LAHSA Director Reportedly Plans To Quit

Both the Los Angeles Times and the L.A. Daily News reported today that Mitchell Netburn, the Executive Director of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority plans to quit. (He is pictured at the podium above.)

The L.A. Times says that he is looking for another job.

The Daily News also reports that County and City officials are pondering whether LAHSA should be re-structured or even abolished.

Given that there appears to be so much political and community “good will” toward wanting to solve homelessness, I think this time is a “window of opportunity” to really do something significant. If the political leaders start debating over how to create a new bureaucracy that “good will” might be lost.

Here are the two articles: L.A. Times and Daily News.

Do You Rob Peter To Pay Paul?

This is the six million dollar question… The Daily News continues its reporting on the accusations of financial mismanagement of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA). Here is the article.

They report that LAHSA used HUD (federal Department of Housing and Urban Development) funds to pay items (“emergency bills”) that in HUD regulations violated federal rules. In other words… they “commingled” funds. HUD did not know about it.

LAHSA “commingled” $1.7 million in HUD funds. The consequences of these actions could be HUD suspending LAHSA from receiving HUD funds (approximately $60 million per year) or making LAHSA return the $1.7 million.

This is a good (or really bad) case study on nonprofit management…

Do you take funds from another source to pay emergency items, like paying homeless agencies their bills before they go out of business? Even though using these funds could risk losing future funds?

I don’t think so…

Risking $1.7 million (or worse) is not worth it. Creative management would mandate that you don’t do something illegal to keep the doors open. (The ends don’t justify the means.)

Take out a line of credit, or borrow money from a government or private entity until the financial issues are resolved. But don’t do anything that risks funding for homeless services in Los Angeles County. It is just not worth it…

Does Super Bowl Mean Super Sweeps of Homeless People?

How will the Super Bowl festivities affect the homeless in Detroit this Sunday?

Many homeless advocates are fearful that it means the homeless living near Ford Field, where the game takes place, will be swept away or even arrested. Here's a link.

Showing a “clean” Detroit may be more important than the civil liberties of people on the streets. This is not a new concept. Other cities that hosted the Super Bowl had this very attitude.

Public officials in Detroit are saying that they are putting together a plan to avert mistakes made in other cities where homeless people were arrested at the Super Bowl.

In Jacksonville, Florida, site of last year’s Super Bowl, three homeless men sued the city for false arrests. Florida Assistant Public Defender Tyler McKinney argued in court that if “the rich, powerful and famous can drink in the park in the weeks before the Super Bowl, why can’t the homeless do it now?”

Let’s see who really wins and who really loses this Sunday…

Homeless Capital of America

From cartoonist, Patrick O'Connor of the Daily News...

Homeless “Dumping” Can Be A Two-Way Street

The calls to end homeless “dumping” in downtown Los Angeles has prompted community leaders to evaluate how public law enforcement and health officials handle homeless people.

Accusations have been tossed against surrounding cities.

There is a program in San Francisco called, “Homeward Bound”, that sends SF’s homeless back to their home towns. The City of Santa Monica is pondering operating the same program.

Here at PATH, we have been operating such a program with Traveler’s Aid Society of Los Angeles for the past four years. If a person has family in Chicago, but is homeless in LA, we help him or her reunite with family members and then offer a free bus ticket back home.

Is it reverse “dumping”? Officials in Humboldt County say so. They have complained to San Francisco officials, that SF is just giving their homeless a one-way bus ticket to their county. SF has agreed to contact Humboldt County officials when they “send” a homeless person to their county.

Homeless Persons Need More Than “Pushy Friends”

In his article this morning, LA Times columnist Steve Lopez writes about how he and Brady Westwater (LA Cowboy blogger) helped Ernest Adams, the homeless man who was beaten by a baseball bat last summer.

They compassionately took Adams to get follow-up health care at Rancho Los Amigos Hospital in Downey. They struggled with their dealings with the doctor (who complained that she was accused of “dumping” him back onto Skid Row), the social worker, and a system that is not coordinated.

They are right about the system of care in Los Angeles. It is not working.

It is another argument for the building of more PATH Malls (or “one stop” service centers) for the homeless. Where all the agencies—health care, mental health treatment, substance abuse treatment, employment training, etc.—are housed all under one roof. That way people, like Ernest, can be walked through the services at one location by compassionate case workers or volunteers.

The County of Los Angeles will be proposing these “malls” (or Regional Homeless Centers)—one in each County Supervisorial District—this month.

A database that tracks people who are homeless, as mentioned in the column, is already in the works. Although late—what’s new—the new HMIS (Homeless Management Information System) is mandated by HUD to be operational, if LA wants future HUD funds. The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) is overseeing this project.

