Film: Los Angeles: Skid Row iIs My Home

December 2012. The film "Los Angeles: Skid Row Is My Home" is released in Hollywood, with more screenings to follow...

"Los Angeles' Skid Row is home to one of the largest homeless populations in the United States. And we found, inside that community, the remarkable and enormously moving stories of Olympic athletes, Harvard attorneys, accomplished musicians, scholars. We found poverty, drugs and mental illness, of course - but more importantly we found life, hope and incredibly powerful human journeys." - Written by David Langness

"Narrated by Catherine Keener, LOST ANGELS: SKID ROW IS MY HOME takes an uncompromising yet life-affirming look at the lives of eight remarkable individuals--people who have found a way to make a life for themselves within the community of homelessness. The film shows how their descent into society's basement has been exacerbated by the forces of gentrification and the increasing criminalization of homeless people, while exposing the draconian changes to the mental health care system that have brought us here. With the support of a vast array of advocates, especially the services of Lamp Community, the mission featured in the Jamie Foxx/ Robert Downey Jr. film, THE SOLOIST, many residents of Skid Row have found a way to stick together and fight back. Directed by Thomas Napper, LOST ANGELS demonstrates how proactive approaches to homelessness-most specifically that of providing housing-are helping many to recover from mental illness and substance abuse and to find stability. For many, Skid Row is, perhaps improbably, the last place to find refuge and build a life of meaning...proving that sometimes home is where the help is." - synopsis written by Cinema Libre Studio

2012 Social Innovation Grant awarded to Los Angeles team for expanding the 10th Decile Project

March 2012.  The Economic Roundtable Team was one of four groups in the nation selected to receive a Social Innovation Fund grant underwritten by the Corporation for National and Community Service. The grant was awarded by the Corporation for Supportive Housing. The Roundtable team of five key partners and a total of 38 hospitals, clinics, housing providers, and homeless service providers will identify 107 high-need, high-cost homeless individuals in hospitals and clinics and provide them with immediate, ongoing, affordable housing with services. This project builds on service delivery teams created by the Los Angeles office of the Corporation for Supportive Housing.

The project will use the triage tool developed by the Roundtable to identify individuals experiencing homelessness who continuing crises in their lives that create very high public costs. The Roundtable research that led to developing the triage tool is presented in Where We Sleep: The Costs of Housing and Homelessness in Los Angeles (2009), Tools for Identifying High-Cost, High-Need Homeless Persons (2010) and Crisis Indicator: Triage Tool for Identifying Homeless Adults in Crisis (2011). This is the only tool for prioritizing the needs of homeless individuals that is based on cost data for a generally representative sample of homeless persons.

Read more about the project:
Los Anegels 10th Decile Project

HomeWalk 2012: Register for the upcoming 5K Run/Walk

November 2012.  "The United Way’s 6th annual 5K Run/Walk to end homelessness in L.A. County on Saturday, November 19th at Exposition Park.

"Over the past four years HomeWalk has mobilized 18,000 participants, raised $1.7 million and funded organizations that have moved 9,000 people into housing.

"Participants are asked to raise a minimum of $100. All proceeds go directly back to the community, supporting organizations that move homeless veterans and chronically homeless people into permanent supportive housing. Please register at www.HomeWalkLA.org today. Together we can end homelessness- because everyone deserves a home."

Crisis Indicator: Triage Tool for Identifying Homeless Adults in Crisis

August 2011.  This triage tool, or crisis indicator, produced by the Economic Roundtable, follows on the research for the "Where We Sleep" report. This paper provides tools for identifying homeless individuals in hospitals and jails with acute needs, the highest public costs when homeless, and the greatest reduction in public costs when housed.

The earlier analysis of 10,193 homeless, destitute single adults in Los Angeles County – 1,007 of whom exited homelessness by entering supportive housing – was carried out in collaboration with the Los Angeles County Chief Executive Office, which linked records for these individuals across multiple public agencies, providing crucial information about their characteristics and the public costs for health, mental health, justice system, and welfare services they used. Supportive housing is permanent, affordable housing with on-site case management and additional on-site, or readily available, services such as health, mental health and substance abuse rehabilitation.

