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PATH (People Assisting the Homeless)A Social Services Mall to Help the HomelessThe shopping mall has become an American icon within our society. We flock to it to purchase consumer goods, to see movies, to take walks around miles of corridors, or to simply hang out. It's a place for families, seniors, teens – a place for everyone. It's a one-stop haven for just about all of our needs and wants. PATH (People Assisting The Homeless) has created a new kind of American mall in Los Angeles, California. Instead of a shopping mall, however, PATH has created a service mall for people who are homeless or living in poverty. The PATHMall houses dozens of private and public social service agencies in suites along a modern mall corridor. There's a full-service employment agency, a substance abuse counseling and treatment center, a mental health care office, a free medical clinic, a public benefits center, community court, and even a beauty salon. If a person is living in poverty or living on the streets, this mall provides every service that she or he would need to overcome the barriers and access to permanent housing and steady employment. PATH opened the PATHMall in 2002. It is a collaborative of 20 community-based organizations and government social service agencies that form a "one-stop shopping center" for homeless individuals and families. It is part of a 40,000-square-foot facility known as the PATH Regional Homeless Center. In the span of one year, the mall transforms the lives of thousands of people, providing mental health services to about 1,200 people; employment placement assistance to more than 500; health care to about 850, and free haircuts and manicures to more than 6,000. The total operating budget of PATH is $3.8 million (FY 03-04). The program first began in 1993, and Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP) funding through the Department of Labor-Veterans' Employment and Training Service (DOL-VETS) was approved in April 2000. During the first year of HVRP funding, the program received $103,441, and in the subsequent years it has received $102,000 annually. The PATHFinders Job Center/PATHAcademy program utilizes HVRP funding with a total budget of $127,000. The program is also supported by the Department of Veteran Affairs Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program, Employees Community Foundation of Boeing Southern California; and the Carrie Estelle Doheny Foundation. Through its unique layout and design PATHFinders/PATHAcademy is able to offer the following services to participants:
Since the inception of the program, PATH has made several adjustments to respond to the unique service needs of its homeless veteran clients. Staff have increased their emphasis on providing training and job placement activities in specific vocations, such as security guards, forklift operation and building maintenance. They have also increased their efforts to ensure that clients are aware of and have access to on-the-job training (office managing, building maintenance) and basic computer training. These newer classes are very popular with the veterans, and have a much higher rate of enrollment than the longer, 15-week computer training course, which is often a problem for veterans who are looking for immediate employment. These services are provided through strategic partnerships with several local organizations that offer comprehensive employment and supportive services for homeless veterans, including:
To manage these collaborations, PATH utilizes formal memorandums of understanding (MOUs) and constant communication between PATH and the personnel of participating agencies. The unique aspect of this program is the central location of the service providers. Clients are able to walk into the mall, complete a single intake process and begin addressing all of the complex issues relating to their homelessness in one place. With this coordinated approach, each program enhances the likelihood of success of the others, thus reducing the chance that people will get frustrated or overwhelmed. In addition to promoting longer client retention and more comprehensive care, the mall service model reduces wasteful duplication of existing services and promotes greater cost-effectiveness through shared resources, overhead and a coordinated intake process. This collaboration allows each agency to build its capacity by providing more comprehensive care with improved outcomes at a lower cost-per-service. In addition to being a convenient location for the clients, a sense of community is created around a centralized mission. During the 2002-03 fiscal year, the program had difficulty achieving its goals. The average wage at job placement was $8.49, with 44 employment placements. The actual goal for the year was 65, but the slow pace of the economy and the stagnant state of the job market adversely impacted the program's success. As a result, the organization created a community advisory board comprised of business owners, entrepreneurs, corporate leaders and economic development agency representatives. The board uses its professional expertise and networks to connect PATH clients to employment opportunities. This initiative has allowed PATH to greatly improve their placement goals in the current fiscal year. Another area where there was difficulty meeting program goals was permanent housing placement. Staff discovered that most of the veterans referred to the PATH program already had access to acceptable shelter, and if they were not already housed, they were able to acquire housing at nearby shelters without too many problems. In order to assist clients who are not housed, PATH has strengthened partnerships with local agencies that place homeless veterans. They have also been successful in reserving a number of beds for veterans through PATH's housing programs. The PATHMall has had considerable success moving people from homelessness to self-sufficiency, and has been able to sharing its innovative model with other communities in need. The program has been featured in national and international media. ABC World News Tonight highlighted the PATHMall and stated it is the only facility of its kind in the nation. Community leaders throughout California, and representatives from Japan, Ireland and England have visited the PATHMall to learn more about replicating the program in their own cities. Staff are currently engaged in developing resource and technical assistance information to help organizations replicate the social and supportive services mall model, and are close to publishing the PATHMall Handbook, a how-to guide for building effective community and government partnerships. HVRP Program Outcomes – July 2002 to June 2003:
Source: http://www.nchv.org/hvrp_article.cfm?id=60
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