Homelessness has been at the forefront of every discussion, debate, forum, article and concern of West Hollywood residents. Times are tough, people are struggling, and almost all of us have experienced some sort of mental breakdown since 2016. Unfortunately, these mental breakdowns affected some more than others.
We are seeing more and more people living on the streets, and there is no single solution. To begin helping people, we first need to understand why they are homeless – and it’s not just one reason: mental illness, drug and alcohol abuse, escaping an abusive relationship, being kicked out of your home for being LGBT, and unfortunately the list goes on. to continue
Worse, it’s not even just a West Hollywood problem. This is a regional problem. We will not be able to solve the problem of homelessness alone, we must work with the surrounding cities, the county and even the state to help people get back on their feet and reintegrate into society.
Every candidate knows homelessness is a problem, and every candidate says we have to do something to help them, but I have yet to see a real plan from anyone on HOW they are going to address it. That’s why I want to talk to you about how I can get elected to the City Council to address homelessness.
The City of Santa Monica has partnered with a company called Akido Labs that has developed a software/app called Project Connect. Project Connect helped their emergency service providers (police, fire and EMS) coordinate and share information with each other in real-time to identify what they call “high users” of emergency services.
“High users” are people who receive more calls to 911, and those people tend to be homeless. Connect allows our emergency service providers to collect and identify information down to the specific person experiencing homelessness and respond with an appropriate course of action.
Imagine that 911 is constantly getting calls about someone who is experiencing homelessness and that person is having an episode (related to mental illness or drug/alcohol use) and concerned citizens and neighbors often call 911 when this happens. When someone calls 911 and provides a description of the person, that information is collected and stored in a database so that if 911 receives calls matching the High Utilizer’s description in the future, our emergency responders know how to respond.
Caller: “Hello, 911? There is a man near the intersection of Fairfax and Santa Monica Blvd. who shouts and waves his arms and walks in and out of the street. I’m worried that he won’t get hurt.’
Operator: “What does a person look like?”
Caller: “He looks to be in his 40’s and has shoulder length brown hair.”
911 operators now have the information they need to decide how to respond to a call. They can search their database and see if anyone fits the description of a man in his 40s with long brown hair who hangs around Fairfax and Santa Monica Blvd.
Bingo.
We have a match. They had received calls about this man before. He suffers from a mental illness and when he is off medication he goes through episodes that can put him in situations that could harm him or others. They have already dealt with him. He responds very well to the doctor and his social worker. Now they know they don’t need to send anyone from the fire department, they just need to send the medic, his social worker, and maybe an officer if they fear he might become violent.
If they’ve had a lot of experience with him before and know he’s not violent, they may decide they don’t need to send anyone from the sheriff’s department. This decision is made by emergency service providers based on the information they collect each time they interact with it. This saves time, money and resources that we can use elsewhere around West Hollywood.
In the year and a half that Project Connect has been operating in Santa Monica, they have been able to reduce unnecessary arrests by 37% and unnecessary interactions with ANY emergency service providers by 33%.
What about getting them off the streets and into proper institutions?
Gathering information about the special needs of people experiencing homelessness also helps them quickly locate that person when space becomes available in a mental health facility, rehabilitation facility, or temporary housing. When a city or social worker is notified of a vacancy in a mental health facility, they can look through their records and find someone who needs the space.
“A place has opened up at ABC Group Home for those suffering from mental illness. Let’s check our data, who can benefit from this place.”
After combing Project Connect:
“Oh! A friend of ours who hangs around Fairfax and Santa Monica Blvd could use this place! We know the area where he goes, let’s look for him.”
Project Connect allows them to quickly identify a person and send them to the right facility. Now the social worker and anyone else who needs to get our friend from Fairfax and Santa Monica to his new home can quickly go find him, help him off the street and past the starting line into a happy and healthy life.
Since its implementation in Santa Monica, Project Connect has moved more than 120 homeless people into appropriate care. Because as we know, there is no single solution to homelessness.
I want to implement Project Connect (or something similar) in West Hollywood.
This is the plan I want to bring to West Hollywood if I am elected to the City Council. But I’m not an expert on homelessness. There are people who have been working to solve homelessness for longer than I have been alive.
I always welcome feedback, ideas, criticism, or anything else you want to share with me. Please contact me by calling or texting me at (323) 250-0992 or emailing me at JC@JordanForWeHo.com.
You can also check out my website and see more of my plans at JordanForWeHo.com. We will be glad to hear from you!