By Barbara Osborn, Communications Director for County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl

As part of LA’s unprecedented efforts to expand services and housing for people experiencing homelessness, a recently undertaken and successful pilot program will expand into Venice beginning in October 2016.

The program, known as Venice C3 (County-City-Community Partnership), will focus on men and women in the area around Third Avenue and Rose Avenue in Venice where there is a concentration of individuals living on the sidewalks struggling with housing, mental illness, and substance abuse.

Venice C3 is a partnership between LA City, the County of Los Angeles, the Department of Health Services, the Department of Mental Health, the Department of Public Health, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, Behavioral Health Services and St. Joseph Center.

The C3 model systematically engages people living on the streets; provides immediate access to resources such as interim housing, urgent care, primary care, mental health services and substance use disorder treatment; and helps them regain health and housing stability.

The C3 model is built on an intense three step process: Step One: An outreach team, working five days a week, begins to engage people living on the street. Step Two: As individuals living on the street get to know and build trust with the outreach team, they are assisted in connecting to various services and programs, including substance abuse and/or mental health treatment, detox, or bridge housing as appropriate. Step Three: Individuals are supported to move into permanent housing and linked to ongoing supportive services and treatment.

“I am very grateful that we are able to bring this highly effective, evidence­-based program to Venice,” said Supervisor Sheila Kuehl. “We already know what works in tackling homelessness. Men and women need access to services to help stabilize their lives, and they need a home. That’s what Venice C3 is all about.”

In Year One, the Venice C3 team has set a goal of engaging 300 individuals, or roughly one-third of the men and women who are homeless in Venice, providing services to 150 of them, and securing permanent housing for 75 individuals. These projected goals are based on the success of the initial C3 pilot program.

“The homelessness crisis is the most urgent issue facing our neighborhoods, and the C3 model is a proven solution,” said Councilmember Mike Bonin, who represents Venice. “Working with Supervisor Kuehl’s office and local partners, we are going to make real progress toward the functional end of homelessness in Venice. For too long, Los Angeles has failed to address homelessness, leaving people on the streets and allowing encampments to take over our neighborhoods. Both the people living on the streets and the neighbors who want clean and safe communities deserve and demand a lasting solution to this crisis, which must include housing and services to be effective. This Venice C3 will make life better for everyone in the community and is a big part of the ongoing effort to end homelessness.”

Va Lecia Adams Kellum, President & CEO of St. Joseph Center said, “I have been working in homeless services for more than 20 years, and I have never been more hopeful about our ability to end our homeless crisis. Venice C3 provides exactly the mix of services and housing that we need.”

“Earlier this year, the County and City of Los Angeles adopted unprecedented and comprehensive plans to end homelessness. Venice C3 is exactly the kind of cooperative effort between government and community organizations called for in those plans. Over time, efforts like Venice C3 will dramatically reduce the number of men and women living on the streets,” said Wendy Greuel, Chair of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) Commission.