Latest news with #Knowlton
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Failure of Skid Row landlord 'canary in the coal mine' for other homeless housing in Los Angeles, report says
The failure of one of Skid Row's largest homeless housing providers represents a dire warning for the viability of supportive housing in Los Angeles, according to a new report on the organization's demise. Released Wednesday, Redesign Required: Lessons for Permanent Supportive Housing from Skid Row Housing Trust Buildings, concludes that low and inconsistent rental subsidies and other structural problems in L.A.'s homeless housing systems played a key role in the trust's 2023 collapse. Without major changes, other supportive housing providers remain at risk, imperiling housing for thousands of the region's most vulnerable residents and exposing taxpayers to further bailouts, said Claire Knowlton, a Los Angeles-based financial consultant for nonprofits and the report's lead author. 'This is a wake-up call,' Knowlton said. 'It's time to dig in and figure out a vision for this sector moving forward.' Read more: A homeless housing nonprofit's buildings are in shambles. City plans intervention Once considered a national leader in homeless housing, the trust announced in early 2023 it could no longer manage its 2,000 units across 29 properties, many of which were renovated, century-old single-room occupancy hotels in and around Skid Row. The decision came after years of financial trouble with buildings in disrepair and disarray, replete with squatters, crime, nonfunctional elevators and clogged and broken toilets. City of Los Angeles leaders pushed the trust into receivership and, after 18 months, all the properties were transferred to new owners. The city allocated nearly $40 million to finance the receivership, though the new owners reimbursed some of the money upon taking control. The trust declared bankruptcy and dissolved in January. Researchers received access to the trust's internal financial data and interviewed more than 30 people, including former trust executives and those knowledgeable about its operations, to produce the report. The report, which was funded by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, is not meant to be a definitive understanding of the trust's failure, Knowlton said. Times reporting has shown questionable decision-making, financial mismanagement and unstable leadership marked the organization's final few years. The report did not examine specific actions made by trust executives. Joanne Cordero, the trust's final CEO who took over amid its spiral in late 2022, was a co-author. Read more: Bad bets, dysfunction: Inside the collapse of the Skid Row Housing Trust The root of the trust's problems, the report determined, was that tenants' public rental subsidies did not provide enough revenue to manage the buildings, including costs needed to assist those dealing with mental illness and drug addiction. All trust properties, including newer buildings with studio and one-bedroom apartments, were running annual deficits — nearly $1 million in one case — once factoring in long-term maintenance expenses, the report found. Not only were the rental subsidies insufficient to cover costs, but also the funding came through multiple programs that paid the trust wildly disparate rates for rooms without any clear way to increase them. Similar trust buildings received subsidies priced at a difference of up to $600 per unit per month. The report called the calculation of these rates 'cryptic' and their variability 'indefensible.' 'The subsidies are not covering the cost,' Knowlton said. 'The increases are inconsistent. The subsidy types are inconsistent, and there's no reason.' The report cites 2015 as a turning point for trust properties. That year, the region implemented a new coordinated entry system for placing homeless residents into trust buildings and other supportive housing through a process designed to prioritize rooms for the neediest. The system has been criticized broadly among homeless housing providers for taking too long to match potential residents with units and for concentrating too many people with mental illness, physical disabilities and addiction problems within buildings. After its implementation, vacancies in trust buildings skyrocketed, which further sapped the organization's revenues. Spending on security immediately jumped from $50,000 annually prior to 2016 to well over $500,000 after, and ultimately soaring above $1.4 million by 2022. Knowlton said she could not determine that the coordinated entry system was the source of these problems as other factors played a role. The portfolio's vacancies were stabilizing until staffing and maintenance woes amid the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 sent them spiraling. Deteriorating conditions in Skid Row broadly over the same period also could explain the greater security needs, she said. Still, Knowlton said that local leaders should reevaluate decisions to house those with the most severe health problems in single-room occupancy hotels, which have shared kitchen and bathroom facilities. 'I don't think single-room occupancy is the right type of housing for people with high levels of mental health needs or extreme substance use issues,' she said. Read more: The end of Skid Row's cheap hotels? L.A. leaders want to replace last-resort homeless housing Reaching similar conclusions during the receivership, city housing officials advocated for tearing down trust SROs and replacing them with new efficiency and one-bedroom apartment buildings, but they abandoned that plan as too risky, expensive and disruptive. Knowlton is pushing to overhaul the region's system for funding supportive housing, noting that the problems she identified were universal. Rent subsidies, Knowlton said, should be set to the cost of providing supportive housing, including social services. Doing so, however, would require significant and ongoing funding boosts at the federal level, which she deemed 'extremely ambitious.' In the short term, she argued government agencies should increase and standardize the subsidies to reduce their variability. 