SANTA MONICA—A request has been made by Santa Monica City Manager Rick Cole to fill new positions that can ameliorate the situation regarding homelessness in the region. Cole will ask the Santa Monica City Council for $320,000 to be supplemented throughout the 2018-2019 fiscal year. The additional help, will assist Santa Monica with tackling an ongoing issue.

Homelessness has been a problem in Santa Monica, with the Annual Homeless Count revealing that homelessness in the region has risen 26 percent; that’s 3 percent more than of Los Angeles County. If the City Council approves Cole’s proposition, new hires will implement regional solutions with neighboring communities to decrease the number of homeless individuals and families in the city.

New teams have been developed partnering with the Santa Monica Police Department and Human Services agents to learn the stories of the homeless individuals and glean statistical data that explains the source of their problem.

City Hall has formed seven strategic goals to expedite the problematic situation which include: smart deployment of local resources, proving the efficacy of models that connect people to housing, increasing availability of housing and services in other communities, ensuring effective, safe, respectful use of the Santa Monica Public Library, active internal and external stakeholders, analyze the interventions that help people retain housing, and retaining landlords and preventing homelessness among low-income Santa Monica residents.