“This has been a long time in the making, and in order for it to work, we all have to work together,” according to Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who introduced the motion with Supervisor Hilda Solis.
The creation of a regional oversight body was one of the recommendations offered two years ago by a county Blue Ribbon Commission on Homelessness, which called for an “executive-level action team” encompassing leaders from the county and its 88 cities, along with state input, to better coordinate homeless programs regionally.
Under the board’s action on Tuesday, Aug. 9, the new Executive Committee will include two members of the Board of Supervisors, four mayors or city council members from cities in the county, the mayor of Los Angeles, a member of the Los Angeles City Council, and a representative chosen by the governor.
That committee will in turn oversee a “Leadership Table,” which will act as an “advisory body” to the committee. The Leadership Table will also leverage private funding sources for homelessness programs. That group will include county department heads, business leaders, service providers, educators and representatives of sectors including labor, public housing, veterans, the faith community and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Also included in the Leadership Table will be the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, which has long served as a quasi city-county entity designed to oversee regional homeless-prevention efforts. The authority has been under fire in recent years over the region’s continued struggles with homelessness.
Barger stressed that the Executive Committee is not envisioned as a replacement for LAHSA, but will work in coordination with that organization. Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, who sits on the LAHSA commission, said the new committee will “complement” the work of that body. But the motion also calls for the county to work with the city to discuss changes to the authority’s governance structure and analyze its funding sources. Solis said the new panel — by expanding beyond LAHSA’s representation of Los Angeles city and county — will better incorporate efforts in all other cities and communities in the county.
“Unfortunately, our existing homelessness governance structure does not give local cities a voice in how we address this emergency,” Solis said in a statement after the vote. “That is why we need to move forward with the Executive Committee this motion proposes, as it will bring all 88 cities together with the county of Los Angeles to break long-existing silos. Through this effort, we can come up with strategies, set tangible goals, and hold the system accountable to getting results for our residents. This Executive Committee has the potential to bring the region together and chart a new path forward.”
Supervisor Janice Hahn initially hesitated about moving forward with the idea, lamenting the idea of creating yet another committee to discuss homelessness.
“I don’t want the public to think that we haven’t made huge strides, in my opinion, of coordinating, working together,” said Hahn, who ultimately voted in favor of the effort, which was approved on a 4-0 vote, with Supervisor Holly Mitchell absent.
The most recent homelessness count coordinated by LAHSA found a 9% year-over-year increase in homelessness in the county. According to the results of the point-in-time count conducted in January, there were 75,518 people experiencing homelessness in the county. That’s up from 69,144 in the county last year.
In 2018, there were 52,765 homeless counted in the county.
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ACE CARTER says
WHAT’S NEEDED HERE AND IN THE VALLEY ARE MORE RV PARKS FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE MOVED UP FROM TENTS TO RV’S…
PUT THE HOMELESS IN RV PARKS WITH CAMP GROUNDS WITH WATER, POWER AND MOST IMPORTANTLY – TOILETS –
THAT WAY THEY ARE ALL IN SAFE PLACES THAT CHARITIES CAN SERVICE –
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Enough is Enough! says
This is where the billions of dollars in taxes we’ve all paid actually end up. They go to form more “executive committees” in Downtown LA and more money gets siphoned off to executive and administrative positions and support staff. What’s left of the money trickles down to Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) who basically do the same thing (“committees” made up of executives and admin) and then finally the very last to get any money are the social workers, counselors and field people who actually due the most work and get paid a pittance. This has become such a windfall that nobody actually wants to solve homelessness, they’d rather keep it prolific and keep the gravy train chugging along.
This whole thing stinks and it has become a cottage industry to pocket money and pad retirements of certain government people at the executive level.
The only real solution here is to stop wasting taxpayer money on “committees” and new branches of government that waste money. Instead, find a big parcel of land somewhere in New Mexico and turn it into a massive treatment/rehabilitation facility where these people can be shipped and housed and given the skills to re-enter society. If that’s not what they want, then they will, clean up, shape up and quickly find a job and a relative’s couch to crash on.
There needs to be some accountability where NGOs and government committees show progress or they lose finding and get shut down. Enough is enough!
Carlos Ledesma says
The problem hasn’t been solved because “activists” refuse to draw distinction between homeless people and bums. Homeless people are always temporary. They hate being homeless. Bums see things different.
Templer says
Homeless crisis? Maybe a domestic immigration issue. More than half of the so called homeless are recent arrivals from other states where living this way isn’t possible. When are our local politicians going to seek or pursue legal action for funding from the states they originate from. It’s far overdue for federal help. Granny flats and subdivision and devaluing our neighborhoods isn’t the answer for this massive problem.