The Malibu Task Force on Homelessness, a group of local volunteers committed to addressing the issues associated with homelessness in Malibu, announced last week that its major gifts campaign has now raised over $100,00 — halfway to its goal of raising $200,000.
Formed in February 2016, the task force is headed by two co-chairs: former Malibu Mayor and Council Member Pamela Conley Ulich and Jay Scott, 2015 Malibu Times Dolphin Award winner and board member of the Malibu Community Labor Exchange. Both have a history of helping the homeless in Malibu.
The purpose of the Malibu Task Force on Homelessness is focusing on one thing: raising the money needed for Ocean Park Community Center (OPCC) to address the needs of homeless individuals in Malibu. Representatives from both the task force and OPCC both signed a Letter of Commitment in March. OPCC is also contracted to the community of Pacific Palisades to provide services.
OPCC, with headquarters in Santa Monica, is a 53-year-old professional nonprofit social services organization that provides integrated services for housing, mental health, medical care, domestic violence, substance abuse treatment, income, wellness and life skills.
The $200,000 that the Malibu Task Force on Homelessness is attempting to raise is the amount needed to fund OPCC’s work in Malibu for one year.
Conley Ulich believes that having OPCC in Malibu will not only help the homeless, but safeguard the community as a whole in terms of reduced risk of fires from hillside encampments and aggressive behavior by homeless individuals with mental health or addiction issues.
OPCC is expected to begin working in Malibu sometime this summer with two full-time professionals doing boots-on-the-ground outreach throughout the community. The team will be in the field most of the time, engaging homeless individuals wherever they are on the streets, hillsides and beaches. Their job is to build trusting relationships with the homeless and eventually link them to OPCC services.
An emphasis will be placed on finding permanent housing for Malibu’s homeless, especially the most vulnerable. OPCC was an early adopter of the Housing First model, which emphasizes getting people off the streets first, then working with them to fix other problems. The agency has a track record of moving over 750 people off the streets and into interim or permanent housing each year, with 95 percent staying housed, according to a statement from the task force.
“Long-term, sustainable solutions are critical to effectively addressing the complex problem of homelessness,” Conley Ulich wrote.
Conley Ulich told the story of a homeless woman she and a friend tried to help.
“She responded well at first, but later lapsed into a startlingly unhealthy, agitated state,” she explained. “I realized then that money for gas or food wouldn’t help her, and nothing I could say or do would help her. I believe what she really needed was professionals who could work with her to effectively treat her illness and give her a safe place to heal and find her purpose.”
“Due to the extraordinary generosity of donors who live and work in Malibu, such professional services can now become a reality [for Malibu’s homeless population],” Scott shared.
Other members of the Malibu Task Force on Homelessness include Matt deNicola, Reverend Paul Elder, Dr. Renee Kaswan, Burt and Joan Ross, and “junior member” Cooper deNicola.
The task force is currently in the first phase of its fundraising campaign, focusing on gifts of $1,000 or more. The next phase of the campaign, which will broaden the task force’s fundraising efforts to all of Malibu, is expected to follow shortly.
Anyone interested in contributing to the “major gift” portion of the campaign can call Conley Ulich at 310.699.0424 or Scott at 310.266.5516.
For more information or to help, email pamela@malibulocalbroker.com or scottjc42@verizon.net.