LACDMH and Hollywood 4WRD hosted a Hollywood 2.0 open house at the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood on Nov. 19 to update stakeholders and the public on the latest news from the five-year pilot project. The event featured remarks from LACDMH Chief Medical Officer Curley L. Bonds, M.D.; Hollywood 4WRD Executive Director Brittney Weissman; and more.
LACDMH and the program’s stakeholders celebrated the accomplishments of the 2.0 program, including the 1,608 clients served by the Hollywood Mental Health Cooperative and the 34 clients moved from interim to permanent supportive housing. Karla Bennett, a LACDMH Mental Health Program Manager II at the Hollywood Wellness Center, discussed the status of the community-based program through 2024 and shared what to look out for in the first half of 2025.
Next, DMH’s Hollywood Mental Health Clinic shared how it is supporting the new vision for Hollywood. The clinic invited a client of theirs to speak, Gabriela, who shared her story as a transgender woman. Speaking clinic staff included Dr. Rebecca Gitlin, Supervising Psychologist; Nvard Simonyan, Psychiatric Social Worker II; Vianney Vazquez, Mental Health Clinical Supervisor; Laura Grello, Mental Health Clinical Supervisor; and, Vanessa Linares, an Intermediate Typist Clerk.
The program wrapped up with Brian Pelsoh from IDEO and Stephanie Holliday from RAND. Pelsoh and IDEO are leading the public education campaign for Hollywood 2.0, and he shared the designs that will be posted around Hollywood, starting Jan. 6, 2025. Holliday shared how RAND is evaluating the implementation of the pilot program.
