MOTION-- In 2016, the City of Santa Monica established Homeless Multi-Disciplinary Street Teams(HMST) to provide assistance to people experiencing homelessness through community outreach. The HMST consists of specialists who outreach to and engage with the most-intensive and frequent public service users among Santa Monica's homeless population. The objective of the outreach teams is to engage a set of individuals with the most challenging circumstances and provide them customized services, including mental health services and housing. According to a study conducted by the RAND Corporation, HMST programs can reduce the burden on police, fire, and other municipal agencies that devote a disproportionate amount of time and resources responding to calls involving homeless individuals. The study showed that the HMST had a positive effect on the clients they served and were perceived by the community as a valuable resource.
The Santa Monica HMST model may provide another important tool to assist people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles. A pilot HMST program in Council District 2 would identify and engage 25 to 30 unhoused individuals and provide intensive assistance with housing placements and other services. This pilot would collaborate with public and private agencies to provide the range of services necessary to keep people in housing and address their needs in a cost-effective way.
I THEREFORE MOVE that the City Council instruct the City Administrative Officer and Chief Legislative Analyst, with the assistance of any other relevant departments, to identify funding in the amount of $450,000, including from the GCP Homeless Services line item in the City's Homeless Budget, to establish a Homeless Multidisciplinary Street Team in Council District 2 to provide housing and other services to the most intensive public service users for a year; and
I FURTHER MOVE that the City Council instruct the Housing and Community Investment Department to issue a Request for Proposal to procure a service provider who is able to provide this service in Council District 2.