Los Angeles County Homelessness Emergency Response
On January 10, 2023, the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to proclaim a local emergency on homelessness in Los Angeles County. The declaration provided the Homeless Initiative and other County departments with increased authority to expedite and streamline efforts to create housing, provide services, and more efficiently use funds, allowing the County to be nimbler and more responsive.
Mission Driven
The Homeless Initiative was charged with leading the overall coordination of the emergency response and to coordinate efforts with cities and the state and federal governments. It is focused on four strategic missions:
Reducing Encampments in partnership with local jurisdictions to bring unsheltered people indoors;
Ramping up Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Services for people experiencing homelessness; and
Under the State of Emergency
We're Cutting Red Tape to Build More Housing More Quickly
Los Angeles County is easing rules and regulations that slow or prevent the construction of interim or permanent housing. We’re also expediting the process for acquiring properties and executing and amending leases.
We’re Accelerating Funding for Services
By making it easier to reallocate existing funding and to secure additional funding—including tapping funding from the Mental Health Services Act—we’re working to fund more homeless services quickly. Los Angeles County is also expediting the contracting and procurement of equipment, supplies, and services essential to helping people move out of encampments and into housing.
We’re Hiring More Service Providers
Under the state of emergency, Los Angeles County is creating more job opportunities and making the application process easier than ever. To hire more service providers, we’re offering hiring and retention incentives, such as signing, retention, and longevity bonuses, as well as housing stipends and bonuses for field-based work.