LOS ANGELES COUNTY – Following the release of the 2019 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count, revealing a 12 percent rise in homelessness countywide, Supervisor Kathryn Barger said the increases are not due to a lack of funding.
“The increase in the homeless count strongly suggests that money alone will not solve this problem,” said Supervisor Barger, noting that the county has invested over $700 million of Measure H funding to address the homelessness crisis with another $460 million anticipated in the coming year.
Supervisor Barger also said the permanent solution lies in addressing the root causes of the problem. “New tools and predictive analytics based on interactions with county systems, including the Department of Public Social Services and Probation, will soon provide concrete data on whom the homeless are and why they became homeless.”
“In the meantime, to address the issue with more holistic and permanent solutions, we must increase our focus on public health and mental health through effective outreach methods, particularly for the hardest-to-reach populations,” she added.