Tuesday, Nov 10, 5:30 pm: show up at City Council for the plan.
Empower Santa Monica: a resident plan for a safer Santa Monica
Santa Monica residents, not the City, built a sourced six-point plan on homelessness: get people too sick to help themselves off the street and into treatment, offer a real bed first and then enforce the rules already on the books, and publish what every homelessness dollar delivers. Nobody is paid, we take no donations and we back no candidate.
On January 22, 2026, 718 people were counted homeless in Santa Monica: 389 outdoors, 222 in shelter, 59 in vehicles and 48 in tents or makeshift shelters (City of Santa Monica, July 24, 2026). One night's count is not the number that matters. What matters is every day: every neighbor, parent and shop owner who lives with this, and every person out there suffering who is too sick to ask for help. See every year since 2020, with sources.
The six initiatives
- Treatment, not tents
- Offer a bed first, then enforce
- A 24/7 Westside crisis drop-off
- Open books on homelessness spending
- Safe blocks near schools and parks
- Bring them home
Read the full plan · Who to call in Santa Monica · Help for families · Speak at City Council · Who decides what · How to help · Share kit · Ayuda en español
In an emergency call 911. In a mental health or substance use crisis, call or text 988.