Step Up on Second will utilize a mix of permanent and temporary housing options to reduce homelessness in Beverly Hills. (photo courtesy of Hollywood Community Housing)

The city of Beverly Hills is investing more than $14 million in a new contract to provide permanent housing and other support services for unhoused residents.

On Aug. 15, the City Council approved a 10-year, approximately $14.178 million contract with Step up On Second, a nonprofit organization headquartered in Santa Monica, to provide 30 units of permanent supportive housing and motel stays for up to 20 individuals annually.

This effort grew out of an earlier proposal to the Unhoused Services Ad Hoc Committee, which called for 40 units of “scattered-site” permanent housing over the initial 10-year period, according to a staff report.

After many conversations, staff determined it would be more effective to devise a more complete program that addressed both the chronically and non-chronically homeless populations.

Over the course of the program, Step Up on Second expects to assist 230 individuals, permanently housing 30 of the most chronically homeless individuals and moving 200 non-chronic homeless individuals into temporary housing with case managers and other support services.

“It’s important to take a look at the characteristics of people in our communities that are experiencing homelessness,” human services administrator Christopher Paulson said.

Non-chronically homeless individuals are typically people experiencing a catastrophic life event, and require short-term solutions like rapid rehousing, Paulson said.

For the chronically unhoused, who make up the largest proportion of the city’s homeless population, their best chance at finding a home comes with permanent supportive housing, he added.

“For these chronically homeless individuals, housing retention is the focus due to their existing disabilities,” Paulson said. “The ability to establish a trajectory of independence from supportive housing is often unlikely as they’re focusing on managing their abilities.”

The Step Up on Second proposal attempts to offer solutions for both populations.

Under the scattered-site model, chronically unhoused tenants will be placed in 30 units owned by independent landlords. Step Up on Second will act as the “housing authority,” making rental payments directly to the property owner and ensuring that tenants pay their share (30%) through available means including Social Security and disability payments.

The organization has secured 30 units in a Hollywood building, according to the report.

To address the non-chronically unhoused population, the program allocates $42,000 annually, enough to house 20 individuals a year at an average rate of $150 per night.

“I think … we have to do this,” Gold said. “Other cities around use are doing this and the general expectation is that we’re all going to assist in solving this crisis, or at least in slowing it down.”