The City of West Hollywood is launching registration for focus groups, an online survey, and a series of engagement opportunities to inform the City’s Community Safety and Well-Being (CSWB) Strategy. These will include public meetings, community pop-ups, and focus groups to gather feedback from community members and residents. Engagement activities will take place online and in-person through November 2022.
After hearing concerns from the community about crime, mental health and addiction, income inequality, housing insecurity, and more, the West Hollywood City Council in November 2021 directed City staff to develop a CSWB Strategy. An initial CSWB Strategy was developed earlier this year and, at its regular meeting on Monday, August 15, 2022, the West Hollywood City Council unanimously adopted ten strategic priorities as part of this.
Feedback provided by community members during engagement activities will help the City to develop a final CSWB Strategy later this year.
There are many ways to participate:
- Share feedback in an online survey – The CSWB survey will open on Monday, October 24, 2022 and will close on Monday, November 7, 2022. A link to the survey will be posted at www.weho.org/cswb.
- Take part in a focus group – To increase engagement and amplify the voices of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC); LGBTQ+ community members; people with special needs and/or disabilities; Russian-speaking community members; seniors (ages 55+); transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming community members; and women; the City will be hosting seven focus group sessions to gather feedback from these traditionally marginalized communities in October and November. No professional or specific experience will be required to participate and compensation for participants will be offered via gift cards. More details and a link to the online application are posted at www.weho.org/cswb.
- Join a community meeting – The first CSWB community meeting will take place in-person at the Aquatic and Recreation Center at West Hollywood Park (Doheny Room), located at 8750 El Tovar Place, on Tuesday, October 25, 2022 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The second meeting will take place virtually via Zoom from 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 3, 2022. The presentation and a link to the Zoom meeting will be posted at www.weho.org/cswb prior to this session.
- Drop by a community pop-up – The CSWB project team will be visiting the West Hollywood Youth Halloween Carnival (Saturday, October 22, 2022 at Plummer Park, located at 7377 Santa Monica Boulevard) and the Helen Albert Certified Farmers’ Market (Monday, October 24, 2022 at the Plummer Park north parking lot) and will be riding aboard The PickUp (Saturday, October 22, 2022 along Santa Monica Boulevard) to gather feedback from community members. Event specifics are provided on the City’s calendar at www.weho.org/calendar and full details are available at www.weho.org/cswb.
Additional information about the Community Safety and Well-Being Strategy, including links to the CSWB survey, applications for focus group participation, and community meeting registration details, will be posted at www.weho.org/cswb. Stay informed about the project by signing up for e-updates on that page as well.
About the CSWB Strategy:
The first phase of this process began in early 2022 and included the participation of members of the City Council; City staff; City Officials and residents who serve on City Commissions and Advisory Boards; representatives from neighborhood watch and residential association groups, the business community; and contracted safety and social services providers; as well as the participation of a consultant specializing in CSWB strategic planning.
In the initial phase of work, the City defined what Community Safety and Well-Being means for West Hollywood, how the City and its community partners have worked together over the years to address CSWB challenges, and how the City can enhance its current approaches to reducing crime to ensure resources are being targeted where and when they are needed most.
After receiving approval of the initial Strategic Priorities, the City began working on community engagement activities to validate and refine the CSWB Strategy. Staff anticipates providing an update about the engagement process and findings to the West Hollywood City Council in December 2022.
