Wellness Support
Gateways provides effective, person-centered treatment for mental and behavioral health through a diverse, culturally sensitive, and multidisciplinary team. With a comprehensive range of services, Gateways tailors care to each client’s unique needs, prioritizing overall well-being from diagnosis to treatment. Gateways’ Wellness Center is contracted with the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health.
Homeless Services
Occupational Therapy & Life Skills
Wellness Center
Integrated Care
Homeless Services
Gateways Hospital and Mental Health Center Homeless Services program provides mental health care and supportive services for individuals experiencing homelessness or at risk of becoming unhoused. Comprehensive support addresses immediate needs and long-term stability through case management, therapy, and essential life services.
Gateways serves individuals experiencing homelessness with mental illness, those with a history of incarceration, and those at risk of becoming unhoused. Many of Gateways’ clients are referred through community partnerships and local agencies, including The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), Los Angeles County Probation Office and shelters. Gateways also provide services for residents of Gateways Apartments, a 24-unit site supporting clients with mental health challenges.
Gateways aims to stabilize and support individuals facing homelessness by addressing their mental health needs while promoting long-term recovery and independence. By providing psychiatric care, therapy, and essential life services, Gateways helps individuals regain stability, secure housing, and pursue employment, fostering greater well-being and community reintegration.
Gateways’ Homeless Services embodies the organization’s mission to deliver compassionate, comprehensive care by meeting clients where they are and supporting individuals at every stage of recovery—from crisis intervention to long-term stability. Gateways’ Wellness Center is contracted with the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health.
LAHSA determined that an estimated 46,206 people are unhoused on any given night in the City of Los Angeles, with 67% of those suffering from mental illness or substance use disorder
Los Angeles Times, 2019
Our Approach to Care
Core Services
- Psychiatric Medication Management: Medications are managed to stabilize mental health conditions.
- Individual and Group Therapy (Including Telehealth): Therapeutic counseling is provided in various formats.
- Case Management and Benefits Assistance: Clients receive help navigating services and securing essential benefits.
- Housing and Employment Support: Assistance in finding stable housing and employment supports recovery.
- Daily Living Skills Training and Wellness Workshops: Training promotes independence and well-being.
Key Features
- Specialized Care for Clients with Mental Illness and History of Incarceration: Tailored care supports clients with complex histories.
- Convenient Location at the PATH Building, Los Angeles: Accessible services in a central location.
- Services for Clients Transitioning from Incarceration through a Probation Office Contract: Justice-involved individuals receive community reintegration support.
- Collaboration with Local Shelters and Community Organizations: Partnerships expand available resources.
- Contracted with the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health and MediCal certified: Public partnerships ensure quality, accessible care.
Bridging Mental and Physical Health
Gateways understands the diverse factors that influence recovery and is committed to addressing each individual’s unique needs. Recognizing the role of physical health in clients’ sustained overall mental health and wellness, programs offer specialized services to support clients’ physical health and develop skills to establish independence and confidence.
Gateways’ services are designed to bridge mental and physical health, with the understanding that supporting both will help clients achieve their overall wellness goals. Programs like Occupational Therapy offer tailored, evidence-based activities focused on physical needs like exercise, nutrition education, and personal hygiene to help clients build life skills and foster independence.
Our Approach to Care
Nursing Team
The Gateways nursing team provides care through a trauma-informed, comprehensive approach, meeting each patient where they are in their health and wellness journey. This person-centered perspective enables the creation of individualized treatment goals tailored to each patient’s unique biopsychosocial and spiritual needs. Recognizing the interconnectedness of mental and physical health, the team employs a multifaceted approach to care to help clients make daily progress toward their goals.
Dental Days
Through a partnership with the Chinatown Service Center, Gateways provides free dental care to inpatient acute mental health care clients. Dental services include visual and oral examinations, head and neck oral cancer screenings, fluoride varnish applications, and oral hygiene instructions.
Occupational Therapy & Life Skills
Gateways follows a person-centered approach, meeting the needs of each client where they are. By championing life skills, Gateways cultivates meaningful and effective pathways to recovery and sustained well-being.
Occupational therapy at Gateways provides multidimensional support for individuals with mental illness, helping clients develop the life skills needed to engage in meaningful daily activities. The program uses innovative, evidence-based approaches to support clients, including mindfulness, sensory education, social skills development, exercise, personal hygiene, and nutrition education. In community settings, occupational therapy is especially beneficial in providing effective, activity-based group work to support clients’ functional abilities and improve their mental health, according to the American Journal of Occupational Therapy.
Occupational therapy is a proven method to support mental health, offering a diverse range of tailored therapeutic activities, from structured task projects to coping with music and sensory strategies, which cater to individual client needs.
Occupational therapy provides a continuum of care so clients have the life skills to be independent and maintain their wellness beyond their time at Gateways.
“When I’m in sensory groups I feel calm. It has helped me feel more at ease, along with my therapy.”
Core Services
- Nutrition education
- Exercise groups
- Therapeutic arts and crafts
- Coping skills exploration
- Stress management
- Mindfulness techniques
- Sensory education
- Social skills and team-building activities
- Music activities
- Snoezelen multi-sensory room
- Animal assisted therapy
Sensory Room
In March 2023, Gateways launched a Sensory Room, one of the first available for acute patients in Los Angeles. Sensory rooms are multisensory, immersive spaces that give clients greater autonomy over their care by adjusting the environment’s lighting, sound, and tactile regulation. By changing the space to suit their needs, clients have a comfortable environment to strengthen their emotional regulation skills and learn self-coping mechanisms. Sensory rooms are proven to reduce feelings of anxiety, distress, and agitation, according to Australian Psychiatry: Bulletin of the Royal Australian College of Psychiatrists.
The Sensory Room is used by adolescent and adult clients receiving inpatient care under supervision from trained mental healthcare providers. The room was supported by a donation from the Robert Ellis Simon Foundation, which supports expansive mental health resources for the most vulnerable communities in Los Angeles County.
Wellness Center
Gateways’ Wellness Center provides comprehensive, personalized care that addresses each individual’s unique needs, recognizing that mental wellness is deeply intertwined with various aspects of life. Committed to fostering a compassionate environment, Gateways supports clients in the final stages of recovery, helping them transition to independent living and build fulfilling lives for sustained mental and emotional well-being. Gateways’ Wellness Center is contracted with the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health.
Our Approach to Care
Core Services
- Mental Health Therapy: Offering both in-person and telehealth individual therapy sessions tailored to each client’s goals.
- Psychiatric Medication Management: Long-term medication support with approximately one-third of clients staying in treatment for five years or more.
- Group Therapy: Including both in-person and virtual sessions to foster connection and shared growth.
- Drop-In Activities: Providing structured and casual activities that support wellness and community engagement.
- Resource Access: Clients have access to computers and phone charging stations.
Unique Aspects of Care
- Personalized Care: As a small program, the Wellness Center provides individualized attention, fostering a community centered on compassion and understanding.
- Accessible Services: The Wellness Center is designed to offer care for all clients with Medi-Cal who are in need of general mental health therapy and medications.