Latest news with #HousingforHealth
Yahoo
08-08-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
LA County sees second year of homelessness declines, ends longstanding partnership with city of LA
This story was originally published on Smart Cities Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Smart Cities Dive newsletter. Dive Brief: Homelessness declined in Los Angeles County for the second consecutive year, falling 4% to 72,308 unhoused people after a 0.27% drop last year, according to the 2025 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count. Unsheltered homelessness decreased 9.5% after a 5.1% decline last year. Permanent housing placements reached a record high of 27,994 in Los Angeles County in 2024, a 2.5% increase compared with the year before. The report comes as the county prepares to consolidate its efforts to curb homelessness through a newly established Department of Homeless Services and Housing, shifting away from a 32-year partnership with the City of Los Angeles. Dive Insight: With a quarter of the country's homeless population, California is often considered the epicenter of the nation's homelessness crisis. But while the U.S. reported record highs in homelessness last year, California's largest county recorded declines. This year's numbers continue to show improvement for the county, as local 'encampment resolution' programs such as Inside Safe and Pathway Home worked to get more people off the streets and into shelters or permanent housing, according to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. 'This progress reflects a focused emergency response, innovative housing programs and strong coordination among service providers and local jurisdictions,' Los Angeles County Chair Pro Tem and First District Supervisor Hilda Solis said in a press release. The City of Los Angeles also saw reductions in homelessness for a second year in a row, falling 3.4% to 43,699, according to the LAHSA report. Unsheltered homeless populations in the city fell 7.9%. In April, the LA County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to create the Department of Homeless Services and Housing, which will launch in January, 2026. By next summer, $300 million, generated by a half-cent sales tax that went into effect April 1, will be moved out of LAHSA and transferred to the county's new department, CBS News reported. 'The goal of this new department is increased accountability, improved service delivery for people experiencing homelessness and reducing the burden on the providers who serve them every day,' the county said in a statement. The department is modeled after the county's Department of Health Services' Housing for Health program, which has had success in helping people with physical and behavioral conditions find interim and permanent housing, LAist reported. City officials decried the shift away from LAHSA, which was founded in 1993 to combine city and county efforts to reduce homelessness. 'This action would create a monumental disruption in the progress we are making and runs the serious risk of worsening our homelessness crisis, not ending it,' LA Mayor Karen Bass and City Council Member Nithya Raman wrote in a letter to supervisors in April. The city accounts for 60% of the county's homeless population, according to Bass and Raman. The county has the largest financial stake in LAHSA, at 40%, with the city funding 35% of the budget. The remainder comes from the state, federal government and private donors. LAHSA has been criticized for falling short of outreach goals, and its leadership was scrutinized for a conflict of interest earlier this year. Bass also pushed back against a 2025-2026 state budget proposal that snubbed funding for the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention program for localities — another potential funding shakeup for the city during a year when federal housing assistance is also in jeopardy. 'We do not need to see an increase of homelessness now when things are on a very good trajectory,' Bass said at a June 5 press conference to advocate for the prevention program. Recommended Reading Can AI help prevent homelessness before it happens? Los Angeles County is finding out. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Los Angeles Times
17-07-2025
- Health
- Los Angeles Times
L.A. homeless population drops again. And yes, there's reason for hope
For nearly two decades, an official count confirmed what all of us could see: more and more people living on sidewalks, streets and other marginal spaces all over Los Angeles County. So it felt like only good news this week when the county's homeless agency announced a 4% decline in the homeless population and a 10% decline in those living in the street. To go a bit deeper than the numbers, I got hold of my colleague, Doug Smith. A deep thinker who's covered every big story in L.A., Doug has become The Times' foremost expert on homelessness. Here's what the essential Doug Smith had to say: What did you make of the latest figures? I expected it. I drive around a lot, as does [City Hall reporter] Dave Zahniser. We both have seen the difference made by [the city's] Inside Safe and [the county's] Pathway Home programs. Many of the largest encampments have been eliminated. Should we be hopeful that L.A. is finally tackling this problem? The [city and county] programs are very expensive and are barely two years old. The big question is how much more they will be able to expand, or even maintain the number of hotel and motel beds they now have. Does Mayor Karen Bass, or any other individual or group, deserve credit for this decline? She does, but she's not the only one. One of the most important initiatives is Housing for