We all have a stake in helping children and youth whose lives have been disrupted by lack of safe, permanent and adequate housing to achieve success in learning, growing and maturing. Beyond ensuring school enrollment and attendance this stake also includes working with others to help homeless children and families meet basic survival needs and overcome the trauma of homelessness.
No one person or agency can meet all of the needs of a homeless child or family, but many agencies can meet some of these needs. By strengthening the capacity of county human service agencies and local schools to collaborate with each other in helping homeless children and families we can provide more effective and comprehensive services for these members of our community. With this in mind we hope this directory of resources will help coordinate our energies to more effectively assist homeless children, youth and families.
Los Angeles County is so vast and complex that this referral guide is broken out by the eight Service Planning Areas (SPAs) to help identify service resources in specific communities as well as to help homeless service providers find each other and build working relationships. There are eighty school districts in Los Angeles County and in this guide they are divided into the SPAs where they are located. Hopefully this will not only help school staff identify nearby homeless service providers, but also assist other agencies in identifying the schools to which children should be referred.
All together we can make a difference in the lives of children, youth and families that are experiencing homelessness.
– Shirley Abrams, Los Angeles County Office of Education
Section Headings:
- Overview of Referral Guide
- Hot Lines
- Government Social Services
- Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS)
- Health Services Department (DHS)
- Department of Mental Health (DMH)
- Probation Department
- Department of Public Social Services (DPSS)
- Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA)
- Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE)
- Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs)
- Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
- City and County Housing Programs
- Non-Profit Regional Programs
- SPA 1: Antelope Valley
- Map of Shelters and Service Providers
- Listing of Shelters, Service Providers, and School Liaisons
- SPA 2: San Fernando
- Map of Shelters and Service Providers
- Listing of Shelters, Service Providers, and School Liaisons
- SPA 3: San Gabriel
- Map of Shelters and Service Providers
- Listing of Shelters, Service Providers, and School Liaisons
- SPA 4: Metro
- Map of Shelters and Service Providers
- Listing of Shelters, Service Providers, and School Liaisons
- SPA 5: West
- Map of Shelters and Service Providers
- Listing of Shelters, Service Providers, and School Liaisons
- SPA 6: South
- Map of Shelters and Service Providers
- Listing of Shelters, Service Providers, and School Liaisons
- SPA 7: East
- Map of Shelters and Service Providers
- Listing of Shelters, Service Providers, and School Liaisons
- SPA 8: Harbor
- Map of Shelters and Service Providers
- Listing of Shelters, Service Providers, and School Liaisons
- Appendix
- Map of LA County Public School Districts
- School District Homeless Liaisons (Public and Charter)
- Los Angeles Unified School District
- Community College Districts
- Regional Occupational Centers
- DHS Alcohol and Drug Intervention and Recovery Services for Adolescents
- DPSS Housing Program (HP) Comparative Chart
- Sources and Acknowledgements
