Thread by @mikebonin

@SpecNews1SoCal profiles a family that went from Venice Beach encampment to permanent home. bit.ly/3nzpM0m

Our Encampments to Homes program busted the myth that people prefer to be homeless.

Outreach can work - with time, trust & real housing resources.

(Thread)

LA’s approach to homelessness fails because it’s often based on false assumptions. One of the worst is that most unhoused people are “service resistant.”

Blaming people for being unhoused disguises the real problem: systemic barriers that keep people from saying yes.

This week Council approved a new “street engagement strategy” for homelessness.

It’s an improvement over the current system, for sure, but it was constructed as a reaction to other policies that assume people need to be coerced into leaving the streets.

We need to be asking why people don’t say yes to what’s being offered.

In many cases, it’s that they don’t believe the offer. Other times, the wrong thing is being offered.

Rather than assume people are service-resistant, we need to ask if the system is “people resistant.”

With that in mind, I proposed improvements to the street engagement strategy, designed to remove barriers unhoused people commonly identify to getting off the street.

These changes would make it easier for people to move inside, and that eliminates encampments in neighborhoods.

Here's what I proposed:

Offers of shelter or housing must be made by a caseworker or outreach worker - not by law enforcement, sanitation officials, etc.

Trusting relationships between unhoused people and outreach workers who know their needs and histories are key.

Offers of shelter or housing must be appropriate for the needs of the individual (such as youth accommodations for youth, domestic violence beds for survivors of domestic violence).

We should not be pushing people to go somewhere that is harmful for them.

Transportation to shelter or housing must be provided by a non-law enforcement service, and admission to housing must be authorized by the operator in advance of such transit.

We do not want to repeat what LASD did when they left a disabled vet overnight outside the VA.

Adequate storage for belongings must be provided to those being transported or directed to placements.

We shouldn't force people to abandon their possessions.

Families and partners and social units must be allowed to stay intact in interim placements.

We should not break up families and disrupt vital support systems.

Individuals should be offered alternatives to congregate shelters, if desired, when @CDCgov or @lapublichealth
guidelines are advising against congregate accommodations.

We shouldn't force people to put their health at risk.

A valid offer of shelter or interim housing must be matched with a genuine long-term housing resource, such as a housing voucher, rental subsidy, or permanent supportive housing unit.

Shuffling people through interim housing and back out onto the streets does not work.

We tried to apply these practices in Venice. @stjosephctr and @lahomeless put in the time and built the trust, and they were able to offer not just temporary shelter, but a path to real, long-term housing.

It made all the difference in the world.

My proposed amendment, seconded by @nithyavraman, was sent to the Homelessness & Poverty Committee, where @mrtempower has promised to discuss and refine the ideas.

To provide adequate resources, we will need approval of MRT’s #HousingNow legislation: bit.ly/39ac1Ny

Los Angeles can’t continue to be a place where people live and die on our streets. We can’t continue to be a city of encampments in our neighborhoods.

But we can't enforce or legislate our way out of the homelessness crisis.

There is a successful way to get people indoors, out of encampments, and into housing with services.

That’s how we save lives. That’s how we keep public spaces and rights-of-way clear.

That’s how everyone wins.