This triage tools enables hospitals and jails to put research into action, prioritizing soon-to-be-released patients or inmates for the region's limited number of supportive housing units.

Download the Report & the Triage Tool:
Crisis Indicator: Triage Tool for Identifying Homeless Adults in Crisis  (64 pages)
Triage Tool for Calculating Probability of Being in the 10th Decile  (spreadsheet)

Other Recent News:

Film: Skid Row

July 2011. 'Living on the dangerous, drug-infested streets of downtown L.A for nine days and nights, Grammy award winner Pras Michel goes undercover as a homeless person. The entire time he and his crew are incognito using surveillance cameras. Skid Row is the compelling life-changing story of Pras learning how to fend for himself on the streets of Los Angeles while discovering the dark, volatile and very human side of Skid Row.' Made available through SnagFilms.com. Video duration: 1:34:17

Short Film: Four Homeless

June 2011.  Four Homeless, by Alisanne Meyers. Documentary of interviews with four homeless individuals. Video duration: 28:13

Four Homeless from Alisanne Meyers on Vimeo.

LA's Houseless: Just the Facts video

March 2011. Lembeck Studios presents "an honest look at the homeless situation in LA, the accomplishments of the dedicated and work left to do. Information is key to effective action and hope is motivational. The next step is up to you,... Be aware, care, share." Video duration: 12:13

This video accompanied an art gallery show on homeless awareness during the March 2011 Artwalk LA.

New Action Plan Announced: Home For Good

2010.  Home For Good: The Action Plan to End Chronic and Veteran Homelessness by 2016. Led by the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce and United Way Los Angeles.

Home For Good is a blueprint to end chronic and veteran homelessness in L.A. County by building the most efficient and effective system in our region’s history. It’s a plan meant not simply to put an end to someone’s life on the streets. Rather, it is designed to provide homes as a means to an individual’s vital integration into our communities.

A joint initiative of United Way of Greater Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, the Business Leader's Task Force on Homelessness is comprised of business leaders from throughout the county who have come together with a commitment to end homelessness in our region. The Task Force promotes permanent solutions to homelessness in partnership with public sector, faith, nonprofit, and civic leaders, both local and national. The Task Force aims to end chronic and veteran homelessness in Los Angeles County by January 2016, and ensure our system is equipped to swiftly end all forms of homelessness in our region.

http://homeforgoodla.com/

Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count 2011

Fall 2010.  From LAHSA Communications: "In order to make a difference in the lives of homeless men, women, children and families, we need to know who they are and where they are...

2011 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count is an opportunity for everyone throughout Los Angeles County to play a tremendous part in ending homelessness...

The count is just the first step in making sure that everyone is safe, secure and housed... And we need you to get there...

Sign up now to volunteer in your community at: http://www.theycountwillyou.org/

What is a Homeless Count? Every two years, volunteers from across the nation hit the streets to better understand what homelessness looks like in their communities. Due to Los Angeles County’s size and population, the Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count is the largest in the nation.

Why count homeless people? There is no silver bullet to end homelessness. Data from the Count is critical to addressing the complexities of homelessness and planning how to best invest public resources, raise public awareness, identify the needs of homeless people, and improve service delivery opportunities to prevent and eliminate homelessness in our region.

How can I help end homelessness in Los Angeles County? Make a difference by volunteering for one or more nights of the Count! We need 4,000 volunteers for the nights of January 25th-27th 2011. For more information and to register online, visit our web site or email us at volunteer@lahsa.org.

How do volunteers help with the street count? Volunteers are teamed up, trained, given all needed supplies, and deployed to designated areas within the County to enumerate the homeless – in one night. Volunteers will be expected to devote approximately three hours of their time.

Where We Sleep: Costs when Homeless & Housed in LA

November 2009.  New report by the Economic Roundtable, the first of its kind for Los Angeles.

