Mental Health Leader for Groundbreaking FRIENDS Volunteer Program

Mental health

Pilot or new project, program, or initiative (testing or implementing a new idea)

When allocating resources, city and county agencies focus primarily on the most vulnerable people experiencing homelessness, and many who are employable do not qualify for the help they need to achieve and maintain housing. Moreover, they often suffer with mental health concerns that prevent lasting stability but are pushed to the back of the line based on acuity. And for those with high levels of acuity, many lack the wherewithal and stable relationships necessary to secure desperately needed care.
At Food on Foot and for some in this sector, there is a clear and growing recognition that regardless of the vast sums of money targeting the unhoused population, there will never be enough professional staff to help 70,000 people escape homelessness. Moreover, direct service at the volunteer level is currently not a meaningful part of the government funding equation, and there is often internal resistance to involving trained volunteers to serve hand-in-hand with professionals.

Since 1996 Food on Foot has helped thousands of Angelinos in securing food and crucial supplies. Our Jobs & Housing Program helps a select group of employable individuals to move from homelessness to housing. Through this unique model, Case Managers help individuals find a job, and once employed, help them find housing, and then we pay member's rent for five months until they have saved a $5,000 emergency savings fund. Historically over 80% have remained housed after one year. We have built a significant level of trust with this population.
After the pandemic we began to see a significant rise in the number of people in need of more intensive coaching. With over 1,000 volunteers mildly engaged with the unhoused every Sunday, we launched the FRIEND volunteer program. Today over 30 FRIEND volunteers are engaged with Jobs & Housing members providing workshops, coaching and friendship. Members and staff report positive results. The program is prepared to scale from the pilot phase in order to reach people beyond the Food on Foot caseload via shelters, transitional facilities, and outreach teams. To complete the model, we need a licensed mental health professional to serve and lead. This position will:
* Work with a team of trained volunteers providing training, guidance, and supervision.
* Provide clinical supervision to Case Management staff.
* Recruit and support a group of volunteer therapists.
* Provide crisis management counseling in direct service to members as needed.

Food on Foot engages in services that help our unhoused neighbors to fight another day and we enable employable but unhoused Angelinos to be self-sufficient. Key to the effort is matching everyday people who possess coaching abilities with those in need of coaching. Our method is friendship. Through that effort, we are building a new and deeper sense of neighborhood - where the unhoused are embraced, and where those who are housed literally build a better community.
We envision a system where hundreds of housed people are matched with someone experiencing homelessness and they rise together over time. Such a system will truly reduce homelessness in LA.
Surprisingly, there is resistance to direct volunteer service amongst professional staff in the sector for many reasons. Food on Foot listened to those concerns - and we also heard them acknowledge that so many of their clients can use 1:1 life and financial literacy skills - and a healthy FREIND. This program has broken that barrier.

Program success is based on reports from members that their FRIEND volunteer is helping them to meet their goals, which are determined in partnership with a Case Manager. Examples include:
· Resume building
· Job search
· Job relationships and problem solving
· Debt and Credit
· Housing search
· Household maintenance skills
· Health and nutrition
· Budgeting and financial literacy
· Decision making · Relationship skills
· Parenting support
· Alcohol/Substance use sobriety and/or control
· Life-skills and emotional support
FRIEND volunteers are often able to help members with specific skill sets and we match FRIEND volunteers with members based on needs and potential synergy. Success is measured through weekly goal reporting, and surveys on the FRIEND volunteer’s impact upon graduation or case closure. Workshops in all areas above are facilitated by volunteers and surveys measure effectiveness. Success = 75% report FRIEND’s helped them attain their goals at the time of case closure.