Health, a program created by L.A. County Department of Health Services when Mitch Katz was running it. It targets frequent users of the public health system. Judge Carter has forced the county to create 3,000 new mental health beds (still in the works). [California Community Foundation Chief Executive] Miguel Santana is now on the newly-created housing board that will be Proposition HHH on steroids. Janey Rountree at the California Policy Lab at UCLA has done more than anyone else to make usable information out of the oozing mash of data coming out of homeless services agencies and the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. What are a few things that will be needed to keep moving people off the street? We are finally, mercifully, moving beyond the ideology of 'Housing First' as the one and only solution. The system has improved, but is still stuck in the binary thinking of interim vs. permanent housing. When you visit encampments, you quickly identify people for whom neither of those is the right first step. Some need detox and drug treatment, some long-term mental health treatment and some jail. The first two are woefully scarce, so they tend to all end up in jail. There are several valiant private enterprises out there trying to figure out a conventional financing model to build affordable housing. I hope they figure it out. Is there anything the average Angeleno can do? They can pat themselves on the back already for doubling the sales tax. Even if the recent trend continues, it's going to be a long way to 'Problem solved!' Try to be equally empathetic with the people living on the street and the people whose houses and businesses they live in front of. Finally, don't be too harsh in judging those in positions of responsibility who have made only incremental progress. Yes, they're imperfect. But all they have is local levers to budge a problem that has macro social and economic causes. The 2025 Emmy nominations have been announced. The best comedy category is stacked, with fan favorites including 'Abbott Elementary' and 'The Bear.' Who should win? Email us at essentialcalifornia@ and your response might appear in the newsletter this week. On July 17, 1969, the Apollo 11 crew continued their historic journey to the moon, which launched from NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. the day before. On July 20, two of its astronauts became the first people to step on the surface of the moon. For the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, The Times measured the mission by heartbeat. Jim Rainey, staff writerDiamy Wang, homepage internIzzy Nunes, audience internKevinisha Walker, multiplatform editorAndrew Campa, Sunday writerKarim Doumar, head of newsletters How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@ Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on
Los Angeles Times
08-07-2025
- Health
- Los Angeles Times
Homeless service veteran Sarah Mahin to lead new L.A. County homelessness agency
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday picked a director for its new homelessness agency, turning to an executive that officials praised for her two decades of experience in helping people get off the streets. In a unanimous vote, supervisors approved Sarah Mahin and a $375,000 annual salary for her to lead the Department of Homeless Services and Housing, which formerly launches Jan. 1. Supervisors voted to create the new department earlier this year, stating they wanted more accountability over homelessness spending that today flows through a much criticized joint city-county authority, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. Mahin currently works for the county and since 2020 has been director of the Department of Health Services' Housing for Health program, which officials see as a model for what comes next. The program, launched in 2012, focuses on housing and helping people with complex medical needs. It employs more than 600 people on a $875-million annual budget. Among the services offered are outreach, rental subsidies, interim housing beds and a wide-range of medical care. Prior to serving as Housing for Health director, Mahin was director of policy and systems at LAHSA and also worked at the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless, according to her LinkedIn bio. 'For me, this work has always been rooted in innovation, collaboration, and accountability to the people and communities that we serve,' Mahin said a statement. 'I am committed to leading with those values at the forefront. ' As director of the new county homelessness agency, Mahin will be tasked with overseeing a broad reorganization in how the county tackles homelessness. In April, the Board of Supervisors voted to move hundreds of millions of county dollars out of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, or LAHSA and put it into the new agency. The move followed two audits that, echoing years of criticism, found LAHSA lacked sufficient oversight of its contracts and programs, leaving them vulnerable to waste and fraud. By Jan.1, more than 700 county workers will be transferred to the new Department of Homeless Services and Housing, with hundreds more from LAHSA joining six months later. The new agency is expected to largely absorb programs for Housing for Health, which Mahin has been leading and will cease to exist as a separate division. In a statement, Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, who helped lead the push for the new department, said Mahin's experience at both LAHSA and the county is an asset as the county transitions from the old system. 'She's exactly who we need, ready to hit the ground running with the urgency this moment demands,' Horvath said.
