Wednesday, April 19, 2023

LA County Announces Revamped Settlement Proposal in Homelessness Lawsuit

CITY NEWS SERVICE

Photo courtesy County of Los Angeles facebook page

After an initial settlement proposal “fell short” in the eyes of a federal judge, Los Angeles County officials announced Wednesday they have reached a new proposed deal to resolve a longstanding lawsuit filed by a coalition of businesses and residents claiming government response to the area’s homelessness crisis has been historically lax.

According to the county, the new proposed settlement would commit an additional $850.5 million to fund beds, services, outreach efforts and interim housing. That money is on top of $293 million the county had previously committed in hopes of providing 6,700 new beds in response to the lawsuit by the L.A. Alliance for Human Rights.

The new settlement proposal would include 1,000 new mental health and substance-abuse beds for the homeless — up from 300 in the original proposed resolution — along with 450 housing subsidies for those at risk of falling into homelessness.

County officials also said the new proposal would increase the number of county outreach teams, spread out among all 15 Los Angeles City Council districts, and also provide medical and social services for the more than 13,000 beds the city has agreed to provide as part of its separate settlement with the L.A. Alliance.

“We are locking arms with our partners at L.A. city and doubling down on our resolve to address this crisis of homelessness together, with the shared aim of saving lives, alleviating suffering and finding truly regional solutions to move us forward,” county Board of Supervisors Chair Janice Hahn said in a statement.

U.S. District Judge David Carter approved the city’s settlement with the L.A. Alliance for Human Rights last June, but he said during a hearing in January that the county’s pledge to provide 300 additional beds for homeless people with mental health or substance use disorders “fell short.” The judge also appeared irked at the proposal’s lack of a judicial oversight requirement.
Without the court’s ability to closely monitor the settlement, the proposal is “absolutely worthless,” Carter said.

“You can’t put a tuxedo on a pig,” the judge said from the bench.

That sent county attorneys back to the drawing board, leading to the revamped settlement proposal unveiled Wednesday.

Hahn said she hopes the new settlement proposal wins Carter’s approval.

“The county is committing to a significant increase in resources and we are happy to put this litigation behind us so we can devote our full attention to helping people and communities that need our assistance,” she said.

In its March 2020 lawsuit, the L.A. Alliance accused the city and county of failing to do enough to address the crisis. The city’s settlement with the coalition was announced in April of last year, but the county waited until September to announce its preliminary agreement with the coalition of Los Angeles business owners and sheltered and unsheltered residents.

In November, Carter declined to approve the county’s part of the settlement, suggesting that more work needed to be done to have a stronger impact on homelessness in the region.

In January, the judge said the L.A. Alliance’s lawsuit came about after “decades of inaction” resulted in “a spiraling crisis on our streets.” As a result of attempts to settle, the “antagonism” that “apparently goes back decades” between local governments has dissipated, Carter said.

Carter in January urged the county to increase its proposed number of mental health and substance abuse beds, noting that 40% of the homeless population suffers from such issues.

According to the most recent homeless count by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, there are 69,144 unhoused people living in Los Angeles County, 41,980 of them within the city.