MALIBU—According to a press release from the city of Malibu website, the Malibu City Council voted unanimously to adopt Malibu’s Homelessness Strategic plan on June 25.
“This is a great example of a grassroots movement of people and community-based organizations responding to a need, partnering with the City, and evolving into a community-wide effort involving residents, organizations, faith groups and government agencies all working together,” said Mayor Rick Mullen said. “Now we are starting to see the positive results, and it really says a lot about who we are as a compassionate, engaged City.”
The plan is a set of seven goals with a list of actions to support the goal. They include:
-Reducing the number of people experiencing homelessness in Malibu by providing access to temporary and permanent housing solutions within Los Angeles County.
-Preventing and mitigating any public health and public safety impacts on the community stemming from homelessness.
-Implementing programs to prevent homelessness among residents of Malibu.
-Providing coordinated outreach and supportive services to homeless individuals and families that promote self-sufficiency and personal stability.
-Increasing awareness among the community of the Malibu homeless initiative, it’s progress, and successes.
-Advocating for systemic change at the county, state, and federal levels that will strengthen efforts in preventing and reducing homelessness.
-Developing an administrative and governance infrastructure to facilitate collaboration, provide oversight, and support implementation of the homelessness strategic plan.
The city of Malibu secured a $50,000 grant in October 2017 from Los Angeles County to help fund the development of the plan. The City included a budget allocation to address homelessness in the Fiscal Year for 2018-2019, where $200,000 is included in the Public Safety budget to support the Malibu’s Homeless Outreach Team and an encampment management initiative which are part of the plan.
The Strategic Plan was drafted by the Advisory Group that consisted of 30 representatives from the city of Malibu, Malibu residents, the Sheriff’s Department, the Malibu Task Force on Homelessness, the faith community, CART (Community Action Resource Team), the People Concern, the Malibu Homeless Outreach Team, S.O.S. (Standing on Stone) and more and a consultant, which was the result of community survey, questionnaires and three half-day strategic planning workshops.
To view more information about the plan visit https://www.malibucity.org/Homelessness. For more details, call Public Safety Manager Susan Dueñas at 310-456-2489 ext. 313 or email SDuenas@MalibuCity.org.
