Care at the Speed of Trust

While catching up on a recent webinar from the UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative, we were reminded of something that sits at the heart of the work in Hollywood.

Dr. Michelle Schneidermann of the California Health Care Foundation made this point:

“By recognizing the street as a legitimate clinical setting, providers can… dispense medication where the patient is staying, providing care at the speed of trust.”

That phrase—care at the speed of trust—captures what the Hollywood coalition has been building for a long time.

As management guru Stephen Covey advised us, “Nothing is as fast as the speed of trust. It’s the one thing that changes everything.”

Hollywood may not always seem like a typical neighborhood to visitors. But one of the strongest place-based, trust-based initiatives in the country has been growing here, hidden in plain sight. Over the last 15 years, informal coordination between providers, residents, volunteers, and local businesses has become durable civic infrastructure—rooted in strong relationships between neighbors, confidence in institutions, and people working together to solve shared challenges.

It’s also worth remembering that Hollywood 4WRD was originally formed as a partnership between the business community and nonprofit partners: a hub where providers, residents, and businesses work together instead of around each other.

And steadily, surely, it’s working.

Independent analysis by RAND in 2025 found a substantial reduction in visible unsheltered homelessness here. Along with that, we’re seeing stronger coordination, deeper community participation, and greater shared impact.

In Hollywood, trust is forward.

Note: Hollywood 4WRD is honored to be a grantee partner with CHCF.

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