SaMo Bridge offers participants connection, resources – and a chance at a new path to recovery
November 19, 2025 12:40 PM
by Jenna Grigsby-Taggart
After more than a decade of struggling with addiction, Jacque found himself on the streets of Santa Monica – homeless, alone, and, as the saying goes, “sick and tired of being sick and tired."
He hadn’t seen his young daughter in over a year. He was about to turn 35, and it at last struck him that he needed to change course. And to do that, he needed help.
One day, he approached a Santa Monica police officer and told him that he needed help getting into an inpatient substance use treatment program. He didn’t want to go to jail again.
The officer took him to the Samo Bridge respite hub, a city diversion program in a modest grouping of trailers in a parking lot just a few blocks south of the city jail.
Accessed by SMPD referral only, the SaMo Bridge respite hub is operated by the city’s longtime partner Exodus. At the hub, individuals who have come into contact with SMPD can safely rest and recover for a few hours while a resource navigator helps connect them with services and starts them on a 90-day case management plan.
Jacque is now four months sober, holds several jobs including managing a sober living facility, and has reconnected with his four-year old daughter after a year apart.
“I would not have been able to do it on my own,” he said. “Just finally asking for help, knowing that you can do it, you know, changed my life." He also shared that since graduating SaMo Bridge, his father told Jacque he was proud of him.
Jacque is one of 270 people referred to SaMo Bridge by Santa Monica Police in the six months since the program launched.
Of those 270 individuals, 200 were connected directly into other services as their next step from SaMo Bridge, instead of heading back into Santa Monica’s public spaces. Services include temporary housing, detox and substance use treatment, Project Homecoming, mental health and medical services.
Perhaps even more remarkable, these connections were made with an average participant stay at the respite hub of just under 20 hours – and at little cost to the city, since the program was funded by a nearly $8 million grant from the California Board of State and Community Corrections.
The city set an initial goal of engaging 260 individuals annually in the SaMo Bridge 90-day case management plan. Having nearly reached that goal in just the first six months, SaMo Bridge’s success demonstrates that offering alternatives to incarceration can be a powerful tool to motivate people to engage in services.
The city is already looking to build on the program’s early successes. The Realignment Plan, approved by the City Council on Oct. 28, seeks to add service capacity to the respite hub in the coming months.
SaMo Bridge adds to the city’s existing portfolio of diversion initiatives, including STEP Court, the Alternatives to Incarceration Pre-Filing Diversion Program and Retail Theft Diversion program. These programs help the city intercept individuals experiencing homelessness or behavioral health issues before they enter the criminal justice system – and offer a different path. Learn more.
Authored By
Jenna Grigsby-Taggart
Deputy City Attorney