City Councilwoman Nithya Raman introduced a motion Wednesday seeking to improve communication and collaboration between the city and the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority by creating liaison positions assigned to specific council districts.
Raman’s motion asks that the agency report back with a plan on creating the positions, which would “provide council offices with strategic communication, data and metrics, programmatic analysis, regional coordination, and district-level knowledge and support.”
The latest homeless count by LAHSA revealed 41,980 unhoused people in the city of Los Angeles, up 1.7% from 2020.
Raman’s motion claims that challenges in the relationship between LAHSA and city include inconsistencies in communication, gaps in knowledge at the district level, limits in data sharing and a “slower overall rate of progress addressing homelessness that the city desperately needs.”
She added that LAHSA lacks dedicated staff to facilitate communication between the agency and council offices regarding its operations, which has created a “disjointed approach across the city, with different council offices working with LAHSA to varying degrees on homeless strategies and interventions.”
Raman also sought a report back on funding for the positions.
