“We are very pleased to note that Project Homekey is at 100% capacity right now.” At the Culver City Council Meeting on June 24, 2024, the Director of Housing and Human Services, Tevis Barnes, offered during the update on the homeless emergency.
Barnes has been a central hand on the wheel for the entire life of the project, and being able to report ‘full cpapcity’ has been a goal that has frequently been highlighted at past meetings.
The numbers for each part of the city’s array of support and services has been a focus of the updates for the council, and the numbers offered last night showed some solid success.
“Project Homekey, our permanent supportive housing, has 38 residents, and that is 100% of capacity. Our Interim housing has 23 residents and is at 74% of capacity.” The repurposed hotels on Sepulveda offer shelter, food, and support services for the people who live there.
Wellness Village – formerly known as the Safe Sleep Site – currently has 19 guests. Since the site opened, a total of 57 people has cycled through, with 30 of those being placed in Homekey or moved to other housing.
The motel leasing program currently houses 38 people at various motels around the city, and these situations also include food and support services.
The Mobile Crisis Team has also been busy; since they launched in early March of 2024, the meeting saw the second report to the council in regard to their activities. Dr. Dan Richardson, the team’s leader, noted that the team had responded to 365 Crisis hotline calls (not all were phone calls – this number includes email and staff referrals.) Richardson noted that 279 persons were engaged with, and that hot line referrals came from both Police and Fire dispatch.
Healthcare in Action, the latest addition of service, offers ‘street medicine.’ They noted 87 patients contacted, of whom 77 received treatment and all 77 were able to be assisted with medication.
Barnes stated “The most common treatments rendered were wound care, hypertension and anxiety/depression.”
The Healthcare in Action services rotate from Homekey, Wellness Village and the hotels on a regular basis, attending to each on one day of the week, and then taking referrals from the Mobil Crisis Unit.
Judith Martin-Straw
