LOS ANGELES (CNS) – A program aimed at addressing calls for service involving unhoused individuals will expand to more neighborhoods in West Los Angeles starting Aug. 25, Mayor Karen Bass’ office announced Thursday.
The program known as the Crisis and Incident Response through Community-led Engagement, or CIRCLE, will be expanding its current Venice and Del Rey service area to include Oakwood, Mar Vista, Palms, Playa Vista, Playa Del Rey, Westchester, Manchester Square and Dockweiler Beach. CIRCLE staff also respond to calls related to loitering, well-being checks, noise disturbances, substance abuse issues and indecent exposure.
“CIRCLE continues to be a proven program to help Angelenos, and the CIRCLE team has helped people in need and freed up police officers to respond to the calls where they are needed the most,” Bass said in a statement. “This expansion plan means people in West Los Angeles will have an array of responders to make the biggest difference based on their needs. I want to thank our many partners in this effort to keep Angelenos safe.”
CIRCLE is a 24/7 unarmed response program that deploys a team of mental health professionals and individuals with lived experience to address non-violent LAPD calls related to unhoused individuals experiencing crisis. Funding from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Byrne Discretionary Grant Program made this expansion possible with help from Congressman Ted Lieu, according to Bass’ office.
Council members Traci Park and Katy Yaroslavsky, who represent the 11th and 5th council districts, respectively, covering neighborhoods in West L.A., hailed the expansion of the program.
Park said CIRCLE has provided crucial support to her communities. Yaroslavsky added that providing an alternative response model to nonviolent, non-criminal incidents ensures that “our police officers can concentrate on their core responsibilities, and makes all of our communities safer.”
The program also operates in Hollywood, downtown Los Angeles, South Los Angeles, the Harbor Area and the San Fernando Valley.
In the last fiscal year, more than 14,000 calls for service were diverted to CIRCLE, and CIRCLE teams placed people into interim housing, reconnected individuals back to their families and placed in permanent housing, according to Bass’ office.
Additionally, the program resulted in more than 1,600 individuals obtaining vital documents such as social security cards and IDs. Teams also referred more than 1,000 individuals to mental and behavioral health services, and helped reverse opioid-related overdoses.
The public can access CIRCLE through the non-emergency line at 1-877- 275-5273 or 877-ASK- LAPD. Select the “non-emergency dispatch” option.
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