The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) is set to lose its primary role in overseeing the county’s homelessness response and funding, following a decision by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
In an effort to improve regional management of homelessness programs — and following news of a huge spike in homelessness — the board has agreed to establish an Executive Committee, composed of elected officials from various Southland areas. This move will coordinate both county and local efforts to address homelessness, reducing LAHSA’s dominance over the issue.
Supervisor Kathryn Barger, together with Supervisor Hilda Solis, initiated the motion, emphasizing the need for collaboration across the region. The newly formed Executive Committee will consist of two members from the Board of Supervisors, the mayor of Los Angeles, a Los Angeles City Council member, four mayors or city council members from the county, and a representative appointed by the governor.
The committee will supervise a “Leadership Table,” acting as an advisory body. While LAHSA will be part of this Leadership Table, its role will be diminished, and it will now work in coordination with the new Executive Committee. Additionally, the motion calls for the county to discuss changes to LAHSA’s governance structure and analyze its funding sources, reflecting a significant shift in its influence over homelessness initiatives in the region.
Supervisor Hilda Solis underscored the need for the new panel, highlighting that it will integrate efforts across all cities and communities in the county, providing them a voice in addressing homelessness. The move aims to unite all 88 cities with the county to break down barriers and create actionable strategies, diminishing LAHSA’s central role.
Despite initial reservations, Supervisor Janice Hahn eventually supported the proposal, which was passed by a 4-0 vote. Mercedes Marquez, the chief of housing and homelessness solutions for the city of Los Angeles, also expressed support for the initiative.
Recent data coordinated by LAHSA revealed a 9% year-over-year increase in homelessness in the county and a 10% increase in the city of Los Angeles. The point-in-time count in January showed 75,518 homeless people in the county and 46,260 in the city. The creation of the Executive Committee, in tandem with LAHSA’s reduced role, is seen as a significant step toward unifying efforts to address this ongoing challenge.
Additionally, LAHSA needs to eliminate the contracts with all these nonprofit organizations. They are one major reason the homeless crisis has exploded by wasting federal and state monies meant to help find permanent housing solutions. Financing huge salaries for the leadership. Having delusional ideation about homelessness is an absolute waste of Brian power and creates tension between the communities.
Mayor Bass declared homelessness as a state of emergency. in January.
So did the Board of Supervisors.
Mayor Bass just updated her declaration 10 July.
Changes are due if she wants to accomplish reducing homelessness. The Olympics are still coming.
The Board of Supervisors voted WH Wonder woman Lindsey Horvath to head the program. With her alleged experience she should have that solved in a month or so, just like she solved the Public Safety issues in Weho. . Oh Wait….she may have to bring back pal Nika as a Special Deputy!
I consider the homeless to be my enemies at this point–maybe that’s what the politicians had in mind when they stopped enforcing our laws. I would gladly pay to have them put in hospitals and permanent institutions, but I won’t pay a dime toward maintaining these threatening people on our streets.
You people are obviously a bunch of apathetic jerk only considered about your own little narrow minded worlds.
Your views are those of uninformed, uneducated, self-centered jerks.
Why do I get the feeling you’re an entitled freeloader who doesn’t pay your own way for anything? People pay rent and taxes and should expect safe streets in return. You are out of touch.
Jfyi I have a pension
In other words, I earned my money and paid taxes. Since you are assuming I’m a freeloader I’m going to assume you have little formal education!!
No, actually you’re the one who’s out of touch!!!! Yeah, let’s lock them all up!!! Stupid!!
I agree with “voter”. It’s time to remove them.
You may agree with voter. However, voters comment’s seem to be the least constructive on this forum. Doesn’t really say much for you!!
You clearly display the opinion of an uninformed, uneducated, apathetic attitude. These antisocial sentiment are counterproductive to solving a serious issues. I hope you can learn to do more research thus, creating solutions of humanitarian empathy.
Perry, one question….tell us your thoughts on exactly how this homelessness issue spun out of control? Please give us the timeline and incidents.
To clarify, I’m not a social worker. I’m a humanitarian with empathy for those less fortunate. I will tell you, I’ve personally experienced long-term periods of homeless. On the other hand, I was also an individual whom owned properties And had consistent employment for over two and a half decades. I worked as a civil servant for the state of California appointed to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. I hold a BA in Early Childhood Education from the University of Arizona. In addition to an AS in Hospitality Management from the Art Institute of California. I’m now medically… Read more »
From your POV, beyond your personal issues, what factors do you believe led to this exponential epidemic of homelessness and what would you assess the timeline to be?
That is an extremely complex question. I believe the drug epidemic has played a major role in this crisis. Since the emergence of Methamphetamine over the last decade with its easy availability and low cost compared to other street drugs has left many with mental illnesses. Also, the increased cost of living and skyrocketing rental cost causing many difficulty. Additionally, in more recent times, COVID 19 has created economic hardship on many individuals producing a larger homeless population. Moreover, the closure of state mental institutions during President Regan’s administration sent many with severe mental illness to the streets, thus, creating… Read more »
Thank you. Folks have little understanding how incrementally the dial moves and consequently picks up momentum. Personally I question whether or not the folks allegedly elected or appointed to solve the problem have any idea or expertise in problem solving at any of the strategic levels.
First off, as I’ve started previously, my belief is the leadership of these organization’s are compromised. LAHSA, a local governmental agency has, ” Outsourced”, their responsibility by Sub contracting nonprofit organizations whom main goal is financial stability for their leadership and to create long-term careers for their lower level employees. Most of their employees have no formal or experience based training whatsoever. It’s probable that these contracts are entered into with disingenuous goals. LAHSA should be the sole agency with absolute control overseeing this crisis. Thank you
Thank you for confirming this according to your experience. It is certainly well what I perceived.