'That's going to give us the time and the cushion that we need to really set that longer term vision around how these buildings are stewarded as public assets, as community assets, because that's what they are,' she said. The alternative could be worse, she said. Other supportive housing providers have shown signs of stress. SRO Housing Corp., a similar nonprofit landlord operating 30 supportive housing buildings with a large presence in Skid Row, has documented its financial challenges for years. In December, tenants at one building alleged vermin infestations, broken elevators and sewage leaks in a lawsuit. When the trust failed, the city stepped in to save critical last-resort housing, but at great cost to taxpayers and without resolving underlying problems in the supportive housing system, Knowlton said. Federal, state and local leaders should do everything they can to avoid a similar situation from occurring again, she said. The trust's collapse, Knowlton said, was, 'a canary in the coal mine situation.' Times staff writer Douglas Smith contributed to this report. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
21-05-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Failure of Skid Row landlord ‘canary in the coal mine' for other homeless housing in Los Angeles, report says
The failure of one of Skid Row's largest homeless housing providers represents a dire warning for the viability of supportive housing in Los Angeles, according to a new report on the organization's demise. Released Wednesday, Redesign Required: Lessons for Permanent Supportive Housing from Skid Row Housing Trust Buildings, concludes that low and inconsistent rental subsidies and other structural problems in L.A.'s homeless housing systems played a key role in the trust's 2023 collapse. Without major changes, other supportive housing providers remain at risk, imperiling housing for thousands of the region's most vulnerable residents and exposing taxpayers to further bailouts, said Claire Knowlton, a Los Angeles-based financial consultant for nonprofits and the report's lead author. 'This is a wake-up call,' Knowlton said. 'It's time to dig in and figure out a vision for this sector moving forward.' Once considered a national leader in homeless housing, the trust announced in early 2023 it could no longer manage its 2,000 units across 29 properties, many of which were renovated, century-old single-room occupancy hotels in and around Skid Row. The decision came after years of financial trouble with buildings in disrepair and disarray, replete with squatters, crime, nonfunctional elevators and clogged and broken toilets. City of Los Angeles leaders pushed the trust into receivership and, after 18 months, all the properties were transferred to new owners. The city allocated nearly $40 million to finance the receivership, though the new owners reimbursed some of the money upon taking control. The trust declared bankruptcy and dissolved in January. Researchers received access to the trust's internal financial data and interviewed more than 30 people, including former trust executives and those knowledgeable about its operations, to produce the report. The report, which was funded by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, is not meant to be a definitive understanding of the trust's failure, Knowlton said. Times reporting has shown questionable decision-making, financial mismanagement and unstable leadership marked the organization's final few years. The report did not examine specific actions made by trust executives. Joanne Cordero, the trust's final CEO who took over amid its spiral in late 2022, was a co-author. The root of the trust's problems, the report determined, was that tenants' public rental subsidies did not provide enough revenue to manage the buildings, including costs needed to assist those dealing with mental illness and drug addiction. All trust properties, including newer buildings with studio and one-bedroom apartments, were running annual deficits — nearly $1 million in one case — once factoring in long-term maintenance expenses, the report found. Not only were the rental subsidies insufficient to cover costs, but also the funding came through multiple programs that paid the trust wildly disparate rates for rooms without any clear way to increase them. Similar trust buildings received subsidies priced at a difference of up to $600 per unit per month. The report called the calculation of these rates 'cryptic' and their variability 'indefensible.' 'The subsidies are not covering the cost,' Knowlton said. 'The increases are inconsistent. The subsidy types are inconsistent, and there's no reason.' The report cites 2015 as a turning point for trust properties. That year, the region implemented a new coordinated entry system for placing homeless residents into trust buildings and other supportive housing through a process designed to prioritize rooms for the neediest. The system has been criticized broadly among homeless housing providers for taking too long to match potential residents with units and for concentrating too many people with mental illness, physical disabilities and addiction problems within buildings. After its implementation, vacancies in trust buildings skyrocketed, which further sapped the organization's revenues. Spending on security immediately jumped from $50,000 annually prior to 2016 to well over $500,000 after, and ultimately soaring above $1.4 million by 2022. Knowlton said she could not determine that the coordinated entry system was the source of these problems as other factors played a role. The portfolio's vacancies were stabilizing until staffing and maintenance woes amid the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 sent them spiraling. Deteriorating conditions in Skid Row broadly over the same period also could explain the greater security needs, she said. Still, Knowlton said that local leaders should reevaluate decisions to house those with the most severe health problems in single-room occupancy hotels, which have shared kitchen and bathroom facilities. 