Welcome to the new Los Angeles County Department of Homeless Services and Housing (HSH)!
For the first time, LA County has one unified department dedicated to preventing and ending homelessness for people across our region. Our goal is simple and urgent: move people into housing and deliver the services they need while, in the process, earning trust in our communities.
By consolidating funding and services that were previously spread across multiple departments and entities, we are making the County’s response clearer, faster, and more accountable to the people and communities we serve. The Homeless Initiative, launched in 2015 to coordinate countywide homelessness strategies, will join with Housing for Health, which was a division within the Department of Health Services that operated an integrated continuum of care, from street outreach to permanent housing, with case management, benefits advocacy, and clinical services. HSH unifies the strengths of each entity, giving us a stronger, consolidated platform from which to innovate, enhance the delivery of services, and reach more people in need.
Our region’s recent efforts have seen results: unsheltered homelessness decreased two years in a row. It’s important that we celebrate this hard-won success while preparing for serious challenges ahead. We face a significant deficit next fiscal year due to losses in federal, state, and other one-time funding, a reduction in sales tax revenue, and cost increases. Federal policy changes threaten homelessness and housing, Medicaid, and other safety net programs.
Amidst these unprecedented challenges, HSH stands ready to do whatever it takes. We are prioritizing housing, proven solutions, and vulnerable populations like families with children, youth, and survivors of gender-based violence. We are partnering with our cities, unincorporated communities, and agencies including the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) and the Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency (LACAHSA) to strengthen homelessness prevention, housing production and preservation, and our regional response to homelessness.
Building this new department gives us an opportunity to work differently—more strategically, more collaboratively, and more effectively. We will face economic realities head-on, work collaboratively with our incredible partners and community, and continue to seek new partnerships and solutions. Most of all, we will center the dignity and needs of the people and communities we serve.
The people of Los Angeles care about each other. We care about people who are vulnerable. We’re in this together.
Sarah Mahin,
Director, LA County Department of Homeless Services and Housing
