Outreach Team Assists Underserved Individuals

Albert Simmons — unhoused since 2009 — has been seeking stable housing from various local agencies and case workers for some time, furthering his skepticism about the reliability of housing programs and agencies.
Simmons is in South Pasadena often and sometimes stays around the city’s public library.
“We were promised things and every time we’ve been promised something it disappeared as quickly as it was promised,” Simmons said about he and his friend’s past experiences working with homeless service providers. Simmons’ friend asked to remain anonymous for personal reasons.
Simmons mentioned that finding housing can be a long process, sometimes with no follow-through from case workers, and even when housing opportunities are presented they do not always meet his needs or expectations.
Though it may be compelling to label Simmons and other unhoused individuals in his situation as “service-resistant,” his experience is not an isolated incident.
According to a 2021 report from the California Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency, “Many individuals who are unsheltered are disconnected from services and are sometimes labeled ‘service-resistant’ without a true understanding of barriers to shelter or housing.
“In fact, barriers to receiving help are often complex. Barriers to housing and other services include inability to bring pets to shelters or housing, difficulty obtaining identification documents, inability to bring possessions, inability to stay with a partner or other family member, long delays, poor communication and lack of transparency,” the report documents.
Fortunately, two days before Christmas, 65-year-old Simmons found housing with the help of Councilman Michael Cacciotti and an outreach response team with the San Gabriel Valley Council of Government’s Crisis Assistance Response and Engagement (SGV CARE) pilot program.
The SGV CARE program officially launched in October. SGV CARE is meant to address how selected cities in the San Gabriel Valley respond to nonviolent emergency calls regarding mental and physical health care and homelessness.
There are two response teams in relation to the pilot program — the first is a mobile crisis team that responds to individuals experiencing behavioral or mental health emergencies. For now, there are only four cities that the crisis team serves in partnership with Los Angeles Centers for Alcohol and Drug Abuse (L.A. CADA) — South Pasadena, San Marino, Arcadia and Montebello. The mobile crisis teams either respond to incoming 911 calls or accompany local police officers and firefighters. The team consists of three professionals specializing in emergency health care, clinical and social work.
The second is a mobile outreach team or L.A. CADA Supplemental Team 2 that responds directly to “known hot spots, and [homeless] encampments, and incorporates new areas identified by the city or cohort personnel,” according to the SGVCOG website. The outreach team primarily works separately from local law enforcement and is meant to supplement services not provided by the mobile crisis team. The supplemental outreach team works in 16 cities for five days a week in the San Gabriel Valley.
The outreach team consists of four professionals — a program coordinator, an EMT, a mental health clinician and a housing services navigator. Services that the team provides are street outreach, housing navigation, mental health support, case management, homelessness prevention, problem solving and supportive services, according to the SGVCOG website.
Raimundo Torres, L.A. CADA housing navigator and member of the outreach team, explained how the team operates and said, “The easiest way I can explain it is that each person is a puzzle and we try to solve it at the same time. … What we do is figure out what they need.”
As far as housing, Torres said, “All of these places are different. Some places provide three meals a day, some don’t. … Sometimes we can find shelter, sometimes we can find hotel vouchers — sometimes it’s difficult because we don’t have enough resources.”
Though each unhoused individual’s needs vary, in Simmons’ case the housing and services would include a secure place to sleep with nurse check-ups and medication provided, Torres said. There are also follow-ups with each individual helped through the pilot program.
“What’s most important is their medication and having a nurse check on them and making sure that they have enough to feed themselves. … Luckily, they have their [General Relief] benefits still so they have the means to take care of themselves,” he said.
General Relief is a Los Angeles County-funded program that provides financial aid to adults with no income or resources and children, in certain special cases.
William Gray, outreach program coordinator with L.A. CADA, said the part of the pilot program that handles housing is subsidized by the L.A. County Department of Social Services and is for individuals who qualify for CalFresh or General Relief benefits.
“They can qualify for housing within the county but unfortunately there aren’t many [available housing options] in San Gabriel Valley, they are mostly [located] in Los Angeles,” Gray said.
L.A. CADA generally provides housing or treatment opportunities for individuals seeking help with substance and alcohol use. If the programs do not fit the individual’s needs, Gray said the process becomes a collaborative effort between the outreach providers and local third-party organizations.
“[Supplemental Team 2] is problem solving by building resources within the community and the county to get individuals connected to housing, whatever that might be to them,” he said about individuals who do not require L.A. CADA’s services.
Since the program’s launch, Gray estimated that the supplemental outreach team has connected with 500 individuals throughout San Gabriel Valley in need of the services.
“We’re a dedicated team and we want to speak to the folks who might have been passed by for so long and we want to let them know that we’re here. Some of us know exactly what they’re going through and we want to bring some experience, strength and hope. Things can get better,” Gray said.
“My biggest thing is acknowledging the person who is unhoused, struggling with substance or mental health issues and is passed by all day. Just smile at them. It can make the person’s day,” he said.