This cost avoidance study encompasses 10,000+ currently and formerly homeless residents in Los Angeles County, comparing the costs of public services for housed and un-housed individuals to determine the effect of supportive housing on costs. Homeless residents often have multiple medical, psychiatric and substance abuse problems, and often experience crises that result in costly health, welfare and criminal justice services. Previous research in other cities has shown that when homeless persons are housed, the cost for public services decreases.

For this Los Angeles-based study, we compare the real costs of services provided by the following county departments and agencies:

• Health Services
• Mental Health
• Public Health
• Private Hospitals (OSHPD)
• Paramedics (OSHPD)
• General Relief (DPSS)
• Food Stamps (DPSS)
• Homeless Services
• Probation
• Sheriff

Beyond LA County Departments, we also integrate private hospital data from California's OSHPD records.

Download the Reports:
Where We Sleep: Costs when Homeless and Housed in Los Angeles  (928 KB, Adobe Acrobat, 129 pages)

Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count 2009

December 16, 2008.  From LAHSA Communications: "As many of you already know, LAHSA is gearing up for the 2009 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count (HC09) which takes place the last week of January. We need your help to make it happen!

HC09 will be the largest homeless count in the nation – 3000 volunteers will look at homelessness in communities throughout LA County. We need YOU to dedicate just one evening to make HCO9 a success!

Sign up now to volunteer in your community at: http://www.lahsa.org/hc09/register.asp

Together we count the homeless every two years to get the information we need to prevent and end homelessness in our communities. On January 27, 28 and 29th, you can help us will collect the data that we need to:

• Preserve Federal funding for local homeless programs, which this year amounted to $72 million;
• Raise awareness in your community about the issue of homelessness; and
• Target housing and services to fit the needs of homeless people.

Learn more about HC09 on LAHSA’s web site: http://www.lahsa.org/hc09/.

If you’re a member of a community group or organization and want to help us recruit more volunteers, please sign up to be a Team Captain: http://www.lahsa.org/hc09/team.asp

Thanks again for helping us with the Count; it’s the most important thing you can do right now to help eliminate homelessness here in Greater Los Angeles. If you have any questions, please contact Jennifer Kolmel, Volunteer Coordinator at jkolmel@lahsa.org or 213.689.6540."

2008 Report Card on Homelessness in Los Angeles

June 23, 2008.  This Report Card grades the work and efforts of Los Angeles as it seeks to reduce and eliminate homelessness, and is the first in an annual series designed to measure progress and efforts toward ending homelessness.

Approximately 141,737 residents of the Los Angeles County Continuum of Care area are homeless at some point over the course of the year. While there are signs that homelessness is declining, the total number of homeless men, women, and children remains unacceptably high. The overall assessment across a variety of action areas related to homelessness is a D+. This report card is not a judgment about specific jurisdictions, but rather is about our collective progress and efforts as a community. Detailed evaluations are summarized in the report, and suggest that the Los Angeles region has much work to do. This Report Card was compiled by:

• Jennifer Wolch, USC
• Daniel Warshawsky, USC
• Gary Blasi, UCLA
• Michael Dear, USC
• Daniel Flaming, Economic Roundtable
• Paul Tepper, USC

and evaluated by 38 researchers.

Download the Report:
2008 Report Card on Homelessness in Los Angeles  (15 MB, Adobe Acrobat, 22 pages)

Greater LA Homeless Count 2009

Summer 2008.  LAHSA is planning it's 2009 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count upcoming in 2009, selecting a research team to work with their staff conducting the count. "LAHSA is seeking creative consultant(s) to assist in developing cost-effective methods for developing estimates of homeless populations in our Continuum of Care. The information obtained during the enumeration must be able to be applied to smaller geographic areas while retaining high levels of integrity and applicability.

Read More: 2009 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count

Policing Our Way Out of Homelessness?
The First Year of the Safer Cities Initiative on Skid Row

September 24, 2007.  Authored by Professor Gary Blasi, UCLA School of Law & the UCLA School of Law Fact Investigation Clinic, this is the first year report of the Safer Cities Initiative on Skid Row.