Associated Press
04-04-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
As LA County Restructures Homeless Services, the Social Impact Sector Calls for Increased Collaboration
Center for Nonprofit Management issues a statement on the 4-0 vote from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to dismantle LAHSA LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, April 4, 2025 / / -- Following the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors' unanimous vote on April 1, 2025, to withdraw hundreds of millions in public funds from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) and create a new department to oversee homelessness services, the Center for Nonprofit Management (CNM) has issued a public statement calling for the County to prioritize true partnership with the social impact sector. While the County's action responds to longstanding concerns around mismanagement and accountability, CNM emphasizes that successful reform must be developed with the nonprofit organizations who are already doing the work on the ground—not apart from them. The new department, expected to absorb LAHSA's $1 billion budget and transfer hundreds of County employees by early 2026, will be modeled after the Department of Health Services' Housing for Health program. But the nonprofit sector—central to delivering services—was not engaged in this process. 'Nonprofits are holding communities together in times of crisis, but they can't keep doing more with less—and waiting months for reimbursements,' said Angelica Frias, Vice President of Action and Engagement at CNM. 'Real progress on homelessness and recovery requires trust, coordination, and timely support.' In its statement, CNM outlines key steps to make this transition successful and sustainable: - Move toward upfront funding models where feasible - Ensure timely and transparent reimbursement processes - Provide technical assistance and capacity-building for smaller organizations navigating complex systems - Center collaboration, equity, and sustainability in all stages of design and implementation CNM works closely with many of the organizations most impacted by this shift. Community-based nonprofits—especially smaller, grassroots-led groups—are already navigating increased demand, bureaucratic delays, and financial uncertainty. The 2025 L.A. wildfires only deepened these challenges, disrupting infrastructure, delaying fundraising cycles, and leaving many organizations in limbo. 'This is a rare opportunity to rebuild a system that works,' Frias added. 'But that will only happen if we see nonprofits as mission-driven partners essential to real, lasting solutions.' As the County transitions to this new model, CNM will continue advocating for an inclusive process and a stronger, more resilient social impact sector. For the full statement, visit here. About the Center for Nonprofit Management For 47 years, the Center for Nonprofit Management has served as a trusted resource for Southern California's social impact sector. Through research, convening, engagement, technical assistance, and advocacy, CNM helps strengthen the nonprofits that form the backbone of a caring and inclusive regional economy. For more information, please visit: Press Contact: (210) 846-4486 Kara Brock Born in June Creative Legal Disclaimer:
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
L.A. County to pull funding from embattled homelessness agency
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has voted to pull funding from the regional agency tasked with combating the homelessness crisis and will instead create a new countywide department to take on the effort. The Board voted 4-0 Tuesday to revoke hundreds of millions in annual taxpayer fund for the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority after audits and a judge's ruling found that the agency had mismanaged and failed to track millions of dollars. The County will now shift the previously earmarked funds toward creating a new countywide department to manage the crisis, which Supervisor Lindsay Horvath said will be modeled after the Department of Health Services' Housing for Health program, which she says has the best success rate in the region. 'Los Angeles County is leaving the status quo behind, and is embracing a model for homeless services that centers accountability and results,' Horvath said in a release. 'This isn't making the system bigger; it's making it work better, which our communities have been demanding for years.' The taxpayer funding originally meant for LAHSA will be stripped from the agency by next year. Horvath was joined in the vote by fellow supervisors Kathryn Barger, Janice Hahn and Hilda Solis. Supervisor Holly Mitchell abstained. While unanimity was essentially reached at the County level, Los Angeles city leaders had urged the County leaders not to pull funding from LAHSA, and instead work on solutions to better rein in spending increase transparency in the agency. 'LAHSA desperately needs more transparency and accountability. However, the speed at which the County is moving raises serious concerns about service disruptions,' a statement from L.A. City Councilmember Ysabel Jurado reads. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass agreed that there have been persistent and systemic issues with LAHSA and the region's approach to battling homelessness, but argued that the corner has already been turned in the last two years since she took office and made the crisis her main priority. 'We are making forward movement. We must keep building on this and confronting our challenges, together,' a letter from Bass and Councilmember Nithya Raman reads. The two highlighted the decrease in homelessness in L.A. City in the previous point-in-time count as proof that the joined efforts between the City and County are working. 'While homelessness rises across the country, we are driving it down and have dispelled the myth that people want to live on the streets,' the letter reads. 'We locked arms, each declaring a state of emergency, and have moved with unprecedented urgency. We are making forward movement.' But the Supes ultimately decided that the way things are happening now simply aren't good enough, and any progress will need much more oversight and transparency if taxpayer money will be used to tackle the problem. 'This crisis demands a dedicated County department—one that will focus relentlessly on addressing the root causes of homelessness with a comprehensive, accountable approach,' Barger said. 'Our Board is taking full responsibility for the tax dollars we collect and distribute, ensuring transparency, efficiency, and real results for those we serve. The buck stops here.' According to the Los Angeles Times, when the new County department is formed, it will have a budget of more than $1 billion, removing sales tax funds from LAHSA and redirecting it to the new department. Hundreds of county workers will be transferred to the new agency by Jan. 1, 2026, and hundreds more will be added in the months that follow. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
