SM Local News Outlet Responds To LAHSA’s Financial Issues, But A Little Late…

After a few weeks of public disclosure, the Santa Monica LookOut News reported on the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) this week. Here's the article. It’s angle is based on how Santa Monica and Venice agencies have been affected by LAHSA’s lack of payments.

A July 19th audit of LAHSA revealed a backlog of $5 million of unpaid bills from service providers. The article reports that LAHSA has recently paid $1.8 million of these bills. It states that agencies like, St. Joseph’s Center, Ocean Park Community Center, and Chrysalis are all owed money from LAHSA.

“It makes it all very tight, obviously, to have to draw on credit lines that forces you to pay interest,” said Rhonda Meister, the executive director of St. Joseph’s Center.

“That money is significant in terms of cash flow, and we’re certainly waiting for a reimbursement,“ John Maceri, the ED for OPCC, is quoted. “It can be a serious difficulty to have to float that kind of money.”

PASADENA, CALIFORNIA, LEADS THE WAY FOR SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Here is another article from the Interagency Council on Homelessness:

PASADENA, CALIFORNIA. Southern California has its first completed 10-Year Plan, with this week’s public release of Pasadena’s new strategy. United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano joined Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard, City of Pasadena Department of Planning and Development's Anne Lansing, Assistant City Manager Brian Williams, and Housing Director Greg Robinson for the event. The leadership of the 10-Year Planning Council is shown here as they gathered to hear Mayor Bogaard at Casa Maria, a local homeless program.

“This plan recommits this city to the original vision we’ve all shared – ending chronic homelessness,” stated United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Philip Mangano. “The emphasis in this 10-Year Plan on permanent supportive housing is well founded and well placed given that the central antidote to ending homelessness is housing. In calling for Annual Action Plans you are keeping the plan alive and accountable. You’ve done your homework on both discharge planning initiatives and mainstream program efforts. “

Pasadena’s Plan also calls for a city homeless coordinator to oversee its efforts, which include a prevention focus on veterans. Prevention is also goal of the proposed “Good Neighbor Program, ” which would partner neighbors helping neighbors and identify those at risk through education and existing systems. Pasadena’s Community Working Group, formed from over 150 representatives from government agencies, non-profits, faith-based organizations, neighborhood associations, businesses, consumers, foundations, banks, providers, housing developers, and academia, met over the last 15 months to develop the Plan.

While in Pasadena, Director Mangano also toured Navarro House, a permanent supportive housing program and Passageways which serves an entry point to local homeless services. Region IX Coordinator Eduardo Cabrera also took part in the events.

CITIES SAMPLE PROJECT HOMELESS CONNECT FOR LOCAL APPLICATION

This article is from the Interagency Council on Homelessness, a federal agency that works with federal departments to end homelessness:

WASHINGTON, DC. City representatives from New York City to Portland, Oregon last week gathered in San Francisco for a site visit organized by the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness to Project Homeless Connect, the City’s innovative one- day engagement event. Those taking part in the engagement event helped produce the day’s outcome of 94 homeless people moving from the streets to shelters, stabilization units, or transitional programs. Part of the City's 10-Year Plan now being implemented, Project Connect hosted the site visit as a means to provide basic orientation and logistics to cities considering a role in the Council’s December 8th National Project Homeless Connect Day.

Representatives from Atlanta, Knoxville, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Portland, OR, San Diego, Los Angeles County, Santa Monica, Pasadena, Miami, San Jose, and New York were welcomed by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and Deputy Chief of Staff Alex Tourk, who organizes Project Connect. City officials spent time with the group answering questions and conducting a site tour. California State Senator Jackie Speier and her staff also participated. Participants spent the day much the same way as any volunteer: they walked the streets, interviewed consumers, served meals, and helped people find their way to various service stations. Over 1,000 volunteers welcomed 1,133 consumers to the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium where services were available ranging from medical, dental and vision care, to housing information and benefits enrollment, to massage, wheel chair repair, library books, free phone calls and cafe service.

USICH Executive Director, Philip Mangano, who visited Project Connect in June, is looking forward to December 8th when cities across the country will join together to conduct the first National Project Homeless Connect Day. “Project Connect is one of those innovative ideas that made an immediate difference on our streets. Every city should ‘steal’ this idea and implement the fusion of political and social will.” San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who has taken an active role in each engagement day, is shown here addressing the city representatives’ orientation.

Cities and counties are being encouraged to adapt Project Connect according to local needs, which vary in terms of scope and service delivery. Widespread community involvement, especially from business sponsors, is a vital expression of civic will. Another is positioning Project Connect as a portal to housing and services, both critical to ending chronic homelessness. USICH, through Special Advisor Janna Jahn, is providing technical support to cities interested in participating in the National Day.

