After decades of homelessness, untreated mental illness, and substance abuse, Mignon Poon, 66, found recovery through Hollywood 2.0, an ambitious Los Angeles County pilot program that combines intensive clinical treatment with community-based services and peer support. The program has moved more than 700 people off the streets and nearly halved Hollywood’s homelessness in 2024 alone.
Origins Inspired by Trieste, Italy
Hollywood 2.0 was inspired by research into Trieste, Italy’s mental health system, which prioritizes life aspirations and community connections over clinical diagnoses. The California Mental Health Oversight and Accountability Commission awarded the county a grant of nearly $117 million for a five-year pilot in 2022. Rather than the traditional top-down clinical approach, the program emphasizes respectful collaboration and community integration for people living with serious mental illness.
Poon’s Journey to Recovery
When Poon arrived at a Hollywood women’s shelter in 2023, she was among the most severely symptomatic people the program encountered—experiencing psychosis, believing a neighbor had implanted a monitoring device in her foot. Diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type, she worked with Dr. Jonathan Gomez and social worker Eleanor Bray to stabilize her medication. The program placed her in transitional housing at the Mark Twain Hotel, where she achieved sobriety more than two and a half years ago and was granted mental health diversion by a judge, with her felony charges to be dismissed. In September 2024, she moved into her own subsidized apartment.
Community as Healing
Since July 2024, Fountain House Hollywood clubhouse has been central to Poon’s continued recovery. There, she works on the hospitality team, preparing meals and building community with other members. The program plans to open clubhouses in six more neighborhoods. While the state grant runs out next year and MediCal faces federal cuts, county leaders said they’re committed to sustaining the successful parts of the project. Poon has also reconnected with her daughter, whom she gave up at birth in 1980, strengthening her sense of purpose and belonging.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2026/04/24/a-los-angeles-woman-was-lost-an-ambitious-mental-health-program-gave-her-a-sense-of-purpose/