Torrance, CA – Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance) has secured $500,000 in state funding to support the Redondo Beach homeless court program. The program helps homeless individuals find housing and provides them with treatment and support services such as for mental health, alcohol and substance abuse, and job training.
“The Redondo Beach homeless court program has been effective in getting homeless individuals off the streets and into treatment programs for mental health and alcohol and drug addiction,” stated Assemblymember Muratsuchi. “This program has been successful in balancing compassion for the homeless with ensuring public safety in our communities. I am working with Redondo Beach City Attorney Mike Webb to take the Redondo Beach program statewide.”
"The Redondo Beach Homeless Court is successful in obtaining permanent housing for a population that is generally resistant to services and housing. Bringing court proceedings outdoors closer to the places they eat and sleep has made the justice system more accessible to participants and fostered a community that participants look forward to seeing every month,” said Mike Webb, Redondo Beach City Attorney. “The State funds that Assmblymember Muratsuchi fought for and obtained will ensure that the unhoused can continue to receive services they need to overcome the obstacles that prevent them from becoming permanently housed."
Housing Initiative Court is a program that was initiated by the Redondo Beach City Attorney’s Office in which misdemeanor defendants experiencing homelessness are scheduled on a dedicated court date each month in order to access a variety of services. The goal is to permanently place the participants into housing and provide them with services that facilitate stabilization (i.e. mental health, alcohol/substance abuse, access to job training, etc.). It is a diversion program in which participants’ misdemeanor cases are dismissed upon completion of the program. This means that a participating individual will appear in court each month, be linked with a housing navigator and comply with court orders to work with their housing navigator, participate on counseling/treatment services as needed and work toward housing placement.
Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi represents California’s 66th Assembly District, which includes El Camino Village, Gardena, Harbor City, Harbor Gateway, Hermosa Beach, Lomita, Los Angeles, Manhattan Beach, Palos Verdes Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, Redondo Beach, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates, Torrance, and West Carson. Muratsuchi is the Chair of the Joint Legislative Committee on Climate Change Policies and the Assembly Select Committee on Aerospace, and is a member of the Assembly Committees on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials, Natural Resources, Utilities and Energy, and Veterans Affairs.
CONTACT: Bryan Singh, (408) 828-4079