LOCAL FACILITIES

Few of West Hollywood’s social service agencies are located within city limits, but instead are located in nearby areas of Los Angeles, such as western Hollywood. Although these locations are less convenient for some clients than locations in West Hollywood would be, they are largely accessible by bus. Some agencies, such as the West Hollywood Comprehensive Service Center, provide services so rare (Russian-speaking case managers for seniors, in this case), that they draw clients from as far away as Long Beach, so a location within West Hollywood proper is perhaps less critical.

West Hollywood features a number of shopping areas, including along Robertson Boulevard, Melrose Avenue, and Santa Monica and Sunset boulevards. Much of the retail along these corridors comprise high-end clothing and furniture retailers, along with restaurants and bars with outdoor sidewalk seating. Storefronts along Santa Monica Boulevard, and especially along the western half of, around Robertson Boulevard, offer goods and services specifically targeted to the LGBT community.

The supermarkets in town include Ralph’s Fresh Fare and Bristol Farms on Beverly Boulevard, and Pavilions and Gelson’s on Santa Monica Boulevard. We visited the last two, and found them to have a good selection of food. Much was made of the Pavilions in our conversations with local residents and others in the community; it opened last month to much fanfare (and free food giveaways), and it is very attractively designed. Notably, all four of these supermarkets are upscale brands, with higher-priced groceries. The lack of more economically priced stores might be a hindrance to lower-income residents moving to the city, or to seniors and others on a fixed income.

There is a public library in central West Hollywood, near the Sheriff’s Station, and it is in good repair, and offers free WiFi. Banks/ATM machines are located along Santa Monica Boulevard as well. West Hollywood has two public elementary schools (which have a total enrollment of less than 500), but for junior high and high school, students attend LAUSD schools in the surrounding Los Angeles neighborhoods.

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is located in the heart of West Hollywood on Beverly Blvd. and is first class, comprehensive medical and wellness facility. There are over 2,000 physicians at cedar Sinai from almost every clinical specialty. The hospital employs a total of 10,000 people and consistently recruits 2,000 volunteers. The Cedars-Sinai website has a page outlining how it cares for the vulnerable and underserved populations in and around Los Angeles. The hospital also has extensive services for seniors which it outlines on its website as well.

The West Hollywood city hall is the go-to place for residents and business owners in Los Angeles. The city hall has an active schedule of advisory board and committee meetings. Agendas from these boards are posted on a regular basis. The city services offered through the city hall range from information on animal control and care, to information on domestic partnerships, recycling and a host of social service agencies.

There does not appear to be a courthouse within the city of West Hollywood. During the Community Immersion program the West Hollywood sheriff mentioned that people arrested or charged in West Hollywood were then sent to the Beverly Hills or the Los Angeles courthouse.

It appears that every single gas station chain has representation in the city of West Hollywood. The Sunset strip, Santa Monica Blvd and Melrose Ave are all destination points. Therefore, gas stations are in high demand in West Hollywood. Finally, there are two public bus transportation systems in the city of West Hollywood. There is the Metro Rapid Line that just travels East and West along Santa Monica Blvd. There is also the City Line that travels East and West but also veers off into smaller side streets. This line travels to Cedar Sinai Medical Center. Both lines seem to go as far East as Highland and continue to travel west past Doheny. A complete map of the West Hollywood public transit system can be found here. There is also a free transportation service called “Dial a Ride” for senior citizen and disabled residents of West Hollywood.