Thread by @mikebonin

A big problem with homelessness policy is that it’s often based on the assumption that most unhoused people are “service resistant.”

It's largely a myth that leads to failed, expensive enforcement strategies, keeping people & encampments on the streets.

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Blaming people for being unhoused disguises the real problem: systemic barriers that keep people from accepting shelter or housing.

Those barriers prevent real progress.

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.”

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.

I proposed an amendment to the street engagement strategy to remove some of the barriers unhoused people commonly say prevent them from getting off the streets.

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

Here's what I proposed:

1. 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.

2. 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 shouldn't push people to go somewhere that is harmful for them.

3. 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 don't to repeat what LASD did when they left a disabled vet overnight outside the VA.

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

We don't want people to abandon their possessions.

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

We don't want to break up families and disrupt vital support systems.

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

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

7. 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 applied 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.

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

Our Encampments to Homes program showed outreach can work - with time, trust, and real housing resources.

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

It’s not compassionate to let people live and die on our streets. It’s also not compassionate to push people from neighborhood to neighborhood when we still don’t have beds for 60% of the unhoused. And it’s not compassionate to push them into solutions that don’t help them.

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. It simply doesn’t work.

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

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

That’s how everyone wins.

@grn_ftp @marvistavoice @HOUSINGMV1 @VeniceWorker @DelReyNeighbor @selahnhc @KtownforAll @invisiblepeople @EveryoneIn_LA @TheoHen95302259 @LensCo_LA

@LAHomeless @StJosephCtr @SafePlace4Youth @pathpartners @ThePplConcern @PowerOfAShower @ShowerOfHope @VCHC @VeniceFamClinic