L.A. Controller Ron Galperin recently released a report on the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority’s (LAHSA) City outreach program, calling for a proactive, data-driven strategy to reach the homeless population more effectively and better connect them to housing and services. A City-County joint powers authority, LAHSA is responsible for overseeing resource coordination and management for the region’s 54,000+ homeless individuals, collecting data on homelessness and conducting street outreach. The City has spent $10.3 million over the past two years to support LAHSA’s outreach efforts, yet homelessness in Los Angeles jumped 16 percent over the last year.
Called “Strategy on the Streets,” Galperin’s report lays out how the City of Los Angeles can work with LAHSA to implement a successful outreach strategy with clear goals and measurable results. Galperin recommends creating HomeSTAT, a data-driven system similar to those used by public safety and social service agencies across the country. HomeSTAT would reshape homeless outreach in L.A. by enabling LAHSA to collect real-time data and use it to evaluate performance and make informed decisions about resource allocation moving forward.
Read Galperin’s full report and recommendations at https://lacontroller.org/lahsa