More than 100 people evacuated from encampments along San Gabriel Valley riverbeds ahead of Tropical Storm Hilary now have a safe haven as well as a Pathway Home.
Just before the storm hit in August 2023, the County worked with several cities to help people leave flood-prone areas near the Rio Hondo and San Gabriel Rivers and the Santa Fe Dam spillway. The County’s Chief Executive Office, Sheriff’s Department Homeless Outreach Services Team (HOST), Fire Department, and the Departments of Mental Health (DMH), Health Services (DHS), Animal Care and Control, and Parks and Recreation all played critical roles during the operation, in collaboration with the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), Army Corps of Engineers, and the nonprofit Union Station Homeless Services.
The evacuees initially used motel vouchers issued by LA County to stay in emergency housing overseen by LAHSA before transitioning into Pathway Home, an encampment resolution program that is a critical component of the County’s comprehensive response to the local emergency on homelessness adopted by the Board of Supervisors in January 2023. By leveraging emergency powers and partnerships with local jurisdictions, Pathway Home brings people living in encampments off the streets and into immediately available interim housing accompanied by a comprehensive suite of supportive services enabling them to ultimately move into permanent housing.
Outreach teams group photo a briefing before a Pathway Home operation in Baldwin Park, Dec. 13, 2023. Clients of Tropical Storm Hilary evacuees moved from the hotel that LAHSA to them to after the storm to another hotel operated under Pathway Home where they will receive supportive services they need to move into permanent housing. (Photo/Michael Owen Baker)