City of Downey – Outreach & Engagement
May 2026
Client Interactions Clients Enrolled Positive Exits
Services (Case Management, Transportation, Documentation, Medical/Mental Health Treatment, etc.)
Case Management and referrals (City Net partners with outside agencies to connect clients with specific care requirements)
SUCCESS STORY
(This process takes about 3-6 months on average to gather ID and Social Security cards, birth certificates, and medical documentation)
Case managers have been attempting to work with a man experiencing homelessness after he was evicted from his home in November 2024. Over the past year, case managers would encounter the gentleman while conducting outreach in the riverbeds and railroad tracks surrounding Downey, but he consistently refused assistance. However, this is a reaction that case managers are familiar with, as many experiencing street-level homelessness begin to distrust all organizations due to past negative experiences (continued on page 3).
Teams assisted individuals around Downey Landing and along Firestone Boulevard to help connect potential clients to essential health services and assist with interim housing referrals. The areas had received several calls from the city of Downey regarding clients who had been staying behind businesses along the road. City Net continued to place referrals to the Salvation Army Bell Shelter for clients seeking immediate shelter placement.
SUCCESS STORIES
• (Continued from page 1). City Net always respects the client's autonomy but will still provide contact information, should the client make the choice to follow up in their own time. That's why the team was pleasantly surprised to receive a call from this gentleman in May, stating that he was ready to accept help. The outreach team went to meet him right away and assess his current living situation and immediate needs. During their meeting, the client shared that he had recently been released from jail and was looking for assistance in retrieving his belongings from the facility. The team provided him with round-trip transportation and made plans to meet again later. The following week, the client reunited with his partner, who was expecting their baby soon after. When he shared this update with City Net, the case managers worked to get the family into crisis housing with Union Station Homeless Services. They were pleased to share the news that the family had immediately been accepted, and they provided transportation to the family's intake appointment. His experience with City Net was a positive reminder that supportive resources can be the key to helping homeless individuals find a sense of stability that can lead to a hopeful future.
• In mid-May, City Net received a call from a former client's mother who shared that her son had left the Salvation Army Bell Shelter and returned to the streets of Downey with no intention of re-entering the shelter. She expressed her concern for her son and asked City Net to meet with the client to see if there was other help that case managers could provide. Outreach case managers met with the client outside of his mother's house and discussed his current situation and concerns that had led him to leave the shelter. The client explained that it had not been a good fit for him, and he had preferred working with the team at the TSA Wellness Center. Understanding the client's need for a more supportive environment as well as a safe place to stay while he waited for a spot to open; case managers convinced the client to return to the Bell Shelter temporarily Once he agreed, the case managers provided the client with transportation back to the shelter and arranged a future check-in to ensure that he was able to enter the TSA Wellness Center as soon as a spot was available. He thanked his case managers for understanding his concerns and working with him to find a solution that would set him up for more success in pursuing his health and housing goals.
• City Net has worked with a young man who has made steady progress in his case plan after his first encounter with case managers who were conducting outreach Initially, he had expressed frustration with being recently unemployed, which led to further financial hardships and a loss of his home and savings. Case managers started his program by taking him to the Department of Social Services and helping him apply for general relief While applying, the social worker requested a copy of his Social Security Card, but being unhoused had caused him to lose his essential documents. In response, his case managers took him directly to the Social Security Office to obtain a new card and the verification needed for his general relief application Thanks to the team's attentive work and ability to provide direct transportation, the client was able to submit his application and receive approval for general relief in no time. The work they had completed for his application also allowed him to easily apply for food stamps and cash aid on the same day At the end of the back-to-back appointments, the client thanked his case managers for working so quickly to help alleviate some of the stress caused by becoming newly homeless.
exits indicate clients moved off the streets or out of shelter into a more stable living situation.
