As our Councilmember, Marisa will prioritize helping people without homes off our streets and into housing, where they can get the care they need to get back on their feet. She is already tackling the homelessness crisis, leading the charge as an advocate and as part of a leadership team that has established more than 3,700 units of affordable and homeless housing. Marisa brought Solid Ground, an effective homelessness prevention project, to L.A., and it has expanded from a local pilot project to a citywide initiative, including services in Van Nuys. Solid Ground helps prevent new cases of homelessness for families by stabilizing housing and working with them to build a more financially secure future.

Marisa believes in conducting extensive outreach and having a Housing First approach. We need to continue to invest in outreach teams, especially the multi-disciplinary teams (MDT) that include a nurse and mental health professional. Marissa helped add more outreach teams to the area, to coordinate outreach efforts and placement of individuals in homeless housing facilities. 

She will work to increase coordination with the County of Los Angeles which is charged with the mental health components. Fortunately, LA County just declared a state of emergency and is working collaboratively with our Mayor and the City for the first time in a long time. This offers hope that we’ll be able to cut through the roadblocks and really get things done for our unhoused neighbors.