My pleasure!!
And thank you for the opportunity to elaborate my opposing view and for the exclusive interaction.
I wouldn’t want to pay toward putting people in expensive hospitals and institutions who don’t want to be there and don’t want help. They need to forcibly take taken off our streets that we pay taxes for, and moved to where they are away from those of us who want to live how we are paying to live. The real enemy are the politicians who use the homeless so they can pretend they are compassionate (Horvath, Sepi, Heilman etc.), when in fact they are the most cruel of all.
RIGHT!!!!
The only solution is to get them off the public streets. If someone can’t prove they own or rent a home, they need to be forcibly taken out to a free tent in the desert somewhere. Just read New York City is spending $10 million per day to house 2,000 homeless on some nearby island. The rest of the world is laughing at us. I’m back from a month in Europe where I saw very few homeless in the cities. This morning I went to a coffee shop for breakfast, and in the 50 feet I walked from the parking… Read more »
Really, try getting a grip on reality! All these federal grant are being inappropriately utilized. Rather than putting tents in the desert, take those funds and build permanent housing instead of paying the non profit organization’s leadership multi million dollar annual salaries. That is a logical conclusion.
Actually, I don’t want freeloaders living in the city. let them try to freeload in the desert. A desert community on government land should be zoned for this purpose. You want to keep them in the City. These people are too far gone, and most are mentally ill and don’t want to be cured or help. Get them out of here. That’s the solution. Make it illegal to give them money or free food in the City, and throw in jail anyone who gives them anything in the City. When do we get serious?
True, you cannot help those that are not seeking help. Great point actually!! We both agree on the desert just difference of implantation.
As for keeping them in the city I think this depends on multiple factors.
Merely putting a roof over their heads and making them invisible to the public is not as realistic or lasting solution. Without treatment, they exponentially propagate like the diseased and infected individuals they are……their own slow moving pandemic. Whatever solution needs to have retraining and means to reintegrate as useful people into society which has in and of itself a low expectancy. We are literally breeding unhoused, unhinged, largely un redeemable individuals resulting from our lax standards. We have crested our own monster.
I agree for the most part. It really depends if we are referring to homelessness, mental illness, drug addiction or all of the above. I understand your position and believe your comment makes sense.
Although the article does not mention it, Lindsey Horvath, dilettante of the era, with all of her grand expertise, is to head LAHSA
The Queen of lockdowns, biz closures, mass firings and medical segregation. She made people homeless and humiliated, for a flu. Un-f#cking-believable. 🤡
This is an exercise in reshuffling the deck chairs and a listless ship. The same feckless bureaucrats and self-aggrandizing politicians will operate in a system with a different name. Bureaucracy is bureaucracy, by whatever name it is called. Los Angeles needs a homeless czar, a true community titan who can get stuff done by sheer force of personality. Politicians, by nature, are not those titans. I wonder what Rick Caruso is up to these days.
If Rick Caruso has the respect and love if this city as he continuously expressed and which has been extremely good to him, it would be good for him to call upon himself to dedicate his time as perhaps a Homeless Czar.
Take all that tax payer money and funnel it into creating new mental health and drug rehab facilities. Change the laws so that people can be placed into these facilities if they are found to be mentally ill. Arrest those that openly so drugs and offer them a stint in rehab or do jail time. Enforce the no loitering laws. We have allowed the “homeless” problem to grow by allowing taxpayer money to be used to fund these lost souls life on the streets allowing them to do whatever they want. We feed them, we give them clothes, we give… Read more »
Not just that but, the ones that do want to improve their lives by working, they are punished for working and will lose their housing. So the government wants to keep them down and not to get any better. I work here in skid row, I just had a client get denied housing because, she worked for lyft for 3 weeks so now she is no longer eligible to get off the streets.
We could cut the homeless problem in half if we hospitalized the mentally ill plaguing our streets. No society in the world is as cruel as America in how we treat sick people.
Thank the ACLU for that.
It would be cheaper to buy them all million dollar houses, or send them on luxury cruises for life. These people don’t want help. And help won’t help them. They need to be where they are away from people who actually want to live in and enjoy city life. Get them away from me. Fast. Take them to the desert, free food and tents are waiting there. No more therapy that doesn’t work.
Interesting thought process!!! Actually your first sentence is accurate!! It’s would be far less costly. Same principal as building apartments in the desert with supportive housing solutions which include treatment for mental illnesses and drug addiction.
We don’t need anymore panels. The solution is very easy……but they don’t want to do it.
Maybe if things get bad enough and more people that are actually contributing to society get impacted, people will start changing their tune. Even our governor has finally woken up and said that the most violent of the mentally ill should be placed into a mental health facility even if it’s against their will. The tide might be turning. It just takes someone in power with the strength and the leader ship to actually lead.
How would Institutionalizing all the homeless individuals solve the current homeless crisis? First, it would increase the federal, state, and local taxes two fold. Second, you can’t just lock up everyone that is homeless. Three, it’s important to note not everyone who is homeless is addicted to or uses drugs. That is an unfair stereotype. Four, it will cost far more than building permanent housing such as apartments in possibly desert regions where space is available. I’m so disappointing after reading this website’s postings. Most of you are bias, stereotypical, and inhumane. I hope you people open your eyes to… Read more »