technical Support and Insurance Market Updates at Two Meetings Malibu residents affected by recent wildfires are...

Santa Monica Launches Public Search for New City Manager

March 31, 2025

March 31, 2025

Nationwide Job Posting Seeks Leader to Guide City’s Future The City of Santa Monica has officially launched a nationwide search...

Palisades Youth Soccer Team Fundraises to Compete in Sweden Tournament

March 31, 2025

March 31, 2025

The team is raising funds through GoFundMe, with donations aimed at covering travel costs, accommodations, and fees A youth soccer...

Seven-Bedroom Venice Pad on Shell Ave. Hits Market at Under $7M

March 31, 2025

March 31, 2025

The home sits on a 5,740-square-foot lot and includes a two-car garage A newly listed property in Venice, featuring modern...