We Need a New Solution to Homelessness in Los Angeles—Direct Cash Payments Now!
Since 2020, we have spent an average of $33,000 per unhoused person per year in the City of Los Angeles. Yet nothing changes. That money would be better spent as direct payments to the unhoused.
LAist is reporting that following a scathing audit of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), an agency jointly overseen by the city and county, LA County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath proposes moving homeless services under direct county control.
Instead of offering homeless services under any government agency’s control, now is the time that we create a system of direct payments of cash to the 45,000 unhoused in the City of LA. No more ineffective third-party services that fund non-profits which have shown they cannot deliver results.
The County and City have spent a combined approximately $6 billion on homelessness directed within the City of LA from the 2020/21 to 2023/24 fiscal years. If you divide the $6 billion by the City’s 45,000 total unhoused (combining sheltered and unsheltered) and divide that by 4 years, we have spent $33,000 per unhoused person per year. This figure does not include additional police resources, county hospital resources, sanitation and other public works resources that are also directed to homelessness.
We must demand that the City and County end all third-party homelessness services immediately and replace it with a system of providing $30,000 per year directly to each unhoused person. The only requirement to receive the cash is to come in for medical and mental health exams, where each person receives Zoloft or Lexapro (or the anti-depressant correct for them), Adderal (or the ADHD medicine correct for them), Xanax (or the anti-anxiety correct for them), and Fluphenazine (for the Schizophrenics, or whatever medicine is correct for them). Plus, bi-weekly therapy sessions to treat their depression, PTSD and anxiety.
To facilitate the treatment component, the County should purchase a building on Skid Row and turn it into a hospital for mental healthcare treatment, with shuttle rides to Los Angeles General Medical Center for medical treatment.
The unhoused could use the money to rent an apartment in LA County or anywhere in the US and they would be guaranteed money for 2 years. Direct payments are not a cheaper option. However, we should absolutely give it a go to see if this solution provides the outcomes we desire. Direct payments would clear the streets within a year, not a decade, and would produce real life-changing results not only for the unhoused, but for all residents of our great city.
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