Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Human Services topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
West Hollywood outlines $30 million human services budget, highlights Holloway interim housing for people experiencing homelessness
Summary
City staff described Human Services programs that fund about $8 million in contracted social services (roughly 40 providers), expanded street outreach and a Holloway interim housing site converted from a motel with 20 rooms to provide case management and supportive services.
Christine Safrit, director of West Hollywood's Human Services and Rent Stabilization Department, opened a public presentation saying the department manages roughly a $30 million budget and a 29-person staff that enforces the Rent Stabilization Ordinance and delivers social services.
"We provide essential services to the city of West Hollywood in the arena of rent stabilization, enforcing the city's rent stabilization ordinance and making sure that tenants and landlords have a forum to deliver safe housing for residents," Safrit said.
Tariq Carter, the city's human services manager, said the division funds about $8 million in social-service contracts with nearly 40 mostly nonprofit providers. Carter listed the department's priority populations, naming older adults, the LGBTQ+ community, immigrants and refugees, people experiencing homelessness and people living with disabilities as groups that receive focused support.
Carter described six core service areas: homelessness services, aging-in-place supports, mental health and LGBTQ+ services, food and nutrition, and substance-use services. He said services are often combined for individuals with overlapping needs.
Carter highlighted the Holloway interim housing program, a former motel converted into 20 individual rooms that opened in October. "People will have an opportunity to access beds and support to find a new pathway forward in their life," the presentation said, noting onsite case management, medical and behavioral-health supports, occupational therapy, recovery services and three meals a day.
A neighbor who said they live less than a block away praised the program as "a significant investment" and urged residents to get involved.
The city also described street-based interventions and mobile teams, including an HIA and a care team used as an alternative to 911 for nonemergency mental-health calls. Carter said mobile medical and mental-health services and substance-use treatment are part of the outreach.
On harm reduction and sexual-health services, staff said the city provides HIV and STI testing, PrEP and PEP, syringe exchange, naloxone distribution (via providers and by mail) and plans for community health hubs to dispense harm-reduction and health supplies.
Carter directed audience members seeking demographic breakdowns of people served to the department's annual social services report (the 2025 results are published online). He also described food-security programs (pantries, medically tailored food delivery, two weekly distributions and congregate dining) and aging-in-place services including in-home support and home retrofits.
Carter closed by noting the Human Services Commission helps guide strategy and participates in contractor selection, and he invited residents to consult the department's website for provider lists and additional information.
