OUTREACH
Our outreach teams meet people where they are -- whether on the beach, the street, or somewhere in between -- to engage, asses, and assist as many homeless individuals as possible. We've engaged nearly 1,000 people to date,
providing successful linkages to referred services and direct submissions
to the Coordinated Entry System for housing placements.
ABOUT
OUTREACH
Services We Provide
We operate two types of Outreach: Street Outreach and Community Outreach. Our teams help provide access to basic services to meet individual needs, including shelter and housing connections, sack lunches, physical, mental and behavioral healthcare, transportation, social services, and individualized case management.
Referrals
Referrals for Friendship Shelter’s street outreach program are currently accepted from individuals (including self-referrals), organizations, and government agencies. Community outreach clients are referred through their health network, or are able to self-refer to Friendship Shelter.
Who We Work With
Friendship Shelter's street outreach work is conducted in the downtown business district of Laguna Beach. This is an area that includes a significant portion of south Orange County’s chronically homeless population. Our community outreach team works in partnership with CalOptima’s CalAIM initiative to provide services to people experiencing homelessness or who are at-risk of homelessness and who are enrolled in MediCal.
Collaboration
Our street outreach team coordinates with our shelter and housing staff as well as with local police and other south Orange County service providers. Community outreach is directly associated with CalAIM, a five-year initiative by the Department of Health Care Services to improve the quality of life and health outcomes of the Medi-Cal population.