Mental Health
Shelter Provider Puts Mental Health at Center of Client Care
  hen “Tina” first sought shelter from the Los Angeles Youth Network (LAYN), she was 16, homeless and pregnant — with nowhere else to turn. LAYN
provided Tina with ongoing case management and counseling support over the next four years, which helped her make positive, healthy choices for herself and her child. LAYN staff linked Tina to appropriate perinatal care to ensure that her baby was born healthy. Tina then returned to high school and earned her diploma, received referrals to affordable day care, developed skills as a peer educator for LAYN and got a job as an
outreach worker with a nearby hospital.
No longer a client of LAYN, Tina still keeps in touch with the staff who supported her while she was in crisis. She attends college and has moved on to positions of increasing responsibility in the social
services field. She is currently a case manager with a highly respected children’s service provider in the Los Angeles area.
Tina is just one of the more than 600 homeless youth, ranging in age from 12 to 20, who receive care from LAYN every year. Some of these youth have been thrown out of their homes or abandoned on the street. Homelessness leads many to trade
sex for money, drugs or a place to sleep. “Street” youth often suffer from depression and other
mental and physical health problems. Most of the parents of LAYN’s clients have never reported their children missing.
“We work with the `hard-to-serve’ kids – many of whom have bounced around within the County’s Child and Family Services and Probation departments,” said Elizabeth Gomez, executive director of LAYN. “What is key for reaching and stabilizing these kids is case management, clinical counseling and an unconditional positive regard
for young people.”
Founded in 1986, LAYN has built a strong reputation among homeless youth and providers alike for its drop-in center, emergency shelter, case management, peer outreach and clinical counseling provided on site. In collaboration with Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Free Clinic, LAYN also provides drug abuse prevention and treatment and screening for HIV and other
sexually transmitted diseases.
TCWF provided LAYN with a two-year, $300,000 core operating grant to strengthen the organization during a transition period as it merged with Options House, another Hollywood-area homeless service provider. The merger has resulted in LAYN acquiring two new facilities: a second emergency shelter and a transitional living facility.
“The acquisition of the transitional living facility where the youth have continued access to counseling and support gave us the opportunity to broaden the continuum of care for our clients and better prepare them for independent living,” LAYN’s Gomez said.
LAYN provides 5,600 hours of counseling every year. These mental health services are available to both drop-in and shelter clients and continue for many youth after they are placed in permanent housing or return to their families.
“These support services help the youth develop coping skills and modify high-risk lifestyles,” Gomez said. “Over 87 percent of kids who come to us from the streets remain in stable settings.”
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