'I don't think single-room occupancy is the right type of housing for people with high levels of mental health needs or extreme substance use issues,' she said. Reaching similar conclusions during the receivership, city housing officials advocated for tearing down trust SROs and replacing them with new efficiency and one-bedroom apartment buildings, but they abandoned that plan as too risky, expensive and disruptive. Knowlton is pushing to overhaul the region's system for funding supportive housing, noting that the problems she identified were universal. Rent subsidies, Knowlton said, should be set to the cost of providing supportive housing, including social services. Doing so, however, would require significant and ongoing funding boosts at the federal level, which she deemed 'extremely ambitious.' In the short term, she argued government agencies should increase and standardize the subsidies to reduce their variability. 'That's going to give us the time and the cushion that we need to really set that longer term vision around how these buildings are stewarded as public assets, as community assets, because that's what they are,' she said. The alternative could be worse, she said. Other supportive housing providers have shown signs of stress. SRO Housing Corp., a similar nonprofit landlord operating 30 supportive housing buildings with a large presence in Skid Row, has documented its financial challenges for years. In December, tenants at one building alleged vermin infestations, broken elevators and sewage leaks in a lawsuit. When the trust failed, the city stepped in to save critical last-resort housing, but at great cost to taxpayers and without resolving underlying problems in the supportive housing system, Knowlton said. Federal, state and local leaders should do everything they can to avoid a similar situation from occurring again, she said. The trust's collapse, Knowlton said, was, 'a canary in the coal mine situation.' Times staff writer Douglas Smith contributed to this report.
Calgary Herald
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Calgary Herald
City of Calgary signs deal for closer ties with Blackfoot Confederacy
The City of Calgary on Friday signed an agreement with a group of Indigenous organizations deemed to be the first of its kind, although doubts about whether the terms in the document would be respected linger among First Nations members. Article content Article content The Memorandum of Understanding on Communication and Co-operation between the city and the Blackfoot Confederacy will determine how the two governing bodies engage with one another and strengthen their relationship. Article content Article content The document includes 10 non-binding agreements, such as wishing to learn about one another and identifying opportunities for collaboration; establishing a productive working relationship based on areas of mutual benefit; and affirming mutual respect and collaboration to promote environmental sustainability. Article content Article content The event, which was attended by the chiefs of several communities, including Piikani and Siksika First Nations, began with a privately held pipe ceremony, a sacred Indigenous tradition in which participants vow to be truthful and respectful while following the agreements made at the time of the meeting. Article content 'We are on a journey with nation partners to understand how we best enter into relationships,' Mayor Jyoti Gondek told reporters. Article content 'And being able to do this memorandum of understanding today and to sit in ceremony before that is a really important way for us to engage with Indigenous partners and to understand what partnership actually looks like.' Article content Article content Piikani Nation Chief Troy Knowlton said to 'recognize that this land is Siksikaitsitapi — Blackfoot — that's an honour.' Article content 'Time will tell' if agreement will be respected, chief says Article content However, he was quick to point out his disappointment with how a memorandum between Indigenous organizations and Alberta was purportedly breached following legislation proposed by the UCP government that, among other things, makes it easier for a referendum to leave Canada to appear as a ballot question. Article content 'It tells us that the MOU is not being honoured and that it's not being respected,' Knowlton said. 'And I made comments to the City of Calgary, the time will tell if this MOU has something that's going to be respected by the city.' Article content He added he hopes the agreement leads to partnerships in several industries that will yield economic benefits for his community members, starting with tourism. Article content 'Tourism is one of the biggest parts of the economic drivers of this province,' Knowlton said. 'One of the problems I see with the Indigenous Tourism Association, they're all led by Metis. Article content 'They don't look like me. So when you're looking at the Indigenous Tourism of Alberta that's led by people who look Caucasian, who want to cash in on the Metis type of self-identification, that doesn't help us a whole lot.'
