Meeting_Body
EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
JULY 16, 2026
Subject
SUBJECT: HOMELESS OUTREACH MANAGEMENT & ENGAGEMENT (HOME) QUARTERLY REPORT
Action
ACTION: RECEIVE AND FILE
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
RECEIVE AND FILE the HOME Quarterly Report.
Issue
ISSUE
Los Angeles County is experiencing a homelessness crisis, and the spillover results in many unhoused individuals seeking shelter on Metro’s rail and busway system. Since 2017, Metro has been funding, with operations eligible fund sources, local social service agencies to deploy multidisciplinary teams who engage and deliver resources and services to unhoused riders. In addition, Metro has partnered with local homeless shelters to provide beds for the outreach teams to utilize. This is a report on the status and outcomes of Metro’s homeless engagements for the third quarter of the fiscal year, January through March of 2026.
Background
BACKGROUND
Metro continues to fund multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) who perform outreach to people experiencing homelessness (PEH) on Metro’s rail and bus systems. Metro contracts with 24 MDTs through the LA County Department of Health Services (DHS). These teams are employed by the community agency People Assisting the Homeless (PATH, Christ Centered Ministries (CCM), HOPICS, LA Family Housing, Union Station Homeless Services, and Helpline Youth Counseling.
Metro has made notable progress in addressing homelessness on Metro’s rail and busway systems since 2017 through the expansion of MDT outreach, increased access to housing resources, and improved partnerships with City, County, and Community partners. Metro MDTs focus on engaging individuals and connecting them to housing and other services and are deployed across the entire rail and bus system seven days a week, with 24-hour coverage Monday through Friday. The six community agencies that deploy the 24 MDTs are based in different areas of LA County and are strategically assigned to segments of the Metro system located in their regions.
In addition to MDT outreach, Metro currently funds, using eligible operations fund sources, a total of 45 interim housing beds through LA County DHS. These beds, located in Central Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley, are reserved for MDTs to directly refer the people they serve. Since September 19, 2025, after the A Line Extension opened, the City of Pomona has partnered with Metro to offer five interim housing beds through its contract with the organization Volunteers of America.
Since 2023, Metro has increased the number of interim housing resources (i.e. beds) from 25 to the current total of 50. These beds provide occupants with access to a wide range of resources and programming that address a variety of client needs. All beds are required to provide 24-hour access, offering a vital resource to people experiencing homelessness during the late evening and early morning hours of Metro operation. Through key partnerships with external stakeholders, staff plan for the continued expansion of Metro-specific interim housing resources.
Since 2018, Metro MDTs have enrolled 29,372 individuals into the Homeless Management and Information System (HMIS), allowing them to gain access to homeless resources and services. The teams have successfully connected 7,983 people to interim housing and 1,942 people to permanent housing.
Discussion
DISCUSSION
The following quarterly report provides an overview of the homeless response activities from January 2026 to March 2026.
Operational Capacity and Deployment
Of the 24 teams currently funded under the active DHS contract, all 24 teams have been deployed. Overall, deployment is largely on target with ongoing recruitment of vacant positions. Across the homeless sector, programs are challenged with recruitment and retention. Metro MDT partners have experienced the same, leading to challenges maintaining a full complement of staff. Despite not having all positions deployed, agency partners have been successful in ensuring full coverage of the rail and busway system.
MDTs perform outreach on the rail and bus system seven days a week, with 24-hour coverage Monday through Friday and 8-hour coverage on weekends. Outreach data is collected daily and analyzed to inform strategic deployment planning. Data analysis continues to show the highest levels of activity on the A, B, D, and E lines. Deployment has extended with the opening of the new D Line stations, including coverage of end-of-line activity, and MDT staff are participating in monthly coordination meetings with the City of Beverly Hills.
Impact
MDTs use a person-centered approach with the primary goal of connecting people to interim or permanent housing, as well as point in time delivery of other resources like basic food, water, clothing, and behavioral health interventions. During the third quarter of the fiscal year, the MDTs successfully enrolled 1,929 people into HMIS, with each enrollment representing a first-time connection to services and highlighting the program’s ability to reach individuals not previously engaged with the system. The HOME department sets an annual housing connection goal for the total number of individuals placed into either interim or permanent housing. Metro’s total housing placement goal for this fiscal year is 2,100, which represents a 17% increase over last year’s goal of 1,800 total placements. During this quarter, the MDTs enrolled 595 individuals into interim housing and connected 87 individuals to permanent housing. This totals 682 housing placements in quarter three, which is 130% of the Q3 goal. Lastly, MDTs continue to outperform their County counterparts who operate outside of the Metro system. Figure 2 in Attachment A shows updated comparison data.
MDT staff have a variety of housing placement options for both interim and permanent housing. When making connections to housing, teams attempt to prioritize the needs and preferences of everyone they engage with, while balancing the types of housing resources available for referrals. Successful alignment of these factors can be challenging, but MDTs have made strong impacts toward their housing placement goal. So far, this fiscal year, 78% of non-permanent placements were traditional interim housing and recuperative care (50% interim housing & 28% recuperative care). For permanent placements, Metro MDTs have successfully reunited individuals with family or friends, accounting for 59% of placements. Figures 3 and 4 in Attachment A show the breakdown of interim and permanent placements from July 1, 2025, through March 31, 2026.
As a result of sustained outreach efforts, Metro’s Point-in-Time count reflects a 39% systemwide reduction in the number of individuals experiencing homelessness over the past two years. Figure 1 in Attachment A shows the quarterly outcomes for the current fiscal year.
