“It was on.”
Less than a month after it was established and with the first new staff having just started days earlier, the new Los Angeles County Emergency Centralized Response Center (ECRC) was being put to the test by the devasting and fast-moving wildfires in Pacific Palisades and Altadena.
Designed as a centralized coordinating entity to oversee and direct daily operations for more than 150 outreach teams serving nearly 45,000 unsheltered people across Los Angeles County, the ECRC is structured to provide coordination of outreach and access to interim housing and County resources during natural disasters and other emergencies such as cold or hot weather events.
But on January 7th, a bigger and more immediate crisis emerged, and the new ECRC structure was put to use as the central coordinating entity for the County’s homeless services delivery system to evacuate hundreds of people experiencing homelessness who were in shelters that had to evacuate because they were located in harm’s way.
“It was on,” said Elizabeth “Libby” Boyce with the Los Angeles County Homeless Initiative, who has more than 33 years of experience working with the County on homelessness. Libby was tasked with overseeing the implementation of the ECRC after the County Board of Supervisors adopted a motion directing the creation of the new center in late September 2024. Thanks to powers made available under the Countywide state of emergency, that structure was quickly launched just months later in December.
The new ECRC includes Homeless Initiative staff who process referrals and coordinate efforts; County departmental representatives, including the Departments of Health Services, Public Health, Public Social Services, Mental Health, Sheriffs, and Military and Veteran Affairs; partners form the Los Angeles Homeless Service Authority (LAHSA); and LA City Care Team staff. The ECRC is positioned to produce real-time updates on encampment efforts, resource availability, program enrollments, and to support outreach teams to more effectively serve unsheltered individuals and to ensure that all stake holders and participants work towards collective goals.
Now, the new ECRC was about to be put to the test.
The Pacific Palisades fire erupted around 11 am on January 7th, 2025. Then, the Eaton fire near Altadena began about 7 pm, followed by the Hurst fire in Sylmar at 10 pm.
Late in the evening of January 7th and into the wee hours of January 8th, the ECRC was using this new network and authority to coordinate multiple outreach teams, partners, cities, and others to evacuate more than 500 people experiencing homelessness from 17 interim housing sites located in fire danger zones to alternative settings. (For other immediate responses the ECRC took, click here.)
The ECRC program only had one staff member who began on January 3rd. However, all of the County department and LAHSA representatives to ECRC rallied to do whatever it took to lead the emergency efforts on behalf of the unsheltered population.
Carter Hewgley, a senior director and head of the Homeless Initiative’s division for local jurisdiction coordination and support, had previously worked at FEMA and used that experience at the county’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC), tapping other senior staff to support. Kimberly Barnette, who oversees the Homeless Initiative’s Pathway Home program and with more than 15 years of experience in homeless outreach, immediately began identifying empty shelter beds. Specific needs, like getting N-95 masks to outreach teams and their clients, were also being filled. Carter reported to EOC every day during the crisis and relayed information to ECRC and vice versa to ensure that messaging was consistent and that all entities were armed with the correct instructions and information.
People were evacuated from shelters and moved to temporary interim housing outside of immediate danger zones within 24 hours. Next, the ECRC shifted its focus to ongoing fire response coordination and more outreach to people experiencing unsheltered homelessness who were still in danger zones.
After facing this ultimate test, the ECRC is now cementing its role as the day-to-day operational “locking arms” hub, coordinating outreach efforts while creating and implementing an effective, equitable regional response to unsheltered homelessness.