Passed unanimously by the Board of Supervisors, a motion by Los Angeles County Mayor Michael D. Antonovich allocates nearly $5 million dollars for a pilot program increasing transitional treatment services for homeless mentally ill released from hospitals, jails or courts.

 

"Long-term solutions and effective treatment will help replace a broken system of warehousing without healing," said Antonovich.  "This requires a systematic approach to assist chronically homeless transition directly into permanent, service-linked independent living arrangements,"

 

The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority census figures reveal that a clear majority of the nearly 35,000 chronically homeless in Los Angeles County suffer from mental illness and/or substance addiction.

 

The Department of Mental Health currently contracts with eleven mental health facilities that provide inpatient treatment for 764 individuals countywide — however, many individuals face an approximate three-month waiting period for treatment.

 

Antonovich’s motion increases the number individuals served and monitors the program’s success to improve outcomes for the chronically homeless.