REP LIEU SECURES OVER $7.5 MILLION FOR LOCAL HOMELESSNESS PROJECTS IN APPROPRIATIONS BILL
WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-Los Angeles County) announced that the over $7.5 million in federal funding he requested for six community projects addressing homelessness in Los Angeles County has been included in the Fiscal Year 2023 appropriations bill that will be brought up for a vote in the House in the coming weeks. These projects will help address issues around homelessness, including temporary housing, mental health support, medical care and job readiness.
Last year, Congressman Lieu secured $5.8 million for homelessness projects.
"Homelessness remains an incredible challenge in our country, but especially in our community. I'm pleased to champion these programs in Los Angeles County that will serve to address some of the acute issues facing homeless individuals, like shelter, healthcare and mental health support, as well as programs to help homeless people get back on their feet. I look forward to championing these projects as they move through the appropriations process. Securing funding to support these programs is a top priority."
$1,000,000 for Mobile Crisis Response Pilot Program: The goal of the Mobile Crisis Response Pilot Program is to provide an evidenced-based response model for mental health and behavior-related calls involving the City's unhoused residents. Utilizing professional case managers, this program will better serve those in crisis and allow the Hermosa Beach Police Department to focus on other public safety priorities. Ideally, this mobile mental health crisis response model can be scaled and duplicated throughout the region to more effectively address mental health and homelessness in our communities.
$1,500,000 for Behavioral Health Center: The Santa Monica Behavioral Health Center will provide compassionate and cost-effective around-the-clock behavioral health care for the community, including access to safe temporary housing and stabilizing care. Santa Monica will convert an existing City-owned facility to accommodate 24/7 intakes from first responders and local emergency rooms. While the long-term behavioral health strategy will serve various vulnerable Santa Monica populations, the first phase of the 24/7 center will focus on people experiencing homelessness. The Center will serve as a safe alternative for first responders to drop off people who will benefit from behavioral health care and do not meet the level of crisis to require emergency rooms, psychiatric urgent cares, or jail.
$898,053 for Purpose Lab Employment Project: Workforce Development: The goal of the Purpose Lab Employment Project is to expand the successful job training and career development programs at St. Joseph Center, which serves people who are experiencing homelessness or those who are at risk of becoming homeless. Purpose Lab includes four innovative training programs: (1) Codetalk, a job training program for low income, homeless, and previously homeless women; (2) Fortifi LA, a web technology training program for extremely vulnerable populations, such as those recently released from prison and people with long histories of homelessness; (3) Bread & Roses Training Kitchen, a program that prepares low-income adults with histories of homelessness or incarceration to enter the food service industry as chefs, sous chefs, caterers, and managers of industrial kitchens; (4) KeySkills, an intensive, three-week career coaching course that provides support for vulnerable adults seeking employment.
$1,000,000 for Torrance Temporary Housing Program: The Torrance Temporary Housing Program project will provide participants with a temporary home as well as services to ultimately attain permanent housing. This 40-unit temporary housing program, located on Civic Center grounds, will provide temporary housing in the form of "tiny homes," while offering residents case management and permanent housing navigation.
$3,550,000 for PATH Ventures: This project will fund the transformation of 12,200 sq ft of an interim shelter site in Marina Del Rey to a permanent supportive housing facility. Currently, the site is home for 29 individuals who came indoors off the Venice Boardwalk and from other areas in West LA, with 4 units still awaiting proper ADA conversion. The final site will include amenities like an outdoor patio area, on-site parking for residents, and a community garden. PATH will provide dedicated supportive services on site including case management, employment assistance programs, as well as three meals a day. Like other Project Homekey sites, PATH Villas Marina Del Rey is a crucial component of California's response to homelessness.
$500,000 for Furnishing and Equipping Rose Avenue Clinic: The goal of this project is to fully furnish and equip the Venice Family Clinic to ensure it can provide the high-quality comprehensive care upon which its patients depend. The improvements, including IT equipment and pharmacy and care team meeting room workstations, will accommodate the tremendous growth of Venice Family Clinic's scope of services, including the dramatic expansion of its behavioral health, substance use, optometry, health education, and case management programs. These areas have functioned with inadequate space for many years but will soon have the means to operate at their fullest potential.
Background:
Last year, in Fiscal Year 2022, Congressman Lieu secured nearly $11 million in federal funding for local projects in Los Angeles County. The projects address homelessness, protect our environment, support our veterans, and more. These homelessness projects are among the 15 community projects for which Congressman Lieu has requested funding in Fiscal Year 2023.
###