Statement by Sup. Barger Regarding Structural Issues Within LAHSA

LOS ANGELES COUNTY – Supervisor Kathryn Barger issued the following statement in response to her vote to abstain on a motion by Supervisors Holly Mitchell and Shelia Kuehl to review the current structure of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority.

“The County is halfway through the lifetime of Measure H and I believe that the current structure and system that we are using to address homelessness through the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) is simply not working. This is evident by the troubling increase in the number of people experiencing homelessness - in conjunction with an ongoing lack of coordinated services, the need for mental health care reform and adequate substance abuse treatment.

“The Board of Supervisors has previously tried to address the issues within the LAHSA governance structure, but these efforts have been incremental and have not resulted in the substantive changes that are clearly needed to treat individuals and provide temporary and permanent housing. One of the fundamental issues is the lack of local and regional collaboration within the existing governance structure to provide the input that is critical to make a difference. I continue to advocate for the inclusion of regional input from all of the 88 cities and local Councils of Government throughout the County which I believe is necessary if we are truly going to make a difference.

“Tragically, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner reported that from January to July of this year, 739 unhoused individuals died while living on our streets. This is a 20% increase from last year. Clearly, this is a life or death situation and it should encourage us to act with urgency and a new sense of direction.”