Accessing CES
The Los Angeles County Coordinated Entry System (CES) is the network that aligns homeless services in the County together to ensure that resources are efficiently and equitably distributed to support people experiencing homelessness.
Service Planning Areas
To ensure that all Angelenos in need have an open door to housing solutions no matter where they are in the County, homeless services providers are organized into regions called Service Planning Areas (SPAs) which are led by select providers in those regions called SPA Leads. The role of a SPA Lead is to provide regional leadership of the system, including partner education, collaborative meetings, case conferencing / care coordination, and matching of system resources. Given that Los Angeles County is such a wide area, splitting the County into SPAs allows LAHSA to assist local providers with services that are designed with the needs of each SPAs different residents in mind. For example, folks in SPA 7, East Los Angeles, might have different unmet needs than those in SPA 2, San Fernando Valley. A map of the different SPAs with their CES Leads is shown below. To determine which SPA live in, you can look it up using your zip code here
Access Centers and Access Points
People can enter the Coordinated Entry System by visiting an Access Center or Access Point and taking the CES Surey. CES Access Centers are call-in or drop-in locations where you can gain access to or continue contact with housing and supportive services through LA CES. Find the access center closest to you by downloading the Access Center Directory.
CES Access Points are different parties that have the ability to enter you into CES. Unlike Access Centers, these are not just dedicated buildings, but may be phone lines or people.
Access Points include:
- Any Government agency (Libraries, County Buildings, Police Stations, etc.)
- Outreach Teams (found at encampments or called through la-hop.org)
- Safe Parking Sites
- Calling 2-1-1
- Using the WIN app (for ages 12-25)
Prevention and Problem-Solving
Often, there are times when people’s housing crises can be solved without them having to enter a shelter after taking the CES Survey. This outcome is achieved in one of two ways: prevention and problem-solving.
Prevention is when a household receives help to stay in their housing before they have to start living on the streets. Prevention services are available for people who are going to get evicted in less than 30 days. Learn more here.
Problem-Solving is an approach that utilizes conversation between an individual and a case manager to learn about their social networks in order to discover potential housing opportunities. Once something is found, the case manager can lend support through negotiation and funding to make sure that that chance is secured. Learn more here.
Get Help
Resources for individuals and households experiencing homelessness or at-risk of becoming homeless can be found here.