Homeless report cites recommendations
The Blue Ribbon Commission on Homelessness released a comprehensive 111-page report, on Wednesday, delineating seven recommendations needed to improve Los Angeles County’s current system that helps people experiencing homelessness, saying it is time to “reject the status quo and bring new life, new ideas, and new partners into the arena to support those that work to improve our system every day.”
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors established the Blue Ribbon Commission on Homelessness, last year, to perform a comprehensive review of the homelessness issue and the system of responding to it. The report lists 13 key concerns, noting that the “region is in crisis, but the system serving persons experiencing homelessness is not set up to operate in crisis mode.”
The panel’s seven recommendations include to create a county entity with responsible charge, accountability, and authority over homelessness.
The report also cites a lack of “vital infrastructure’’ in the city and county.
While the report’s authors credited the quasi-city-county Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority for some successes — particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic — they lamented that it operates with limited abilities that hamper what it can accomplish.
“Its decision-making authority is limited by design, with little or no authority over funding, prevention, housing acquisition, substance abuse and mental health treatment, among other issues,” according to the report.
“We refer to this as the LAHSA ‘conundrum.’ The conundrum has led many to falsely rely on LAHSA, creating a great deal of consternation for stakeholders.’’
The report also cites a lack of “vital infrastructure’’ in the city and county.
“While many county and city departments touch homelessness, none are dedicated exclusively to serving people
experiencing homelessness nor able to cut across silos to provide leadership across agencies,’’ according to the document.
“…These factors, coupled with a web of sometimes inconsistent and poorly communicated policies and practices, leave LAHSA, service providers, community groups, other cities in the region and other stakeholders feeling devalued, unheard and frustrated.’’
The report recommends that the county create a central entity “with responsible charge, accountability and authority over homelessness.’’
It also recommends a reimagining of the leadership of the “continuum of care’’ overseeing the issue regionally and arming LAHSA with specific decision-making authority.
Supervisor Kathryn Barger, whose Fifth District includes the Antelope Valley, co-authored the motion creating the blue-ribbon commission with First District Supervisor Hilda Solis.
“I co-authored the motion that created the BRCH because what we’re doing in LA County is failing,” Barger noted in a statement, Wednesday.
She added, “We have more than a hundred public, community-based, faith-based and non-profit organizations dedicated to providing services to people experiencing homelessness, and millions of Measure H dollars in our coffers to fund the work, but our region continues to fall short.”
Barger hailed the panel’s work.
“The recommendations proposed are pragmatic and visionary,” she said in the statement. “I’m a strong supporter of giving all 88 cities in LA County a seat at the table. They deserve a fair opportunity to receive a greater share of Measure H dollars so they can fund housing solutions that work for their neighborhoods.”