DISTRICT 4 Initiatives
Homelessness
A Person-Centered Approach To Homelessness
Since Councilmember Raman took office in December of 2020, our office has brought more than 500 people off the streets into interim housing, more than tripled access to shelter beds in the district, and sustainably housed residents at more than a dozen major encampments across the district through dedicated encampment-to-home efforts. Our efforts led to the first reduction of unsheltered homelessness in our district in six years. As the new chair of the Housing and Homelessness Committee, Councilmember Raman is now leading efforts towards improving the city’s response to homelessness citywide.
HOW TO GET HELP
If you are experiencing homelessness and need support, please fill out an LA-HOP request form and send the confirmation # (in subject line of confirmation email) to contactcd4@lacity.org.
If you notice someone encamped in your neighborhood please email contactcd4@lacity.org with the location of the individual(s), a physical description/ name of the person(s) and any other relevant information to help locate and identify the individual(s).
If you live in Los Feliz, Hollywood or Sherman Oaks and need urgent assistance to support an unhoused person please call 1-877-ASK-LAPD to dispatch the CIRCLE team. CIRCLE outreach workers will be dispatched to the location 24/7 to handle non-threatening, urgent matters with unhoused individuals.
If you witness criminal activity or feel your safety or that of others is threatened, regardless of a person’s housing status, please call 911.
Our Approach
When Councilmember Raman first took office, there were many large encampments scattered throughout the district, far too few beds to shelter people, and virtually no regular outreach and services being provided. There were also no dedicated homelessness staff in this or any Council office at City Hall.
Since then, we have transformed Council District 4’s approach to homelessness with an engagement and services-led strategy that connects unhoused Angelenos to case managers and matches them to beds, often through focused encampment-to-home efforts. Through our work we’ve been able to help hundreds of people in our district sustainably move off the streets and into high-quality shelter or health treatment beds on their way to permanent housing.
Provides three case managers serving Hollywood and Los Feliz and three serving our San Fernando Valley communities in and along the LA River.
Provides lifesaving street medical care to individuals in Los Feliz and along the 19 miles of the LA River in CD4 .
Provides case management and housing navigation services for individuals living in and along the LA River (Los Feliz, Glendale Narrows, Forest Lawn Dr.).
Provides outreach, case management and housing navigation services for individuals living in vehicles, especially in RVs across our district.
hosts a weekly, low-barrier, access center every Tuesday from 8:30AM to 11:30AM in Studio City at Unitarian Universalist Church, 12355 Moorpark St. Services provided at the access center include: facilitating document readiness (coordinating appointments to provide individuals Social Security Cards, California IDs, birth certificates, etc.), mail service, device charging, a warm meal and community of housed and unhoused individuals to socialize with.
Our Initiatives
Encampment-to-home: Ending homelessness encampment by encampment, person by person
Our district had many large encampments of four or more tents when we first started in office. We worked closely with service providers to provide intensive services over a short period of time to successfully connect every resident from the encampments below to appropriate shelter.
- Coldwater / 101 Underpass in Sherman Oaks
- Van Nuys / 101 Underpass and nearby in Sherman Oaks
- LA River along 5 Freeway in Los Feliz
- Hyperion / Rowena in Los Feliz
- Fruitland / Ventura (Hollywood Bowl Park and Ride) Studio City
- Hollywood / Berendo in Los Feliz
- Durant Library and Sunset / Martel in Hollywood
- Corner of Highland and Franklin in Hollywood
- Cahuenga /101 Underpass in Hollywood
- Genesta Park and Balboa / 101 Underpass in Encino
- Victory Blvd RVs in Reseda
- And more….
As a result of our work, there are no longer any large tent encampments in our district — and when new people lose their homes in our district, we’re able to engage them and help navigate them off the street much quicker than before. The map below shows the many locations across the district where the team has completed encampment-to-home efforts.
Expanding Shelter
Converting a Hotel in Hollywood to Interim Housing
Our office identified a hotel in Hollywood that was willing to partner with the city on a long-term lease, and identified the city funding required for the lease. That hotel is now operating as the first non-congregate shelter facility in the district with capacity for 144 people experiencing homelessness. Residents from encampments in Sherman Oaks, Hollywood, Los Feliz, and all of our CD4 neighborhoods have moved into this hotel on their way into permanent housing.
Securing State and Federal to Address Homelessness Along the LA River
Our office was the only entity in Los Angeles to win an Encampment Resolution Grant from the CA Governor’s Office in 2021. We raised $1.7 million that funded motel and hotel vouchers and a dedicated outreach and case management team dedicated to the stretch of the LA River in our district, a traditionally underserved area and one of the most difficult for outreach workers to access.. We secured an additional $1 million through Congressional appropriations thanks to Rep. Adam Schiff to supplement this effort. 65 individuals have now been housed along the 19 mile stretch of the LA River in our district, and work is ongoing.
