On Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, a federal court approved Los Angeles County’s groundbreaking settlement with the LA Alliance for Human Rights that commits up to $1.24 billion in additional funding to provide 3,000 beds for people with mental health and substance use disorders experiencing homelessness, while also expanding street-based outreach and wraparound services.
The new resources come on top of $293 million the County pledged in a separate agreement over the course of this three-and-a-half-year lawsuit to provide 6,700 beds for people experiencing homelessness near freeways as well as for unhoused seniors.
Combined, the County’s total commitment amounts to a record $1.53 billion and dovetails with the County’s ongoing efforts to scale up and fast-track efforts to address homelessness in response to the Board of Supervisors declaring a state of emergency in January.
The settlement between LA County and LA Alliance will include 3,000 new mental health and substance use disorder beds, 450 new subsidies for board-and-care beds serving the most vulnerable, including the elderly and disabled, increasing from 27.5 to 44 the number of specialized outreach teams serving people who face significant barriers to housing due to physical, mental, and behavioral challenges, providing a comprehensive suite of supportive services for eligible occupants of more than 13,000 permanent and interim housing beds the City of Los Angeles committed to build in their own settlement with LA Alliance.
In addition, a federal monitor will assist the court in overseeing the settlement, which becomes effective on the date the court enters an order dismissing the plaintiffs’ claims against the County and terminates on June 30, 2027.
The Board of Supervisors hailed the settlement as a historic milestone.
Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell, Second District, added, “The County remains committed to doing all we can to address the homeless crisis. This settlement will help us meet the urgent needs of people experiencing homelessness in our communities by building on the County’s ongoing work to deliver wrap-around services efficiently and compassionately.”
“In this time of crisis, the County has committed to an historic expansion of services and specialized beds for our acutely ill – all of which are expedited through our emergency declaration on homelessness – and we will continue to lead with urgency to meet the moment and deliver the results our communities need,” said Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath, Third District. “I am glad that the County and City of LA, together, can return our focus to the work ahead, and move forward in our mutual commitment to meet this humanitarian crisis with the urgency it deserves and at the scale required.”
Monitoring to assist the court in overseeing and enforcing the County settlement and filing quarterly status reports with the court on the County’s commitments.
Consider and potentially amend this settlement agreement to enhance housing and services citywide or countywide if the City or County obtains significant new funding from the City’s United to House L.A. or if the County receives new funding from the potential future extension of Measure H, a voter-approved quarter-cent sales tax from 2017-2027 dedicated to preventing and addressing homelessness.
The County’s commitment to helping people experiencing homelessness predates the lawsuit, which was filed in March 2020.
Since July 2017, when the County began to tap Measure H funds to respond to the crisis, the County has placed 98,000 people in permanent housing, provided nearly 140,000 with temporary shelter, prevented at least 28,000 others from falling into homelessness, and provided many more with a comprehensive suite of supportive services.
Los Angeles County Homeless Initiative