This investigation includes a review of about 15,000 pages of public records and the analysis of multiple computer databases provided under the California Public Records Act by the Los Angeles Police Department, the Office of the City Attorney, and the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. The authors also conducted more than 200 interviews of people with special knowledge of one or more aspects of the problem.  Below is a direct link to the report in Adobe PDF format:

Policing Our Way Out of Homelessness?  (980 KB, Adobe Acrobat, 51 pages) 

A Reality-Based Approach to Ending Homelessness in Los Angeles

January 30, 2007.  In Los Angeles today, current policy on homelessness is preoccupied with providing emergency shelter beds and policing people who are homeless. Skid Row disproportionately – and unfairly – cares for the region’s homeless people because so many other communities in Los Angeles County provide no services to help them. These communities are using Skid Row as their solution to homelessness. Everyone in LA wins if we work together to end homelessness.

These reports are a petition to policy makers to take immediate and informed action to address homelessness.  The reports were written by:

• Gary Blasi, UCLA
• Michael Dear, USC
• Dan Flaming, Economic Roundtable
• Paul Koegel, RAND
• Paul Tepper, WCA Development Corporation
• Jennifer Wolch, USC

and signed by 48 other LA-based academic researchers.

Download Both Reports:
A Reality Based Approach to End Homelessness in Los Angeles  (1.4 MB, Adobe Acrobat, 8 pages)
Ending Homelessness in Los Angeles - Research Report  (1.5 MB, Adobe Acrobat, 28 pages)

Greater LA Homeless Count 2007

January 2007.  LAHSA conducted the 2007 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count during the month of January, with an interview survey conducted from February through April.  On the nights of Jan. 23rd, 24th and 25th, LAHSA deployed volunteers (some of them formerly homeless or advocacy workers) across the county to canvass designated areas and tally the numbers of homeless people they find.  Information about the count, including the methodology to be used, volunteer registration and training, and other information can be found on the LAHSA web site.

Read More: 2007 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count

Op-Ed Article: "5 Steps to Get Out of Skid Row"
By Gary Blasi, Michael Dear and Jennifer Wolch

December 31, 2006. Officials in L.A. County have used skid row to "contain" homelessness, but it's clear the system has failed.  About the authors: Gary Blasi is a professor of law at UCLA Law School; Michael Dear is a professor of geography at USC; and Jennifer Wolch is a professor of geography and director of the USC Center for Sustainable Cities.

Read It: 5 Steps to Get Out of Skid Row

Op-Ed Article: "Dumping the Homeless on Hospitals"
By Michael R. Cousineau

December 31, 2006. The outcry at patient dumping on skid row shouldn't be directed at hospitals, but at governments that let homelessness continue.  About the author: Michael R. Cousineau is associate professor of research and the director of the Center for Community Health Studies at the USC Keck School of Medicine.

Read It: Dumping the Homeless on Hospitals

"Referral Guide for Homeless Children, Youth and Families" Released

October 2006. This expanded and updated guide to homeless service providers in Los Angeles County provides detailed agency information for each Service Planning Area, with accompanying reference maps.

The guide was commissioned and underwritten by the Los Angeles County Office of Education.

Download It: Referral Guide for Homeless Children, Youth and Families  (6.5 MB, Adobe Acrobat, 122 pages)

Los Angeles Homeless Prevention Initiative: Homeless and Housing Program Fund

September 2006. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors allocated $80 million for a broad range of county services to reduce and prevent homelessness.

Download It: LA County Homeless and Housing Program  (3.8 MB, Adobe Acrobat, 84 pages)

10-Year Strategy to End Homelessness

August 2006. From 2002 through 2004 the Economic Roundtable and the Institute for the Study of Homelessness and Poverty at the Weingart Center carried out research, listened to ideas from community stakeholders, and met with public officials in order to prepare this 10-Year Strategy to End Homelessness on behalf of Bring LA Home. This strategic plan was the result of that effort.