“You could stay here for two, three years, and ain’t nobody going to find you…”

The recent fires in Nichols Canyon, within the Hollywood Hills, has highlighted another problem of homelessness—squatter communities within the upper-scale homes overlooking Los Angeles. Tuesday’s fire was allegedly started by a homeless man cooking a meal in the hills. The Los Angeles Times reports on this today. Click here to read article.

“I stay in places where nobody even goes down there,” said one of the people homeless in the hills. “There’s places up here like you won’t believe. You could sleep here, ain’t nobody going to find you. You could stay here for two, three years, and ain’t nobody going to find you.”

Homeless encampments are not new. They have been around for years. Some say that the homeless become scapegoats for the Hills’ problems, or that revitalization of Hollywood Boulevard is pushing the homeless into the hills.

Fire officials say, “They try to reason with homeless people” to leave, with not much success.

The reality is that people living on the streets, or in the hills among million dollar homes, are just not safe; street or hill life is not healthy for anyone to live. We should not be “reasoning” with people to get off the streets. We should be balancing much needed services, affordable housing, and enforcement to make sure that everyone has a place to sleep.

L.A. Council Member LaBonge Visits PATH

This morning Los Angeles Council Member Tom LaBonge spent some time visiting PATH and discussing the homeless problem in his district. He represents the Fourth Council district that covers parts of Silverlake, Hollywood, Miracle Mile, Hancock Park, Koreatown, and North Hollywood. Click here for his website.

Of course, homelessness affects every district in Los Angeles.

The Council Member talked about the importance of utilizing existing resources effectively, the fact that there are squatter camps within the Hollywood Hills, and how homelessness has been a problem that our community has neglected for many years.

We are also working with his office in support of our first Project Y!MBY event in December, when the Greater Hollywood community is going to mobilize to help homeless people who are on the streets. (More information on this event will follow later.)

UCLA Student’s View On L.A.’s Homeless

A Daily Bruin student columnist published an article a few months ago on her view of homelessness. “Walking down Santa Monica on my first night in Los Angeles, I officially met my first homeless person,” she writes. Click here to read article.

It is an interesting outside perspective on Los Angeles’ homeless population. She gets verbally abused by one person—while even trying to offer a sandwich. Then like the rest of Angelenos, she gets used to the idea of having homelessness integrated within our urban life.

Her conclusion… there’s enough money to solve the problem, some homeless people choose to stay on the streets, they crave acceptance, they are victims of circumstances, and perhaps we (the community) should respond with smiles.

Kindness and compassion are certainly positive responses to homelessness. However, our community’s systems—discharge planning, housing, shelter, and law enforcement, to list only a few—need to dramatically change before we can truly end this urban problem.

LA Reps Visit SF To See Project Homeless Connect

Last week, representatives from Los Angeles County (CAO’s office), LAHSA, City of Santa Monica, City of Los Angeles, and local providers like PATH, visited San Francisco to participate in their Project Homeless Connect.

This unique program that mobilizes thousands of SF volunteers to go on the streets of SF and help people who are homeless connect with services. Click here. Philip Mangano, the executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness says, “What is happening here is unprecedented—there is nothing else like it in our country.” The ICH is encouraging cities around the country to begin similar programs.

Last Thursday, was the sixth Project Homeless Connect event in SF. Representatives from Los Angeles were there in order to see how Los Angeles could put on a similar event. County officials are talking to PATH to set up a pilot project in Hollywood. PATH is calling it Project Y!MBY (Yes In My Backyard!) This will happen in December of this year.

“I’m Fed Up!”

The Los Angeles Downtown News reports today on the latest downtown L.A. effort to “take back the streets.” It quotes Don Garza, a resident in downtown and an editor of the Downtown Central City East Blogger, as saying, “I’m fed up!” Click here to read article. I think most people would echo Mr. Garza’s sentiment.

People are fed up with the lack of community effort to resolve homelessness—whether it is in downtown Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Hollywood, or where ever. As the homeless capital of America, Los Angeles is inundated with people sleeping on the streets. With 91,000 people who are homeless in the county, the leaders of Los Angeles must start a new effort to resolve this issue.

The Central City East Neighborhood Watch walks, led by Central City East Association and the Midnight Mission, and supported by LAPD and Councilmember Jan Perry, are a good start. “The goal is to let the thousands of men, women and children living on Skid Row know the community is willing to help, and to warn drug dealers and other criminals that crime won’t be tolerated.”

The walks are scheduled on the first Wednesday of the month at 6 pm in front of the Midnight Mission.