The Antelope Valley Times

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L.A. County declares shelter crisis in unincorporated areas

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LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to declare a shelter crisis in unincorporated areas of the county, freeing up state funding and streamlining the permit process for emergency shelters.

At the urging of Supervisor Kathryn Barger, the board also renewed a declaration of a shelter crisis in the Antelope Valley, allowing the High Desert Multi-Ambulatory Care Center to continue to operate as a temporary 100-bed shelter in an area with few other options.

More than 5,300 people are homeless in unincorporated areas, according to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority’s 2018 count.

Supervisor Sheila Kuehl said the declaration of a shelter crisis was necessary to allow LAHSA to apply for state Homeless Emergency Aid Program funding, a program that offers $500 million for bridge housing and emergency services.

“The Homeless Services Authority has been working with community stakeholders for months to develop this request for $81 million to invest in interim housing, prevention and rapid rehousing strategies,” Kuehl said.

The monies will also be used to improve the database that manages case information for “every person experiencing homelessness in the county,” Kuehl said.

The declaration allows the county to suspend standards for housing, health and safety that would hinder construction of emergency temporary shelters for one year, during which it will commit to ensuring minimal health and safety.

In response to another motion by Kuehl, the board asked lawyers and staffers to report back on changes necessary to comply with a recent appellate court ruling that homeless people cannot be prosecuted for sleeping or camping in streets or public places when no shelter is available.

Such prosecution would be in violation of individuals’ Eighth Amendment rights against cruel and unusual punishment, according to a September ruling issued by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Martin v. Boise.

“As long as there is no option of sleeping indoors, the government cannot criminalize indigent, homeless people for sleeping outdoors, on public property, on the false premise they had a choice in the matter,” according to the opinion written by Judge Marsha S. Berzon for the appeals panel.

Los Angeles County code prohibits camping and overnight sleeping on highways and roads, beaches, parks and flood control property, although some department have policies deferring enforcement until the offender has been offered support services.

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Filed Under: Politics

49 comments for "L.A. County declares shelter crisis in unincorporated areas"

  1. If you have not made it in life by 40 you’re basically cooked. By age 50, if you are not well on your way to wealth and security the only options are suicide, homelessness or prison. This is my life; 40-something, in debt and no chance of ever again getting ahead. I feel for these people because I will become one of these people if I’m still alive. Life is very short and there aren’t 2nd chances.

  2. They always use that old picture for stories about the homeless. The man and woman in the picture look like Frankie and Eva, both deceased now due to drugs and/or alcohol. On the right is a tunnel that goes under 20th west in Lancaster which is where I pitched my tent at that time. Patrick and Manny died in that tunnel as well from alcohol abuse, and Shawn Burns (aka “Critter”) slept there as well on occasion, but Critter died on J and Division from drugs and alcohol. On the other side of that tunnel you can see the 14 freeway off-ramp, 10 feet from where they found the body of Jeanette Luce, dead from a drug overdose. (and from having a crummy boyfriend who did nothing for her in her hour of need).

    Its hard to understand the life unless you have lived it. I was a rarity among them as I was just an alcoholic, seems like everyone else lived in a world of taking whatever high they came across. Heroin, meth, weed, or alcohol and sometimes multiple substances. And its very hard to get out of that life because they live one day at a time just trying to find some high to make the pain of life go away for awhile, and everything else is secondary, food, a tent, clothing etc…

    We can never fix the homeless problem unless we fix the drugs and alcohol problem first.

  3. Well I just love the snot out of Tim AND Some Guy. Unless Some Guy is popping off like a five dollar shotgun. Then, not so much ;)

  4. “The Homeless Services Authority has been working with community stakeholders for months to develop this request for $81 million to invest…”

    Offering a bus or flight ticket home to one’s state of origin makes sense.

  5. The smartest people in the world cannot solve this problem. No point in spending more money on it.

    • Actually, there have been cities and states that solved this problem, and it has been laughably simple. Homeless? Provide homes. No more homeless. It ain’t rocket science.

