Our Service Model and Philosophy
We believe that the welfare of both our homeless people AND our community are important and compatible priorities. Since HOUSINGMV’s inception, we believe that a focus on both is essential for involving our entire Mar Vista community in successfully addressing the consequences of homelessness. Because of this belief, we want our website visitors to understand the range and rationale for our services.
For people in our community experiencing homelessness we…
Fund a full-time, professional outreach team that works daily on our streets to compassionately engage Mar Vista homeless individuals and connect them with the essential services they need. We partner with health organizations such as UCLA Health, the California Department of Health COVID-19 Response Team, Jules Stein Eye Institute, Venice Family Clinic, Clare-Matrix, to name a few.
Our Outreach Team goals are modeled after successful programs, such as the Pacific Palisades Task Force on Homelessness (PPTFH), providing a range of support services that include psychiatric and physical health care, food and clothing, assistance reestablishing personal identification documents, applications for financial assistance, assistance finding and moving into temporary and permanent housing or, when possible, reunification with family. Our outreach team leads each homeless person through the numerous steps and (often overwhelming) experience of becoming successfully housed.
Fund “move-in” expenses for homeless people once housing has been located. Costs include first and last month’s rent and utilities deposits, a stove and refrigerator, bed and bedding, and basic furnishings. We help overcome some of the basic barriers to becoming housed by meeting these initial expenses.
Fund ongoing casework support services to help homeless people remain housed. It is generally a difficult, lonely experience for most homeless people to become housed, often in a new community without established relationships and services. Our outreach team continues to support our clients mentally and physically until they have adjusted, are well connected to an ongoing caseworker, and have a clear path forward.
Provide monthly “meet-ups” for homeless individuals to meet our outreach service team and local police officers. There, our team offers services and assistance in securing housing. Bringing the services to our homeless people makes it easier for them to receive needed help. Local churches provide brown bag lunches for the meet-ups in support of our outreach team and law enforcement coordination services. Donated supplies of warm clothing, sleeping bags, gloves, and socks are also provided at the meet-ups.
Fund outreach services to severely mentally ill homeless individuals who are incapable of making the decision to leave the streets, where they remain highly vulnerable to predators, disease, and death.
Provide a telephone line for homeless individuals seeking help and for community residents who have questions or need assistance dealing with a homeless person.
For our community’s safety and protection we…
Secure, post, and maintain signs restricting access (by LA Municipal Code ordinances) in all high-fire-risk zones. Homeless encampments, if not proactively restricted, pose a significant fire threat to all our residents, including homeless individuals. The ordinances empower fire and law enforcement agencies and personnel to prohibit camping and fires in restricted areas, which helps protect the community.
Provide a volunteer First Responders Coordination Committee that partners with local police and fire personnel to maintain public safety. Committee members regularly monitor assigned locations throughout Mar Vista to identify homeless individuals needing assistance; respond to calls from residents who have concerns or questions, or need assistance dealing with a homeless individual; enforce restricted-entry fire-risk zones; and help connect homeless individuals with our outreach team and services.
Fund and participate in projects to clean up abandoned homeless encampments. The First Responders Coordination Committee is a partnership with local police officers and the City of Los Angeles to remove and clean abandoned encampments.
To engage our community in addressing homelessness we…
Conduct bi-monthly community forums for education, exploration, and discussion of local homeless-related issues and concerns. These forums feature presentations by professionals, elected officials, and leaders in the field of homeless services. The forums provide a safe space for dialogue, respectful expression of divergent views, and consensus-building about how our community can best deal with the dynamic challenges of homelessness.
Produce a monthly newsletter informing the community about our work, how community members can become involved, and the resources available to them for dealing with homeless people they encounter.
Provide volunteer opportunities for community members to contribute leadership skills, funding, survival supplies to help our outreach team serve homeless people, and hands-on work to remove and clean up abandoned encampments.