HOPICS presents new Compton access center, warns HUD grant expires in June; asks city for funding partnership

HOPICS, the Homeless Outreach Program Integrated Care System, told the Compton City Council on Feb. 24 that it has expanded full homeless services into Compton and is seeking local help to keep a recently opened access center running. "We are now doing the full continuum of services here in Compton," said Ben K., an associate director at HOPICS, during a city presentation.

HOPICS presented fiscal-year figures showing the agency served about 16,000 people across South Los Angeles, Compton, Lynwood and Paramount, actively enrolled roughly 5,000 clients and helped more than 1,300 exit to permanent housing. In Compton specifically, the access center that opened Sept. 15 has screened 171 people and referred 82 into interim shelter, HOPICS said. Interim family shelters renovated through Project HomeKey include Lemon House (40 family units) and Cherry House (26 family units); a converted motel named Hub City was described as a 40-unit permanent supportive housing project with intensive wraparound services.

Council members asked how many of the reported service numbers represented Compton residents. Antoine Wilson, a program manager with HOPICS' outreach team, said the access-center, interim housing and permanent-housing figures presented for Compton do reflect clients drawn from the city. He described field operations as a combination of sheriff referrals, LA HOP system assignments and community reports; outreach teams typically make three attempts to engage an individual before closing a referral.

HOPICS officials cautioned that county reorganization and budget shortfalls could affect some programs. "Los Angeles County created a new Department of Homeless Services and Housing (HSH) that begins rolling contracts July 1," Ben K. said, adding the county faces a multi-hundred-million-dollar shortfall for homeless services. HOPICS said most of its Compton programming is grant-funded and expected to have identified funding beginning July, but the Compton Access Center was supported by a one-year HUD grant that ends in June. "We are looking to partner with the city for the Compton Access Center," HOPICS said.

Council members pressed for specifics about capacity and ongoing costs. HOPICS gave the operating budget for a typical access center at about $400,000 per year and said the Compton site operates at roughly half that level (~$200,000 annually). The agency also described integrated services available on outreach vans, including peer case workers, a mental-health therapist and a nurse, and said the mobile teams can arrange transport, prescriptions and referrals to Department of Mental Health partners when needed.

HOPICS representatives left contact information and requested a follow-up conversation with city staff about funding options for the access center after their HUD grant expires. The council did not vote on any funding at the Feb. 24 meeting.