After four years of living on the streets, Denise, 66, moved into a tiny home at Operation Stay Safe in Montebello, which also provided her with meals, case management, transportation, housing navigation, and other services.
Within a matter of months, she was able to get the help she needed to move into her own apartment.
“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you guys,” she said. “You guys are my angels.”
Denise became homeless in 2018 after an ownership change at the place she had been staying in. In August 2022, she was able to find shelter at Operation Stay Safe, a 30-unit Tiny Home village built by the City of Montebello in partnership with the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments and the San Gabriel Valley Regional Housing Trust.
Operation Stay Safe is supported by Los Angeles County’s Cities and Councils of Local Governments Interim Housing Services Fund (CCOGIHS), which provides supportive services at interim housing projects where people experiencing homelessness have a pathway to permanent housing.
While at Operation Stay Safe, Denise was able to receive case management, housing navigation, and transportation services from the Montebello Community Assistance Program (MCAP), Volunteers of America Los Angeles (VOA), and the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA). In March 2023, Denise was able to secure and utilize a Section 8 rental voucher and move into her own apartment in March 2023, thanks to the services provided at Operation Stay Safe.
MCAP is a field-based outreach program operated by the City of Montebello that helps residents facing challenges that impact their quality of life, such as homelessness, and compromised health and behavioral health conditions. Staffed by a firefighter/paramedic, social work coordinator, field-based case manager and housing navigator, MCAP’s purpose is to assist Fire and Police personnel in situations where alternative intervention and support is more appropriate.