People on the streets need more than “pushy” friends. They need “pushy” homeless agencies that work together effectively.

State Senator Gil Cedillo Is Busy Fixing Skid Row

Central City East Blogger has a comprehensive report on Senator Cedillo’s response to homelessness on Skid Row. Skid Row (Central City East) is part of the Senator’s district.

Senator Cedillo led a delegation to New York City last week to study how NYC cleaned up Times Square. Now he wants to pass state legislation to put in place some strategic programs that will curb homelessness and crime in the downtown Los Angeles area.

Here are some of the proposals:

- Create a downtown Community Court. Alternative sentencing where people who participate in mental health or substance abuse programs don't have to go to jail.

- Create “Narcotics Recovery Zones” where stricter penalties would be enforced on people selling drugs near rehab centers.

- Create anti-“dumping” laws that would prohibit arresting agencies from transporting people into other jurisdictions for services.

- Revise release program that would require the LA County Sheriff Department to return released inmates back to the sheriff substation where an inmate was arrested or to the residence of the inmate.

- Create a “fair share zoning” law where "siting" of homeless programs would be part of the state housing element—in other words, local governing bodies could not veto a site location.

Homelessness Marathon To Raise Awareness Via Radio & Blog

I was emailed this information from Atlanta, Georgia. On February 15th, a group is putting on their 9th annual “Homelessness Marathon” on Radio Free Georgia—WRFG. Here is the link to their website.

The goal of this 14 hour radio broadcast is to have people who are homeless share their personal stories. People call into the broadcast, and others are interviewed at the studio.

I was also emailed by Morgan Brown who is hosting an “Annual Homelessness Marathon” blog in conjunction with the radio broadcast.

LA Daily News Blasts LAHSA As “Hopeless Authority”

An opinion piece in today’s LA Daily News has harsh words for the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA). (Here’s the article.) LAHSA is the joint city-county agency that manages government funding for the homeless.

They start off by saying, “The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority doesn’t appear to offer much hope to the homeless of Los Angeles.”

The piece goes on to say that the $350,000 expense for a homeless count was a waste. (Even though HUD mandates local communities to do this count if they are to receive future HUD funding.) “That’s a lot of money to spend to tell city officials what anyone who has been paying attention already knew…”

It also refers to the Housing Departments' call to audit the agency again.

The piece closes by saying, “This agency is about as hopeless as it can get.”


Tough words...

Homelessness: It’s All About People

I received an email last week from Christine Moore, who is writing a book on homelessness called, “I Have A Name: Personal Stories of Homeless in America.”

She also has a blog regarding this. Here’s the link.

Projects like this keep everything in perspective. Sometimes we focus too much effort on statistics, model programs, trends, and politics.

The reality, however, is that homelessness is about people—and their tragic stories. We are about helping people overcome their barriers, struggles, and nightmares.

End Hate Crimes Against Homeless People By Ending Homelessness

Mack Reed, of LAVoice.com, forwarded this article to me on racism within the homeless community. (Here’s the link.)

The Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations reported that hate crimes in 2004 have increased against some races.

The question is… has hate crimes increased among the homeless population? Some homeless advocates say yes.

A hate crime is a hate crime. Whether it is motivated because a person “hates” a homeless person (i.e., Florida and L.A. beatings) or because a person “hates” a person of another color.

If you are living on the streets, the threat of violence is an every day occurrence. Violence is “hate” manifested. Is violence increasing on the streets? The more people on the streets means the more chance for violence.

Consider this… in 1985 there were 25,000 people homeless in Los Angeles. Today, there are 90,000 people struggling with homelessness. So I’m not surprised that hate crime is increasing among the homeless population.

Just another reason why our society should put its foot down, and not allow people to live on our streets. We have the resources to house everyone.

There wouldn’t be hate crimes against homeless people, if homelessness did not exist.

Controversy In New York City’s Homeless Strategy

New York’s Coalition For The Homeless recently released their “State of the Homeless 2006” report which strongly criticizes New York City’s effort to end homelessness. (Here is the report.)

The media says that New York City’s homeless plan is “flawed” and that “homelessness is on the rise in New York.”

The report says that homeless families have nearly doubled from the last decade to this decade. The report also states that “this decade is turning out to be the worst decade for homeless New Yorkers since the Great Depression.”

The Coalition also says that the city government’s homeless rent subsidy program, “Housing Stability Plus”, is also flawed. It says that the gradual reduction of rental subsidies is just forcing homeless families to return to homelessness.

The city government’s Department of Homeless Services is fighting back on the PR front. They say that homelessness has decreased in the last two years. They say that the Coalition’s report is just “a publicity ploy.”