Securing City Funding to Address Large Encampments
Our office successfully identified funding in the city’s budget to conduct encampment-to-home operations at key sites in the district. The money was utilized for a dedicated case management team and for motel and hotel vouchers for encampment residents in the Hollywood area.
Vehicular Outreach Program
We have contracted with Saint Joseph’s Center for an RV outreach and housing pilot program that provides case management to RV corridors in CD4 with the goal of getting RVs and oversized vehicles off of residential streets and bringing people living in vehicles indoors.
Our Projects
Each month, our office coordinates a Neighborhood Support Day to provide a one-stop-shop for folks experiencing homelessness to have access to a hot meal, case management services, free California ID access, showers, Medi-Cal registration, CalFresh registration, haircuts, clothing, legal services, documentation services, harm reduction supplies, primary care, substance use and behavioral health treatment consultation, animal services and more. Our current partners in in organizing our Neighborhood Support Days include the Durant Branch of the LA Public Library, NoHo Home Alliance, SELAH NHC, Silver Lake Community Church, First United Methodist Church of Reseda, and LA Family Housing. Together, we work to provide a welcoming, stress-free environment where participants can access these essential services and feel a sense of support and community in our District.
And through our Volunteer Corps, you can volunteer at these events, bringing care and help directly to those experiencing homelessness in our communities.
Neighborhood Support Days
Each month, our office coordinates a Neighborhood Support Day to provide a one-stop-shop for folks experiencing homelessness to have access to a hot meal, case management services, free California ID access, showers, Medi-Cal registration, CalFresh registration, haircuts, clothing, legal services, documentation services, harm reduction supplies, primary care, substance use and behavioral health treatment consultation, animal services and more. Our current partners in in organizing our Neighborhood Support Days include the Durant Branch of the LA Public Library, NoHo Home Alliance, SELAH NHC, Silver Lake Community Church, First United Methodist Church of Reseda, and LA Family Housing. Together, we work to provide a welcoming, stress-free environment where participants can access these essential services and feel a sense of support and community in our District.
LA River Rehousing Project
Thanks to grant funding from Governor Gavin Newsom’s office, our team was awarded funds to design and implement a large-scale housing effort for 60+ individuals living in and around the LA River in Council District 4 – a traditionally underserved area and one of the most difficult for outreach workers to access.
- Status: Secured over 1.7 million dollars in funds from the state for this project
- Secured $980,045 in Congressional Earmark funds to expand the project to be administered mid-year 2023
- 65+ individuals moved into shelter
- 20 connected to permanent housing subsidies
- 6 person permanently housed
- 4 more individuals leased up
Hollywood Encampment to Home (2022) and Inside Safe (2023)
In cooperation with The People Concern, our office created a program to help 80 individuals from large encampments in Hollywood achieve case management, treatment, high-quality shelter, and finally permanent housing.
- 22 individuals matched to permanent housing
Fruitland Encampment to Home (2022)
After a large encampment on County land was forced to move across the street onto land recently redistricted into Council District 4, our office worked with LAHSA, LA Family Housing, and NoHo Home Alliance to help all remaining residents get indoors.
Our Shelter Sites
Highland Gardens
In 2022, our office successfully facilitated the transition of our Project Room Key Highland Gardens site to a therapeutic, non-congregate shelter facility with capacity for more than 140 people experiencing homelessness on their way into permanent housing. To date, the shelter has provided beds for 257 individuals and supported 15 individuals into permanent housing.
A Bridge Home Riverside
A Bridge Home Riverside was opened with community support in the Los Feliz neighborhood in Summer 2020. Since its opening, the site has served 483 of individuals with shelter and onsite wrap around case management. 70 people have moved into permanent. The congregate shelter has capacity for 100 individuals and includes a dog run and community programming.
PATH Families
PATH Families opened in Summer 2021 and has served the community with onsite case management and a safe place for families to stay while getting connected with permanent housing. The site has capacity for 26 families and offers programming specifically for unhoused families with children under 18. Council District 4 partners with the staff of PATH Families to provide seasonal celebrations and events at the site. Since its opening, PATH Families has moved many of its participating families into permanent housing.
The Sieroty
The Sieroty (formerly Howard Johnson) site in Reseda was acquired by the city through the State’s Homekey program. Currently, LA Family Housing operates the Sieroty, offering 74 beds of interim housing to unsheltered individuals. Since its opening, 292 of individuals have been served by the program and 108 have been permanently housed. The Sieroty will convert to Permanent Supportive Housing in the coming years to provide longer-term housing for formerly homeless individuals in the San Fernando Valley.
Wallis House
Located in Hollywood, Aviva’s Wallis House is a 42-bed residence for women and their children experiencing homelessness. Wallis House provides women and their children a place to call home while giving them skills and support to live an independent future. Wallis House offers shelter, clothing, meals, therapeutic services, job readiness skills and mental health services. It is a place that lifts up women and their families.
