WEST HOLLYWOOD—The city is partnering with UCLA Health Homeless Healthcare Collaborative to bring UCLA’s mobile healthcare clinic to West Hollywood on a regular basis to serve people experiencing homelessness in the region.
The city of WeHo indicated in a press release that UCLA Health will host walk-up healthcare services on a monthly basis piloting services at West Hollywood Park on Monday, December 19 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and Plummer Park on Tuesday, January 10, 2023 from 12 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Services will be provided at no-cost by UCLA Health Homeless Healthcare Collaborative, which includes doctors and nurses. The Homeless Healthcare Collaborative mobile team provides urgent care, wound care, medical screenings, preventive care, vaccinations, care for chronic medical conditions, and referrals to social service supports that benefit community members experiencing homelessness. Additional service dates will be announced after the pilot launches.
“We deeply appreciate the partnership with UCLA Health in bringing their innovative Homeless Healthcare Collaborative to West Hollywood. Through the West Hollywood Homeless Initiative, we are working to increase access to services and support that help people on the path back into housing. Making UCLA Health services available within the City makes it easier to get healthcare. We are proud to have UCLA Health join forces with the West Hollywood Homeless Initiative,” said Mayor Lauren Meister, who is also a member of the West Hollywood City Council Subcommittee on Homelessness.
According to UCLA Health, stressors and barriers individuals face when encountering homelessness lead to higher rates of chronic disease, social isolation, increased morbidity and mortality, fragmented service use, and poor primary care experiences. According to UCLA Health data, 85 percent of emergency department visits for individuals experiencing homelessness are due to primary- or urgent-care conditions that can be stopped or treated in the community.
By partnering with UCLA Health Homeless Healthcare Collaborative, West Hollywood is adding to existing innovative health services funded by the City’s Social Services Grants Program to meet the needs of community members experiencing homelessness. Healthcare in Action provides on-call health services in the city’s parks and public spaces and LA LGBT Center offers comprehensive, ongoing health services at their nearby clinic. West Hollywood’s collaborative partnerships with Saban Community Clinic, and Cedars-Sinai continue. All told, the range of health resources available through these partners, along with the capacity to meet people both in the community and serve them ongoing at local clinics, advances health equity in West Hollywood.
The City’s Human Services and Rent Stabilization Department’s Strategic Initiatives Division supervises the West Hollywood Homeless Initiative in coordination with the City’s Social Services Division. The Homeless Initiative is a multi-disciplinary, multi-agency collaborative response, which includes multiple City Departments, city-funded social service agencies, the West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, and Los Angeles County agencies.
With the West Hollywood Homeless Initiative, in partnership with the community, and with funding support from LA County Measure H, in 2018 the WeHo established the Five Year Plan to Address Homelessness. The plan identifies seven goals – and key actions to reach these goals – this new partnership with UCLA Health further advances Goal #6: Strengthen partnerships with other cities and with nonprofit organizations to support regional and individualized solutions to homelessness.
The West Hollywood Homeless Initiative seeks to efficiently address homelessness. If concerned about a community member who is homeless, call the West Hollywood Homeless Initiative Concern Line at (323) 848-6590. For time-sensitive assistance during nights or weekends call the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station at (310) 855-8850.
For more details about the Homeless Initiative, please contact Elizabeth Anderson, West Hollywood Strategic Initiatives Program Administrator, at (323) 848-6839 or eanderson@weho.org. For additional information, visit www.weho.org/homeless. For people who are Deaf or hard of hearing call TTY (323) 848-6496.
