Gita O’Neill named as new LAHSA head with major changes on the horizon

Commissioners of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority — known as LAHSA — have named Gita O’Neill to take the helm as interim CEO at a tumultuous time for the region's top homeless services agency.

O’Neill was listed in a LAHSA Commission agenda for its next meeting on Friday, which is also Va Lecia Adams Kellum’s last day as CEO. O’Neill’s position is not official until the commissioners vote.

LAHSA has faced ongoing scrutiny since a county audit and a March report found serious oversight and accounting issues at the agency. L.A. County is also moving away from LAHSA after the Board of Supervisors voted to strip nearly $350 million in funding in favor of channeling resources through its first-ever department on homelessness.

Adams Kellum initially announced she’d be resigning days after the board’s vote in April, saying in a statement at the time that she’s “incredibly proud of LAHSA’s talented and dedicated staff and deeply grateful for their tireless work.”

Officials with the city of L.A. — LAHSA’s next largest funder beyond the county — are also exploring pulling funding from the agency.

What we know about the new hire

O’Neill is an assistant city attorney in L.A. and has worked as director of homeless policies and strategies at the city attorney’s office.

As interim CEO, O’Neill will report directly to the appointed 10 members of the LAHSA Commission.

O’Neill will be tasked with stabilizing the organization and managing change with strong leadership, according to a May job posting for the position. She will be expected to help transition funding to the county’s new Department of Homeless Services and Housing while maintaining LAHSA’s relationship with the city to manage that major source of money.

O’Neill’s monthly salary is listed as $30,833.30, or about $370,000 a year. For comparison, Adams Kellum was hired at a base salary of $430,000 a year — nearly double the pay of City Council members and about 42% more than the mayor of L.A.

How we got here

Adams Kellum is set to step down as CEO Friday after a more than two-year tenure.

LAHSA said in a statement Monday that Adams Kellum led the agency through a period of “substantial change” and two years of drops in homelessness observed in the agency's point-in-time homeless counts.

But it hasn’t been without controversy.

Adams Kellum's exit comes after LAist revealed in February that as LAHSA’s CEO, she signed a taxpayer deal to renew a contract worth $2.1 million to a nonprofit that employs her husband in a senior leadership role. Adams Kellum was cleared of misconduct earlier this month by an outside law firm hired by the LAHSA Commission to investigate those contracts with Upward Bound House, according to the agency.

Challenges ahead

Stephen Simon, who previously served as the interim executive director of LAHSA in 2022 and currently leads the L.A. City Department on Disability, said that he thinks O’Neill is “a strong choice” for the position.

LAist asked Simon what challenges the new LAHSA head can expect to face, and he said the biggest will be determining “LAHSA's role in the grand scheme of addressing homelessness.”

“Are they predominantly a fiscal administrator receiving and distributing the funds from federal, state, county, and various cities' sources?” Simon posed, “Are they a policy shop that should research and drive homelessness strategy?”

He said that so far the answer is unclear.

“Every stakeholder should be asking themselves, ‘If not LAHSA then who?’” Simon told LAist, “And finding that answer quickly and successfully will be key in addressing regional housing and homelessness issues for decades to come.”

What’s next

The LAHSA Commission is expected to vote on O’Neill at its next meeting Friday.

If approved, O’Neill will be working on a temporary basis under a 12-month contract, but could apply to be considered for the permanent CEO position, according to the job posting.

LAHSA’s role in combating homelessness remains relatively uncertain.

Even if the city follows suit and pulls funding from the agency, elected officials agree that it would still perform certain key functions, like overseeing the annual homeless count and coordinating data on homeless services.

Catch up on LAHSA reporting from LAist:

• LAHSA moved hundreds out of LA city homeless count without informing elected officials
• Homelessness in LA region dropped for the second time in two years, according to annual count
• Review commissioned by LA homeless agency clears CEO of conflict related to contracts with husband’s employer
• Did a complicated 2024 homeless count lead to errors? Experts and some city officials think so
• Federal judge finds LA failed to create enough shelter for unhoused people as required in agreement
• Whistleblowers say LA’s top homeless official hired unqualified friends, tried to destroy public records
• Judge blasts LA homeless spending as a ‘train wreck’ and threatens to seize control
• LA's top homelessness official signed $2.1 million contract with husband's employer