Supportive Services and Employment

The Homeless Initiative enables homeless families and individuals to obtain the case management and supportive services they need to obtain permanent housing, utilize public services and benefits, and increase their income. While many homeless adults can increase their income through employment, severely disabled homeless individuals can do so by obtaining federal disability benefits. The Homeless Initiative also enables eligible people experiencing homelessness a chance to clear criminal records that are creating barriers to services, employment, and housing.

Benefits Enrollment

The Los Angeles County Departments of Public Social Services (DPSS) and Health Services (DHS) deploy Countywide Benefits Entitlement Services (CBEST) Teams to help increase the income of disabled individuals who are experiencing homeless or at risk of losing their home.

CBEST provides advocacy services to assist people with applying for veterans’ benefits, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants (CAPI). It also provides case management services, and linkage to needed health, mental health and substance abuse services.

Second Chance Opportunities

With the Criminal Record Clearing Project, the Los Angeles County Public Defender works to provide legal services to help people experiencing or at risk of homelessness resolve outstanding infractions and associated warrants, which are often barriers to housing, employment, education, and legal immigration. 

Homeless Courts staged in the community, outside the traditional courtroom setting, incentivize people experiencing homelessness to engage with provider services to dismiss infractions and misdemeanors related to being unhoused.

Employment and Job Training

The Los Angeles County Department of Economic Opportunity uses Homeless Initiative funding to fund employment programs such as LA:RISE, Careers for a Cause, Hire Up, and Alternative Staffing Organizations that leverage the capacities of social enterprises and the public workforce development system to provide people experiencing homelessness with subsidized employment opportunities and support services that ultimately lead to unsubsidized employment.