Metro engages with riders quarterly through the agency’s Pulse Surveys. Addressing homelessness often ranks among the lowest in customer satisfaction, yet it remains a top rider concern. Thanks to ongoing efforts, staff observed consistent improvements in rider satisfaction each quarter. Since 2024, overall satisfaction with Metro’s approach to homelessness has increased. Surveys from March 2026 indicate a 9% rise in customer satisfaction related to these efforts, representing a 1% increase since last quarter.
End of Line (EOL) Outreach
HOME deploys swing-shift outreach teams who collect data on the number of PEH exiting the terminating trains at EOL hotspot stations. Staff observed slight changes quarter-over-quarter among the six EOL hotspot stations, which can be seen in the table below. Figure 5 in Attachment A shows the nightly average number (system nightly average across all EOL hotspot stations is 26) of PEH existing EOL hotspot stations from January 1, 2026, to March 31, 2026.
The HOME team has been engaging with EOL cities to establish partnerships to provide resources for people who shelter on Metro. Metro currently has a partnership in Pomona for five beds and has also been coordinating with the City of Long Beach and Supervisorial District 4 since September 2025 to allocate 10 beds for utilization by the Metro outreach teams. Metro’s prior contract with the County for 10 beds in Long Beach ended in June 2025, and staff immediately began seeking solutions to ensure resources remain available near the A Line Downtown Long Beach station. For the last two years, Metro MDTs also had access to 25 beds through a partnership with the LA County Chief Executive Office Homeless Initiative (LA CEO-HI) and the Los Angeles Homeless Services Agency (LAHSA). Unfortunately, LAHSA is no longer funding their Welcome Navigation Center, and as of July 1, Metro MDTs no longer have access to the 25 beds. The Care Based Services division will continue its goal of increasing access to resources through partnerships with community stakeholders. As a part of the continued DPS growth, new staff will be onboarded in the coming months and will oversee this effort.
Social Work Internships
Staff has established an internship program within the Care Based Services Division by developing relationships with schools of social work from several universities across LA County. Students are matched with the contracted community-based organizations who deploy multidisciplinary homeless outreach teams across Metro’s rail and busway system. Staff provides supervision from a licensed clinical social worker, who ensures field practicum standards are met. From January through March 2026, Metro hosted six social work students from two universities: Azusa Pacific University and California State Long Beach. Helpline Youth Counseling, Christ Centered Ministries, and Union Station Homeless Services hosted the students for their field experience, which concluded in the month of April.
Looking Ahead
Metro MDTs performed very well in the first three quarters, continuing a trend that has shown outcomes continually exceeding expectations year over year. Based on Metro’s Point-in-Time count results, the total number of people experiencing homelessness on the rail and busway system declined steadily, from a FY24 range of 1,041-1,092 to 631-684 in FY25. Staff counted again in January 2026 and await the results from LAHSA to determine if the downward trend continues. At the time of this report, the HOME team has received outcome data for the first part of Q4, which continues to look promising. People experiencing homelessness continue to receive housing resources and are enrolled in the HMIS system, helping them connect to safer, more permanent housing solutions.
Metro staff have participated in three San Gabriel Valley COG Committee meetings, particularly around the coordination of homeless outreach efforts at Metro stations within the region. Subsequent meetings with COG representatives have continued to advance these discussions, with a focus on strengthening all regional partnerships and exploring dedicated housing and shelter resources, including beds specifically designated for Metro clients. Additionally, Metro staff presented to the City of Beverly Hills prior to the opening of the D line extension and have continued discussions through ongoing meetings at the leadership and service delivery levels.
Equity_Platform
EQUITY PLATFORM
Metro’s efforts to address homelessness on the transit system through its homeless outreach program directly benefit unhoused individuals in LA County. Using a multi-layered deployment strategy that combines several departments, Metro strategically engages the most disenfranchised members of the community.
Teams are deployed across the entire rail and busway system, allowing them to outreach to regions with dense populations of people experiencing homelessness. By connecting 9,925 individuals to housing resources since 2018, Metro has improved equitable access to housing for many disenfranchised members of the community. Connecting people with housing resources, mental health services, and other essential interventions positively impacts the overall goal of reducing homelessness across Los Angeles and demonstrates Metro’s commitment to providing access to opportunities for disenfranchised populations.
Vehicle_Miles_Traveled_Outcome
VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED OUTCOME
VMT and VMT per capita in Los Angeles County are lower than national averages, the lowest in the SCAG region, and on the lower end of VMT per capita statewide, with these declining VMT trends due in part to Metro’s significant investment in rail and bus transit.* Metro’s Board-adopted VMT reduction targets align with California’s statewide climate goals, including achieving carbon neutrality by 2045. To ensure continued progress, all Board items are assessed for their potential impact on VMT.
As part of these ongoing efforts, this item is expected to contribute to further reductions in VMT. While this item does not directly encourage taking transit, sharing a ride, or using active transportation, it is a vital part of Metro operations, as it provides support for people who seek shelter on Metro. Because the Metro Board has adopted an agency-wide VMT Reduction Target, and this item supports the overall function of the agency, this item is consistent with the goals of reducing VMT.
*Based on population Estimates from the United States Census and VMT estimates from Caltrans’ Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS) data between 2001-2019.
Next_Steps
NEXT STEPS
Staff will continue to report quarterly on homeless outreach activity, outcomes and strategic initiatives that address the presence of people experiencing homelessness on Metro’s system.
Attachments
ATTACHMENT
Attachment A - Additional Data
Prepared_by
Prepared by: Craig Joyce, Senior Executive Officer, Special Programs, (213) 418-3008
Brittany Mullins, Senior Director, Homeless Outreach Management and Engagement, (213) 660-7879
Reviewed_By
Reviewed by: William Scott, Chief of Police and Emergency Management, (213) 922-
5448
