The Legislative Affairs unit is responsible for developing, monitoring, and advancing LAHSA’s policy priorities. In partnership with allies from the public, non-profit, and private sectors, staff advocate for legislative and budget priorities that advance efforts to address homelessness throughout the Los Angeles Continuum of Care. The unit promotes this work through:
- Coordinating the development and implementation of LAHSA’s Guiding Policy Principles;
- Monitoring and analyzing legislation and budget proposals that impact the work of LAHSA, regional homeless service providers, supportive housing developers, and other system partners;
- Engaging with elected representative offices to inform policymakers on issues of homelessness and housing, and advocate for better programs, robust resources, and legislation to support the LA CoC’s work to end homelessness; and
- Collaborating with community partners to advance thoughtful, evidence-based policy solutions.
2019 LAHSA Guiding Policy Principles
By advocating for better programs, funding, and legislation at the federal, state, and local levels, LAHSA will advance its mission to create, support, and sustain solutions to homelessness in the City and County of Los Angeles. The policy principles listed below are in alignment with the program goals of the largest source of federal funding for homelessness, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grant Program, as well as local funding initiatives such as Los Angeles County’s Measure H.
LAHSA supports federal, state and local initiatives, legislation and efforts that will have a meaningful impact on preventing and ending homelessness. The principles underlying these initiatives are:
- Preservation of existing funding levels for programs (at all levels of government) that fund the social safety-net for individuals experiencing and at risk of homelessness;
- Creation of new housing opportunities and housing development, with an emphasis on permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, affordable housing, and interim housing;
- Equitable geographic distribution of permanent supportive, affordable, and interim housing to ensure persons living in all parts of the County have access to permanent and immediate housing options;
- Access to public assistance to prevent and/or end homelessness for all people, regardless of race, color, religion, age, actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, national origin or immigration status, marital or familial status, physical health or mental health status, economic status, veteran status, limited English proficiency, or those who are least likely to apply in the absence of special outreach or accommodation;
- Preservation of existing affordable housing;
- Utilization of data to determine priorities, evaluate performance, and inform policy decisions;
- Increase and accelerate the capacity of the Los Angeles Continuum of Care (LA CoC) to house individuals, youth, and families;
- Coordination of resources to improve efficiency and effectiveness; and
- Coordination of nimble and creative responses to immediate and emergency needs that Los Angeles County faces.
LAHSA’s 2019 Guiding Policy Principles, approved by the LAHSA Commission in February 2019, are available
here.