Did You Know?

On any given day, there are an estimated 73,702 homeless people throughout the Los Angeles County.

Approximately 15% of these are under the age of 18 (www.LAHSA.org).

30 to 50 percent of the county’s homeless population suffers from mental illness and/or substance abuse or chemical dependency, and are in need of supportive services.

Rent consumed 65% to 83% of a minimum wage worker’s full- time gross monthly salary. (Locked out 2008 California Budget Project www.cbp.org)

A Californian who earns the state’s minimum wage of $8.00 per hour in 2008 would need to work 83 hours per week, year-round, in order to afford the statewide Fair Market Rent (FMR) of $868 per month for a STUDIO apartment (www.nlihc.org).

What Does It Mean?

Housing First: Housing First is an approach to ending homelessness that centers on providing homeless people with housing quickly and then providing services as needed. Housing First does not require persons to “earn” their housing, or demand sobriety or health/mental health treatment as a condition for access to housing. Housing First programs share critical elements:

• There is a focus on helping individuals and families access and sustain permanent rental housing as quickly as possible

• A variety of services are delivered primarily following housing placement to promote housing stability and individual well-being

• The services are time-limited or long-term depending upon individual need

• Housing is not contingent on compliance with services.  Instead, participants must comply with a standard lease agreement and are provided with the services and supports necessary to help them do so successfully. (National Alliance to end Homelessness)

Supportive Housing: Supportive housing is a successful, cost-effective combination of affordable housing with services that helps people live more stable, productive lives.  Supportive housing works well for people who face the most complex challenges — individuals and families who are not only homeless, but who also have very low incomes and serious, persistent issues that may include substance use, mental illness, and HIV/AIDS (www.csh.org).


Harm Reduction: Harm reduction is a set of practical strategies that reduce negative consequences of drug use, incorporating a spectrum of strategies from safer use, to managed use to abstinence. Harm reduction strategies meet drug users "where they're at," addressing conditions of use along with the use itself (www.harmreduction.org)