Mayor Dan O’Brien offered, “It was the first time I’ve not seen any unhoused people on the creek.” While O’Brien was referring to an activity he’d taken on his own time, and not the county-wide Annual Homeless Count, he felt it was a good reflection on the work that the city is doing to support unhoused neighbors.
The numbers offered by the city’s staff in their report on Monday, Feb. 24, 2025 gave a very thorough perspective, and reflected progress being made. It was too early to have the official results from the annual Homeless Count, but all five of the Culver City Council members participated in the survey, keeping a very late night to support the accuracy of the process.
From Housing Director Tevis Barnes, “The city is currently providing housing to 123 unhoused individuals.” The Motel Master Leasing program now has 33 guests in 45 units – four are couples – and has had 94 participants since July of 2024. It has also moved 45 participants into other housing, including but not restricted to Culver City’s Project Homekey.
The Mobile Crisis Team, led by Dr. Dan Richardson, has been available just short of a year, with their launch in April of 2024. In that time, they have received 2.024 calls on the Crisis Hotline, engaged with 726 people and have done 138 Mental Health Assessments. They have also placed 60 unhoused people into both the Wellness Village and the Motel Master Lease program over the past year.
Healthcare in Action, the ‘street medicine’ team, is the most recent arm added to the program, and they have also had success. Out of 152 patients contacted, 109 have been enrolled. The most common treatments have been wound care, hypertension, anxiety/depression and substance use disorders. Of the 152 patients engaged, 68% engaged in five or more visits. That statistic is key to keeping people out of local Emergency Rooms, and on the path to health.
The county’s mandated homeless count, which had been postponed from Jan 23, 2025 because of the catastrophic wildfires, took place on Feb. 20, tallying the unhoused in this section of the county. Results are expected to be known in March.
Judith Martin-Straw