National Observer
08-05-2025
- Politics
- National Observer
First Nations take Alberta premier to task over separatist rhetoric
First Nations leaders say a silver lining to the 'rhetoric and insanity' brought about by talks of Alberta separatism has united Indigenous communities 'all across Canada, from coast to coast to coast.' Piikani Nation Chief Troy Knowlton said Alberta First Nations are gearing up for a fight with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. 'We're not going anywhere and if you feel that you have problems with First Nations, you could leave,' Knowlton said. Smith said this week she doesn't want Alberta to leave Canada but promised to hold a referendum on provincial separation in 2026 if citizens gather the required signatures on a petition. Smith's government also recently tabled legislation to make it easier for citizens to trigger a provincial referendum, lowering the required signatures from 20 per cent of registered voters to 10 per cent and granting an extra month to collect signatures. The backlash from First Nations leaders was swift — they pointed out Alberta is on Treaty 6, 7 and 8 land, and those treaty agreements are with the federal government, not the province. 'This is treaty country, and any talk of separation is really insanity,' Knowlton said at an emergency meeting convened by First Nations leaders on May 6 in Edmonton. 'If Alberta wants to separate, and doesn't want to be part of Canada, then you're not allowed on our traditional territories anymore for exploration, because we don't know who you're exploring for,'said ACFN Chief Allan Adam The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, which represents 74 First Nations in Saskatchewan, said Smith's proposal to lower signature thresholds for citizen-initiated referendums — which could more easily lead to a vote on separation — fundamentally ignores the nation-to-nation treaties signed between First Nations and the Crown. This was echoed by other leaders, including Mikisew Cree First Nation Chief Billy-Joe Tuccaro and Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Chief Allan Adam, who said any move in that direction would have immediate consequences for development in the province. 'If Alberta wants to separate, and doesn't want to be part of Canada, then you're not allowed on our traditional territories anymore for exploration, because we don't know who you're exploring for,' Adam said. In response to questions about a separation referendum's impact on treaty rights, Smith said she will have to wait until a citizen referendum proceeds to make any judgments about treaty rights. The ambiguity of her response did not quell concerns. 'Whether or not this rhetoric is real, you're upsetting a relationship that has been years in the making,' Gabrielle Slowey, a political science professor at York University, told Canada's National Observer in a phone interview. 'Historically, Alberta technically had a fairly good relationship with Indigenous groups compared to other regions in Canada. So, for the premier to be doing this … I'm not sure I see the value or the logic in it.' Slowey is surprised the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers and resource extraction companies aren't intervening because Smith is potentially triggering the sort of instability that markets hate, after years of building agreements with communities to create a stable investment environment. 'Alberta's worked really hard, and Danielle Smith's threats are undoing all of that,' Slowey said. Adam's call for no more resource exploration amidst talk of separation is exhibit A. 'That's gonna send a shiver and a chill that people don't need, not at this time when we're supposed to be building all these nationalist projects,' Slowey said. The resounding message from First Nations leaders this week is that they are gearing up for a fight. 'For the last 50 years, we've been in defense of our rights, of our land, our jurisdiction, our identity,' Knowlton said. 'We're very prepared. Today, every one of the First Nations you see here, we've got doctors, we've got lawyers, we've got judges, we've got Crown prosecutors. We're ready. We're ready for a fight. We've got resources that we can either share or utilize ourselves for any litigation moving forward and any challenges we're going to have.' This issue of separation referendums and treaty rights has played out before, when Quebec held its 1995 referendum, Slowey noted. To highlight their opposition to Quebec secession, the Grand Council of the Crees of Quebec held a separate referendum at the time to underscore their long-standing opposition to Quebec separating from Canada. Cree voters were asked: "Do you consent, as a people, that the Government of Quebec separate the James Bay Crees and Cree traditional territory from Canada in the event of a Yes vote in the Quebec referendum?" An overwhelming 96.3 per cent — with 77 per cent voter turnout — voted to stay with Canada. The Inuit of Northern Quebec held a similar referendum with 96 per cent of voters opposing Quebec's secession. Now, in 2025, First Nations leaders in Alberta are hammering home the same message. Tuccaro, Mikisew Cree First Nation Chief, had some words specifically for Smith: 'You will not do what you want without the approval of the treaty people. You talk about a reset with Canada. You must reset with the Indigenous Peoples from Turtle Island.'
