The Department of Health Services’ Housing for Health sends specialized street outreach teams across Los Angeles County to offer help to people experiencing homelessness, and is expanding those teams under the current State of Emergency declared by the Board of Supervisors.
In Long Beach, DHS HFH recently partnered with city officials and contracted with the nonprofit service provider Mental Health America of Los Angeles (MHALA) to deploy multi-disciplinary teams (MDTs) that would visit encampments and repeatedly engage with unhoused individuals living there.
The County plans to expand to 55 MDTs by leveraging its emergency powers. These teams include a health specialist, mental health specialist, substance use specialist, peer with lived experience, and a generalist, and their goal is to develop trusting relationships with people experiencing homelessness and ultimately connect them to housing and various supportive services.
