Dear Culver City: What Happens before Homelessness?

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By Nina Dhillon

Culver City recently reported a reduction in its unhoused population count. That's encouraging news. But it raises another question:

What are we doing to prevent the next person from becoming homeless?

For the past few years, I've been trying to engage Los Angeles City and County leadership with one fundamental question: What happens to people BEFORE they become homeless?

Time and again, the response has focused on helping people who are already unsheltered.

That answer was difficult to digest then, and it remains troubling today.

Consider a Culver City resident in their sixties, still living independently, perhaps working part time or surviving on a fixed income. Rent continues to rise, savings disappear, and one unexpected expense threatens everything.

That person is not homeless today. But who is paying attention before the crisis?

Every day, television brings stories about homelessness. Public dollars are discussed, debates continue, shelters open, and progress is announced.

Yet the fundamental question remains unanswered.

Why must someone lose their home before meaningful assistance becomes a priority?

Food, temporary shelter, and emergency outreach are necessary. But a meal cannot resolve an unaffordable rent payment, and a temporary bed cannot guarantee housing stability.

Even short-term rental assistance leaves a difficult question: What happens when the assistance ends and the financial hardship remains?

Culver City has an opportunity to look beyond the number of people experiencing homelessness today. Identify residents at risk of losing their homes, examine the long-term effectiveness of existing prevention programs, and develop sustainable interventions before financial hardship becomes displacement.

Measure success not only by how many people leave the streets, but also by how many never have to experience homelessness in the first place.

Let's wake up and change our approach, starting in our own communities.

If we genuinely want different results, why do we keep following the same path?

Nina Dhillon is the Founder and President of SeLiMa Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit focused on preventing homelessness among adults ages 50 to 75 who remain housed but face financial instability. A California real estate broker with decades of housing experience, she advocates early intervention, sustainable housing solutions, and greater accountability in homelessness prevention.