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Yahoo
San Angelo man accused of attacking grandmother in shared home
SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage) — A San Angelo man is being charged for allegedly assaulting his 81-year-old grandmother on April 7 in a home the two shared, according to court records filed in Tom Green County. Christian Knowlton, 27, was booked in Gillespie County on April 8 for charges of injury of an elderly individual with intent to cause serious bodily injury or mental injury and unauthorized use of a vehicle as well as a charge out of Hunt County for harassment. As of the time of publication, he has a posted bond of $1.5 million. Knowlton was sought by the San Angelo Police Department as a person of interest in the assault of an 81-year-old San Angelo woman that occurred in the 4300 block of Rodeo Drive during the evening of April 7. The SAPD said in an update issued on the evening of April 8 that he was arrested in Fredericksburg. RELATED: SAPD seeking man after assault of 81-year-old Court records filed in relation to the case stated that an investigator responded to a residence in the 4300 block of Rodeo Drive on April 7 in regards to a robbery. The investigator learned upon arriving at the scene and speaking with another detective that the assaulted individual was 81 years old and the grandmother of Knowlton. The investigator also learned that Knowlton and his grandmother had been living together at the residence alongside two other people. The investigator gathered information regarding actions allegedly taken Knowlton, his grandmother, and the other residents prior to the incident, as per the affidavit. The investigator learned that, on the day of the incident, the other residents departed the incident location in the morning. Later that same morning, the grandmother allegedly took Knowlton to a parole meeting before eventually returning to the residence. The two other individuals who lived at the residence reportedly discovered the grandmother 'on the floor in the front foyer with injuries to her face' after they returned to the residence. The investigator learned that 'only the victim had been located on scene' and that neither Knowlton nor his grandmother's vehicle, identified as a white Jeep Renegade, were present or accounted for. The investigator was informed that the grandmother had been taken to the Shannon Medical Center Emergency Room by San Angelo Fire Department personnel to be treated for 'extensive injuries to her face.' Responding to the Shannon Medical Center Emergency Department, the investigator observed that the grandmother's face 'was covered in blood' and that both of her eyes 'were bruised and swollen shut.' The investigator also observed 'a laceration to the victim's left nostril, a laceration on the top left area of the victim's head and bruising to the victim's face and head.' The investigator was told by a Shannon Medical Center staff member that she also 'had sustained fractures to her face and a brain bleed.' At the time of the investigator's observations, the woman was 'unconscious, intubated and unresponsive.' The investigator later spoke with another detective and was informed that the grandmother had been taken to a different hospital for further treatment. Upon applying for and obtaining a search warrant for the residence where the incident occurred, evidence items were seized. Among the items taken were a kitchen knife found on a countertop in the residence's kitchen that 'appeared to have blood on the blade,' a purse and an iPhone. The investigator 'did not observe any apparent signs of forced entry to the residence,' noting that the location 'appeared to be in overall order with no items overturned or apparently out of place.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