      • California, especially L.A. County has a long history of failure on homelessness. It isn’t laughably simple. There are more homeless people in California that any other state. Politicians and their empty talking points is a disgrace.

      • Los Angeles County homelessness crisis is a national disgrace. A grim reminder of man’s ability to turn his back on his fellow man.

      • The Wrecks plan is to make homelessness a crime in Lancaster and lick them up. Or offer $10,000 in train tickets out of town. Or to close the Homeless shelter.

        What did Wrecks do with the millions bucks the county gave him?

        Nevet mind. Move along.

      • Its probably not coming out of your pocket. That’s why you see it as an easy solution. There are people in this town that have a little more dignity than that… People that choose to make their town cleaner and safer without the bum trails all over the sidewalks, parks and neighborhood. It’s no crime to be homeless. It happens. But we shouldn’t have to deal with bums that gave up on life, gave up on their hygiene and gave up on respect for themselves making our town into stinkhole. Thank god you you guys dont run this town. If you did, it would end up smelling like feces and amonia.

        • There are places around the BLVD with feces. I haven’t smelled ammonia, but I have smelled urine.

          A lot of this would be solved by turning the place on Ave I into a shelter. Wrecks says it can’t be done. That’s bunk. When he wants to spend $19 million of our tax dollars on LEAPS it get done, even though it is a complete failure. When he wants to give his buddy a no bid contract for so called low income housing it happens.

          Opening a shelter would help clean up the BLVD. Maybe the businesses would be able to stay open and people would visit.

  6. The majority of these homeless people are mentally ill. They need to be in an institution with medication, psychiatrists, psychologists therapists. They will never be able to live in our public society. If they are allowed to continue do so, as they have been doing, They will continue to pee, poop, vomit, live in soil and unhealthy conditions all in our public areas. In addition, they are a health and physical threat to the law biding citizens. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Martin v. Boise that empowered these mentally challenged individuals to live in these disgusting conditions is illogical. That court is foolish in thinking that they are helping these individuals. That court has in fact injured them. The The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is a group of fools.

    • To the Paralegal…I am one of many thousands of people that were once homeless, and now am a functioning part of the community. Your superior attitude comes from ignorance, and I understand.

      • You tell ’em Alexis! Just please don’t ask me to be understanding because superior attitudes coupled with ignorance makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and I would cheerfully snap paralegal’s head off..

        • The pervading notion that people who are homeless, became so because of their own faults and failures, creates an illusion that people with homes are, in some ambiguous way, better than homeless people. Paralegal is obviously mentally challenged, but has a dwelling place.

          • Feel free to file charges.

            Oh.

            Wait.

            You apparently don’t know the appropriate laws. Let me help.

            Uh oh.

            “that person is thereby placed in a state of reasonably sustained fear for his/her safety or for the safety of his/her immediate family,”

            Hey, anonymous poster calling yourself paralegal, who I have no way of knowing the identity of…do you think you can convince anyone that it is reasonable for you to have been put into a sustained state of fear by what I said?

            Yeah, I’m guessing not.

            Thanks for playing Some Guy.

            By the way, the legal term now is “criminal threat” not “terrorist threat.” Try to keep up.

    • I agree with the Paralegal on a few points.. Many homeless ARE mentally ill and every case can be different and challenging to treat. But being worried about pee and poop of the homeless seems a bit paranoid. And Tim and Alexis.. get a room. :)

      • mental illness covers a wide range of health conditions. Of course there are many homeless that are mentally ill. Paralegal says they will never be able to live in our public society, and I say Paralegal is wrong to generalize. The pervading notion that people who are homeless become so because of their own faults and failures creates an illusion that people with homes are, in some ambiguous way, better than homeless people. I was mentally ill, and now I am a stable, functioning member of the community. There are thousands like me that don’t need to be put in institutions, under psychiatric care, using psychotropic drugs. Some do, but many don’t. Paralegal’s comment is superior in nature, and speaks volumes about his/hers ignorance.