Download It: 10-Year Strategy to End Homelessness  (1.6 MB, Adobe Acrobat, 76 pages)

Bring LA Home: The Campaign to End Homelessness - Plan Released
April 6, 2006

Bring Los Angeles Home, the campaign initiated by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) and the Coalition to End Hunger and Homelessness (LACEH&H) in January 2002, released a homeless plan titled "Bring Los Angeles Home."

Download It: Bring LA Home Plan (2.2 MB, Adobe Acrobat, 117 pages)

Press coverage (registration required for some articles):

• "The Authority to Solve" Editorial, Los Angeles Times (April, 3 2006)
• "$12 Billion for L.A.'s Homeless? Key Panel Offers Plan to End County's Problem" by Troy Anderson, Staff Writer, Los Angeles Daily News (April 6, 2006)
• "One Plan to Lead Them All" Editorial, Los Angeles Times (April, 6 2006)
   

LA County Homeless Prevention Initiative - Approved by the Board of Supervisors
April 4, 2006

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a $100-million plan to reduce the concentration of homeless services in skid row by establishing five centers across the county that would provide temporary shelter and social services for transients.

In addition, the county will establish a special community court to allow transients with outstanding warrants for misdemeanor quality-of-life crimes to have warrants resolved after completing mental health or narcotics recovery programs.

The plan calls for a dedicated center for homeless families, located downtown but designed to move people quickly out of the area and into long-term housing throughout the region. It also calls for programs aimed at providing immediate access to social services, benefits and housing for people who would otherwise be homeless upon discharge from county hospitals and correctional facilities.

The Board approved a new county staff position of Coordinator of Homeless and Service Enriched Housing Initiatives to assist in coordinating the County's homeless and housing initiatives to reduce the number of homeless residents.

Download It: LA County Homeless Prevention Initiative (3.2 MB, Adobe Acrobat, 51 pages)

Press coverage (registration required for some articles):

• "Homeless Plan Stirs Debate Among Board [of Supervisors]" by Troy Anderson, Staff Writer, Los Angeles Daily News (March 28, 2006)
• "L.A. County OKs 'Historic' Homeless Plan: The $100-million effort includes a controversial proposal to move some services for transients from downtown to suburban areas." By Cara Mia DiMassa, Los Angeles Times (April 5, 2006)
• "Homeless Plan Raises Optimism: New County Step Watched" by Eugene Tong, Staff writer, Los Angeles Daily News ( April, 6 2006)
• "Possible Homeless Centers Identified: L.A. County reviews 14 drop-in sites to find 5 that could become full-service shelters." By Cara Mia DiMassa and Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times (April 6, 2006)
• "Appraising the county's homeless plan" Op/Ed by City of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and LA City Councilwoman Jan Perry, Los Angeles Times ( April, 6 2006)
• "Transients Hope to Get Back into Stable Life" By Dana Bartholomew, Staff Writer, Los Angeles Daily News ( April, 7 2006)

Homeless in LA: Final Research Report - Approved by the Board of Supervisors
April 4, 2006

Homeless in LA is a report commissioned by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority as part of its strategic planning process for Bring LA Home: The Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness in Los Angeles. Begun in 2003, Bring LA home developed consensus and community input on the best way for ending homelessness in Los Angeles, and attempted to mobilize the political resources and will to accomplish the goal.

Los Angeles’ rate of homelessness is higher than the U.S. average because it has a higher rate of poverty and higher housing costs. Compared to the U.S., a disproportionately large share of homeless residents lives on the streets. This report maps the size and characteristics of this population, and will be merged with information from community meetings held throughout the county to produce a 10-year strategic plan for ending homelessness. By integrating a series of data sets that provide partial information about the homeless population, this report produces estimates of the number of people who were homeless in the county on a given day in 2002, the duration of their homelessness, and the total annual homeless population. There is substantial uncertainty about these estimates, but they are among the most current and up-to-date given the limited data available on homeless individuals and families.

Download It: Homeless in LA: Final Research Report (1.3 MB, Adobe Acrobat, 136 pages)