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Housing and Homelessness

Help shape LA County's new homelessness department

A row of tents and makeshift shelters, one using an American flag, sits under on a sidewalk under a freeway overpass.
L.A. County Board of Supervisors voted in April to create a new department to oversee homelessness spending.
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Mario Tama
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Getty Images
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Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.

Los Angeles County officials are asking the public to weigh in on what kind of leader will head the new department dedicated to homelessness by taking a survey or attending an online listening session.

Some background: The L.A. County Board of Supervisors voted earlier this month to pull funding from the L.A. Homeless Services Authority, known as LAHSA, and create a new county department after LAHSA failed to properly track billions in taxpayer dollars.

About the new department: The new department will combine the county’s existing Housing for Health program and the Homeless Initiative and bring county homeless services under one department. Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said the move will make services more transparent and accountable.

What’s the timeline? The county has 15 months to transition funding and establish the new department by July 1, 2026.

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How to take the online survey: Go to L.A. County’s website by Friday, April 18, to take the anonymous survey.

Want to share more? Register to attend an online listening session at noon April 21 or 6 p.m. April 24.

As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.

Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.

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