The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) unveiled new plans on Thursday to reduce unsheltered homeless in L.A. County over the next three years.
During the pandemic, LAHSA started using Recovery Rehousing vouchers to help people keep stable housing, which are time-limited subsidies that help people keep stable housing for predefined periods of time. Here’s an example of how it works: If someone finds an affordable unit and moves in, a subsidy will pay for six months of rent to allow that person time to get back on their feet.
LAHSA plans on redesigning its housing navigation process for people who receive emergency housing or Section 8 vouchers by helping them to secure required documents and paperwork like ID cards to speed up placements into housing. The Housing Authority of the City of Los AngelesLAHSA started evaluating its current systems in 2019 after the first Measure H report was published, said Molly Rysman, LAHSA’s co-executive director.
LAHSA’s new plans come almost a month after Heidi Marston surprisingly resigned from the executive director role, citing a lack of control over regulatory or policy decisions, underfunding for service providers and red tape. No replacement has been appointed yet.The biggest component is moving people from shelters into more permanent housing options faster, according to Rysman, who said LAHSA has done a lot of, but not having shelter beds for people to go to has been a problem.