Leaders from each the county and metropolis of Los Angeles — two bureaucracies with huge roles to play in fixing the area’s worsening homelessness disaster — promised Tuesday to press reset on their fractured relationship.
The olive department got here throughout a Board of Supervisors assembly during which county leaders voted unanimously to help Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’ declaration of a state of emergency over homelessness. Bass, who appeared at Tuesday’s assembly, stated she wished to work hand-in-hand with the county as she tries to chop via the town’s cumbersome forms to quickly get individuals off the road.
“The one manner we will actually resolve this disaster is that if we’re working in full partnership,” Bass advised the board.
Bass’ look marked a change in tenor between the town and county, whose relationship has grown more and more fraught as the 2 jurisdictions quarreled over who ought to do what to assist individuals dwelling outdoors in clear disaster.
A federal lawsuit filed in 2020 by the L.A. Alliance for Human Rights, which alleged neither the town nor the county had been doing sufficient to look after the area’s homeless inhabitants, drove the wedge solely deeper as every forms accused the opposite of shirking its accountability.
With a brand new mayor, a brand new supervisor and a brand new board chair, the area’s leaders signaled the times of finger-pointing are behind them. Bass stated she is going to want the county on board as she embarks on a sweeping effort to velocity up the creation of reasonably priced housing and transfer individuals off the streets.
The county appeared wanting to help Tuesday with the all-female board heaping reward on the brand new mayor.
“We’ve been working towards this,” Board Chair Janice Hahn stated, “however I’m sorry I’m going to need to say it: It took a lady.”
Mayor Karen Bass speaks with Supervisor Kathryn Barger, proper, after attending a Board of Supervisors assembly to debate the county’s help of the Metropolis of Los Angeles in it’s State of Emergency on homelessness in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday.
(Christina Home / Los Angeles Instances)
Hahn, alongside Supervisor Kathryn Barger, crafted Tuesday’s movement, which asks the heads of the Division of Psychological Well being, the Division of Public Well being, the Division of Well being Providers and the Division of Public Social Providers — the 4 county departments that take advantage of contact with the homeless inhabitants — to every title an appointee who will signify their division at metropolis conferences associated to Bass’ state of emergency.
The board says it is going to supply comparable help to another cities inside Los Angeles County in the event that they too resolve to declare a state of emergency over homelessness.
The board is responding to an voters adamant that the town and county band collectively to assist the 1000’s of individuals dwelling outdoors. A survey carried out final month discovered the overwhelming majority of Los Angeles metropolis residents — over 95% — wished to see the town and county work collectively on homelessness.
That very same ballot advised many citizens, whereas determined for motion from the town on homelessness, had been much less preoccupied with the county. Solely 38% of respondents felt the supervisors had been most answerable for addressing homelessness; 62% stated the mayor.
However the county has a big — albeit much less scrutinized — function to play in offering providers to the tens of 1000’s of individuals dwelling outdoors. The Division of Psychological Well being sends out psychiatrists to individuals with extreme psychological sickness dwelling on the road. The Division of Well being Providers sends out clinicians. The Division of Public Well being assists with vaccinations.
The Division of Public Social Providers provides money help to these susceptible to dropping their residence or already dwelling on the road. And the county’s Homeless Initiative units the finances for the pot of cash generated from Measure H, a quarter-cent gross sales tax that county voters handed in 2017 for homeless providers.
E-newsletter
Get the lowdown on L.A. politics
On this pivotal election 12 months, we’ll break down the poll and let you know why it issues in our L.A. on the Report publication.
You might sometimes obtain promotional content material from the Los Angeles Instances.
Tuesday’s movement goals to offer all 4 of the county departments seats at Bass’ desk as she begins to chop the pink tape that she says is preserving individuals on the streets. Underneath a state of emergency declaration, Bass can get cash quicker to homeless service suppliers and velocity up the creation of reasonably priced housing tasks, amongst different powers.
Bass has promised to deliver 17,000 individuals inside in her first 12 months in workplace. There are greater than 41,000 people who find themselves homeless dwelling within the metropolis of Los Angeles, in keeping with the newest rely. The rely discovered roughly 69,000 individuals experiencing homelessness throughout L.A. County.
The supervisors stated Tuesday they need to do extra for the roughly 28,000 individuals experiencing homeless who dwell on streets outdoors the town of Los Angeles’ boundaries and can see little profit from the town’s order. Barger known as for the county to streamline its personal allowing course of, taking a web page from Bass’ playbook.
“Whereas the town stepped up,” Barger stated, “we the county need to as effectively.”