Project 50 Marks Its First Year

Project 50, initiated in October 2007 by Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslovsky, is a collaboration between Los Angeles County and more than 24 public and private agencies, including the Didi Hirsch Community Mental Health Center. Project 50’s goal is to move 50 of the most vulnerable homeless residents of Los Angeles’ Skid Row into permanent supportive housing. 

The program began in early 2008 when teams from the County and Common Ground Institute surveyed nearly 500 homeless individuals living on Skid Row, and identified the most vulnerable.  Forty-nine people were then moved into housing and an integrated support services program. The multidisciplinary program is directed by an official from the County Department of Public Health, and includes clinicians from the Department of Mental Health and Didi Hirsch, a physician, a nurse, a social worker, a psychiatrist from the JWCH Institute, and specialists from Skid Row Housing Trust. The team’s primary responsibility is to help Project 50 participants maintain their housing, and assist their integration into the larger community.

“With all of these services available in one place we can help people in even the most difficult circumstances,” says Project 50 program director John Snibbe, Ph.D.  “We try our best to keep them in a more supportive environment, and it’s working.”

More than a year after the launch of Project 50, 43 out of the 49 individuals enrolled in the program have maintained their housing. And thanks to counseling provided by Didi Hirsch and other members of the support services team, 22 of the 36 individuals who had a history of substance abuse have addressed their addiction.

“The encouraging results of this unprecedented collaboration between the public and private sectors show us that we’re on the right track,” said Supervisor Zarovslovsky. “Not only are the vast majority of participants faring significantly better in their lives, but public money is being spent in a vastly more effective way.”

For additional information on first year results for Project 50, please visit Supervisor Yaroslovsky’s website at zev.lacounty.gov.