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StreetWorks, a professional street maintenance and cleaning service, employs homeless people in apprenticeships that help them develop good work habits and marketable experience. Labor Connection, a full-service staffing agency, offers individuals the opportunity to reenter the job market through short-term and temp-to-permanent work assignments. Chrysalis also offers individual and group counseling through stress management services provided during and after the job search process. The Job Club is a popular group counseling session in which clients support each other while trying to obtain employment. “Chrysalis’ counseling components address the mental health aspects of what it takes to get and keep a job after a long period of unemployment,” said Ruth Brousseau, TCWF program director. “This important focus is overlooked by most employment programs.” Youth-Focused Services As many as 12,000 young people live on the streets of Los Angeles. The Hollywood community is a frequent place for street youth to “squat” in abandoned buildings or under freeways. Many have fled drug-addicted parents or homes where they experienced physical and sexual abuse. On the streets, these young people miss out on learning the basic skills of how to care for themselves and get along in society.
TCWF gave a two-year, $80,000 grant for core operating support toward MFP’s physical and mental health care services, which it provides through partnerships with the Los Angeles Free Clinic and Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. “Research has shown that homeless youth are more likely to have mental and physical health problems than their non-homeless counterparts,” said Gary Nelson, TCWF program director. “The service design of My Friends Place reflects an understanding of this, and the center has facilitated the youth’s access of these needed health care services by bringing them right to the youth.” My Friends Place works with other Hollywood-area providers to link youth to shelter, job training and other needed services such as substance abuse recovery. The organization fosters these important linkages through its membership and participation in monthly conferences with the Hollywood Homeless Youth Partnership, where area homeless youth services providers discuss appropriate resources for youth and ensure that the organizations are not duplicating services. “A lot of people think that if you build a shelter, homeless youth will come, but that’s not necessarily true,” said Ben Schirmer, executive director of My Friends Place. “Homeless youth have great difficulty trusting people. Our drop-in center works hard to
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Winter 2001-02
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Grantees Address Health and Human Service Needs of Homeless Populations Environmental justice for Bay Area Asians Counseling helps homeless youth |
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