Manhattan Beach Celebrates Homelessness Success Story
Mar 09, 2021 08:32AM ● By Jeanne Fratello
Photo collage/illustration via MBSAFE
Following a successful outreach effort with city and regional agencies, a young homeless man in Manhattan Beach who was living outside a grocery store was able to secure housing... and a job at the grocery store.
The story was highlighted at a recent Manhattan Beach City Council meeting, during the city's quarterly report on homelessness in Manhattan Beach.
The client was a young adult (18-24) who had been sleeping near a grocery store in Manhattan Beach.
After receiving outreach from the Manhattan Beach nonprofit organization MB SAFE, the client got connected with Harbor Interfaith Services, Manhattan Beach's partner in its homeless assistance efforts.
The Harbor Interfaith case manager, Ramon Rendon, was able to secure a sober living arrangement, as requested by the client.
Then Rendon and the client went to the grocery store, where he was offered a job "on the spot."
The client was able to move in to the housing immediately. Thanks to donations from MB SAFE, he received work uniform clothing so he was able to start work right away.
George Gabriel, a senior management analyst for Manhattan Beach and also the city's homelessness liaison, said that such a quick turnaround is unusual but gratifying.
"I remember when [the agencies] gave me an update, they told me, '... And we got him a job too!' I was surprised because that doesn’t always happen." Gabriel told DigMB. "We usually focus on housing solutions first, then work on long term economic health. In this instance it all happened in one fell swoop, which was really awesome."
Manhattan Beach's 'Unique' Outreach to the Homeless
Manhattan Beach's outreach efforts to the homeless are part of a
three-city collaboration among the beach cities (Manhattan, Hermosa, and Redondo). The cities receive
funding for those efforts through Measure H, a ¼ percent increase to the
L.A. County sales tax approved by county voters in March 2017.
In April 2019, the three beach cities received
$330,665 from Measure H grant funding for homeless coordination,
training and housing
navigation services. Through the grant funding, the beach cities awarded a contract to Harbor Interfaith
Services to provide three full-time equivalent positions to assist homeless individuals and families in those cities. The cities' goal is to fund a comprehensive regional approach to homelessness, including services, rental subsidies and housing.
Manhattan Beach, however, is unique in that it has an active nonprofit, MB SAFE (Manhattan Beach - Safe Alternatives for Everyone), which works collaboratively with local and county officials to connect homeless people to resources. MB SAFE, founded in 2019 with the motto "A hand up, not a hand out," also raises funds to finance services, assists in transitions to temporary and permanent housing, and works to help with family reunification opportunities.
"I think MB SAFE is really unique. It’s a great model of how to get the community involved in a productive and organized way," said Rita Crabtree-Kampe, an MB SAFE cofounder and board member, who also serves as the organization's Homeless Connect Chair.
Crabtree-Kampe, who became a Certified Peer Specialist to be able to do effective homeless outreach and education, said that her aim is to connect homeless people with resources, educate the community, and to provide follow up with people her group has helped. "There are lots of programs available. Our mission is to find out how to get people to them," she said.
Safe and sustainable housing is one of the group's top priorities, whether it's for individuals who are healthy and ready to work, or for those who are mentally ill or battling addiction. Many homeless people do not want to go to a homeless shelter, she said, because the shelters can be unsafe places, and people have to leave every morning and then wait in line to get admitted for the next night.
"They don’t want to go to a shelter, they want independence," said Crabtree-Kampe. "A home offers much more dignity than a shelter, where you’re shoved out in the morning, and you have to wait in line for a bed. That is a very disconcerting and disorienting way to live your life, because you’re constantly in survival mode."
MB SAFE has celebrated several recent successful housing placements
with clients who had been living on the street and are now living
in SHARE Collaborative Housing arrangements.
Furthermore, even after the clients have a place to live, MB SAFE will continue to follow up and offer support.
"Yesterday I took one of [our newly placed clients] out for a burger, and said, 'You look a little thin. Let’s talk about meal planning. Let’s go grocery shopping together,'" said Crabtree-Kampe, adding, "It’s hard to survive without a support system."
Another equally important part of MB SAFE's mission is educating the community. "I want to take away that animosity and disgust that people have toward homeless people," Crabtree-Kampe said. "On Nextdoor.com you see people saying about the homeless situation, 'That’s just the way it is,' and my response is, 'No - it doesn’t have to be that way!'"
George Gabriel said at the City Council meeting that MB SAFE has been "instrumental" in providing outreach efforts in the city.
"Homelessness is a complex issue and it really requires all of us to pitch in," said Gabriel. "It requires our patience. It requires our compassion. It requires our ability to unite as a community and to assist our neighbors. So with that being said, [MB SAFE] should be commended for their efforts."
Mayor Suzanne Hadley concurred. "I'm glad that you gave MB SAFE a shout-out. That
success story is just one of many," she said. "It's amazing to know that the private initiative of a handful of residents can make such a difference."
success story is just one of many," she said. "It's amazing to know that the private initiative of a handful of residents can make such a difference."
Homelessness Funding in Manhattan Beach
In the quarterly report to City Council, Gabriel noted that the $330,665 Measure H grant has been extended from March 2021 to December 2021. This grant funding is expected to last through October, or possibly sooner, he said. The city is working with Los Angeles County to fill the funding gap until a new round of grant funding is available.
Manhattan Beach did not do a homelessness count this year after the Los Angeles Homeless Service Authority (LAHSA) determined that there was no safe way to train and gather all 8,000 volunteers county-wide (40 volunteers for Manhattan Beach) under current COVID-19 restrictions.
(For reference, in 2020, the total count for Manhattan Beach homeless individuals was 15. The number was down from 22 in 2019, and down even further from 41 in 2018, according to LAHSA records. However, that count only reflects a single night in January. The total count for this largely transient population
has remained steady throughout the adjoining beach cities. For Manhattan
Beach, Hermosa Beach, and Redondo Beach combined, the homelessness count total was 219 in
2020, compared to 220 in 2019, and 218 in 2018.)
Another highlight from the City Council report was the fact that the city has logged 223 interactions with homeless individuals since the start of the Harbor Interfaith Services contract in 2019 (including 24 interactions with six clients in the past month). Interactions are defined as contacts in the field between outreach / housing navigators and clients.
Gabriel told DigMB that the contract with Harbor Interfaith Services has helped with accountability. "Initially we tried to solve one-off cases, and we had no way to measure success or failure, but now that we have Harbor Interfaith tracking this, we’re in a place where we can say, 'This is what we’ve done, this is what we’re still working on.'"
Additionally, the Manhattan Beach Police Department has a new initiative to establish homeless "liaisons" within the patrol department. Those liaisons are able to coordinate and unify homeless response across shifts.
"We’re certainly fortunate to have a community that is interested and involved in addressing homelessness," said Gabriel. "We say, 'If you have a good idea, we’re open to hearing it because we want to solve it as much as anyone else does.'"
For more information about programs and policies on homelessness in Manhattan Beach, visit the city's homelessness resource page.
For more information about MBSAFE, visit www.MBSAFE.org. MBSAFE is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that welcomes monetary donations, as well as donations of cleaning supplies and other home goods for newly placed clients. To contact them, email [email protected]