          • And Tim said: “I would cheerfully snap paralegal’s head off” REALLY?? Over THAT post? It did not seem that post was disrespectful or was causing a problem… It was just an OPINION! And so a neck should be snapped?

            Ya know,, I like to chat on forums and comment sections just like you.. But I would NEVER promote violence toward someone who posts their opinion.. The fact that you have.. tells me you all have some mental issues..

          • My head got wrapped around the idea of incinerating people by the millions courtesy of the military, so I don’t fret too much about a neck here or there. If that’s a “mental issue” in your book, tough luck. Stop supporting the US government that makes your way of life possible.

          • “incinerating people by the millions courtesy of the military” what?? Are you not living the same way of life? Made possible by the US? Who did we incinerate?

          • “We” didn’t incinerate anyone. The US government does exist based on a threat of incineration directed at hundreds of millions of people. *I* was among those tasked with carrying out that threat should anyone have the temerity to not kowtow and provide “us” with the wherewithall to live like, yes, both of us do.

            I earned it, we have it, and you think you get to comment on my mental health.

            You’re welcome, ingrate.

          • I assume you are talking about nuclear weapons… There are many people in submarines and on land that are tasked with firing nuclear weapons if the president gives the order.. (and what a president we have) But it has not happened yet… Are you suffering from “what if” trauma?

          • Sorry Alexis.. I know that Tim is 600LBS, bald, toothless, peg leg with a wandering eye and so getting a room would not be fair to you. :) And he fears nuclear war for some reason..

          • Fear it? No, actually I was willing to participate in it. I’m not proud of that decision, and it has certainly left a mark, but I don’t see where you get that I fear it.

            You’re oh for five on the description, BTW.

          • So? You were “willing”.. and that can leave a mark on people.. But you blame THAT on your issues in life? Thats like being an armed guard at Wal-mart and saying: “Well I MIGHT have had to shoot someone and I am traumatized because of that” I am SO not buying that.

          • LOL…I wasn’t blaming anything on anything. YOU are the dingbat that thinks I have “issues in life,” not me. I don’t give a rap if a dingbat, or even a handful of dingbats, dies here or there, and I know why I don’t particularly care, but I don’t consider it an issue.

          • in·grate
            /ˈinɡrāt/Submit
            noun
            1.
            an ungrateful person.

            Ungrateful for what? We don’t all get thanks for our good deeds. And I am not even sure your deeds have been all that good.

          • Some Guy… Remember Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Addressing your comment about the U.S. incinerating people.

          • So we should have just let the war continue? And look how nice we were once we did win. You think our lives would just go forward as usual if they had won?

        • No, actually I was willing to participate in it. Once again “Dang you’re old” Tim. Hiroshima and Nagasaki was 73 years ago, and you participated… :-)

          Let’s not forget Dresden.

          • Sad, reading these comments and it seems people have forgotten about Vietnam and the burn tactics used by our nation. Napalm drops, flame throwers, and good old forest/crop burning.

          • Nah…Hiroshima and Nagasaki together were a drop in the bucket compared to the number of people we had to be willing to incinerate.

          • Ok.. well lets just give up all our nuclear weapons. I am sure China, Iran, Russia and North Korea would never take advantage of that and we could all live in peace.

  7. So what does tgis mean for the homeless community in the uncorporated area in Lancaster ,Ca? Some got tagged as of yesterday . We have no open shelters and the mayor continues to tear down encampments DAILY!! Its bad enough that we live in the high desert. With the weather changing , no shelters open with avaialble beds , and one death . We need someone to shed the light of whats going on in our city .

  8. Why not open up some of the empty buildings around town for the home less to sleep we have already provided showering stations anything to get them off the streets wouldn’t it be cheaper to hire security and open up the buildings keep families together have one for men and one for women and one for families there is plenty of empty buildings