Los Angeles, CA (April 11, 2017) – The Los Angeles Homeless Service Authority’s Emergency Response Teams have worked with the Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation and the Los Angeles Police Department to clean up 311 homeless encampments from January 1 through the end of March. This compares with 163 during the same period in 2016.
The data were provided by LAHSA.
“LAHSA outreach has done a remarkable job dealing with the growing issue of homeless encampments,” said Peter Lynn, LAHSA executive director. “Team members have played a critical role in minimizing any negative health effects in our communities, while also offering our homeless neighbors access to a path out of homelessness.”
LAHSA also reported that since January ERT members have provided services to 1693 homeless individuals across Los Angeles County. These range from getting people into permanent supportive housing to assessing peoples’ needs for the Coordinated Entry System and providing necessities like water, socks, or hygiene kits.
“Our teams are in the streets every day, developing relationships with people experiencing homelessness that are based on trust and support,” said Nathaniel VerGow, director of homeless services for LAHSA. “They are a vital point of connection for people trying to cope under extremely difficult conditions.”
Listed below are links to three recent success stories that were posted on LAHSA’s social media sites.
https://goo.gl/8CF24h
https://goo.gl/ghmhqG
https://goo.gl/ZVn9jS
The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority is a joint powers authority of the City and County of Los Angeles, created in 1993 to address the problems of homelessness in Los Angeles County. LAHSA is the lead agency in the HUD-funded Los Angeles Continuum of Care, and coordinates and manages more than $132 million annually in federal, state, county and city funds for programs providing shelter, housing and services to homeless persons. For more information visit www.lahsa.org.