Los Angeles Times - 29.08.2019

A14 THURSDAY, AUGUST 29, 2019 WST LATIMES.COM

has been consumed with re-
sponding to calls about
homeless encampments
throughout the city of Los
Angeles.”
LAHSA, as the authority
is commonly known, issued
an equally biting response
that was distributed in writ-
ing at the news conference.
Peter Lynn, the authori-
ty’s executive director, called
the audit misleading, saying
it studied only measures
that are ill-suited to deter-
mining the effectiveness of
homeless outreach and
looked at only the fraction of
LAHSA’s system that is cov-
ered by the city contract.
“It ultimately says noth-
ing about LAHSA’s out-
reach efforts, which con-
tacted record numbers of
our homeless neighbors in
the year it studied,” he said
in the statement.
Heidi Marston, the au-
thority’s chief program offi-
cer, gave a more measured
reaction. Marston said fed-
eral privacy rules prevented
LAHSA from accurately re-
porting mental health and
substance abuse referrals.
As a result, she said, the
agency no longer uses those
goals.
“The report did a good
job of pointing out where
some of the gaps were,” she
said after the news confer-
ence, “and we agree that pro-
active outreach is the way to
go as opposed to reactive
outreach.”
The main problem with
the system, she said, is that
it is unbalanced — heavy on
engagement with homeless
people, but short on shelters
and housing.
“We have 30,000 people
who have said to us: ‘Yes, we
want resources. Yes, we
want shelter.’ But yet we
don’t have anything to offer
them,” Marston said.
While attributing some of
the shortfalls to the underly-
ing shortage of affordable
housing and treatment re-
sources in the city, the audit
criticized the city for setting
fuzzy goals that weren’t
linked to the scale of the
homelessness crisis and
knocked the authority for
not being able to meet them.
In its 2019 count, LAHSA

reported that there were

nearly 60,000 homeless peo-

ple living in the county, with

more than 36,000 of them in

the city. All but about 25%

live on the streets.

Galperin said the audit,

which began last year, took

months to complete “partly

because getting accurate

and consistent numbers

from LAHSA has been a

challenge.”

The authority, according

to the audit, “lacks a rig-

orous performance review

process for its outreach ac-

tivities. Moreover, data-driv-

en decisions about the de-

ployment of resources are

not made because the infor-

mation is neither timely nor

accurate.”

LAHSA provided the

controller’s office with four

different versions of its out-

reach numbers, each one

significantly different,

Galperin said. A chart in the

audit showed the percent-

age of homeless people

placed into shelters drop-

ping from 64% in the first

version to 19% in the last.

The authority attributed

those changes to the loss of

some records during a tran-

sition to a new data system.

The audit also faulted a

report by the authority that

it placed 21,000 people into

permanent housing last

year. Not only did the num-

ber include placements

made by other agencies,

such as the U.S. Department

of Veterans Affairs, it in-

cluded duplicates by count-

ing individuals or families

that fell in and out of home-

lessness during the year, the

audit said.

The report also faulted

LAHSA’s participation in

cleanups of homeless en-

campments by the city’s Bu-

reau of Sanitation for con-

tributing to its failings with

outreach. The authority es-

timated that cleanups ac-

counted for 67% of its out-

reach time in the city.

“In many cases, they are

required to talk with people

that are already working

with homeless service pro-

viders,” the report said. The

city should “rethink its out-

reach policies and more suf-

ficiently find a balance be-

tween a proactive outreach

strategy and an effective re-

sponse to ‘hot-spot’ en-

campments.”

The audit sharply criti-

cized the goals set by the city

in its contract with LAHSA.

The goal that 25% of

homeless people with a sub-

stance abuse disorder would

be connected to appropriate

treatment “supplies no indi-

cation about what the 25%

target represents,” it said.

“Even if LAHSA had met its

25% target, only 167 ... would

have received substance

abuse treatment,” it said.

In a written response,

Lynn said those numbers re-

flected a flaw in the audit.

“Metrics around mental

health and substance use

are not appropriate ... when

evaluating outreach,” the

statement said.

Marston added that out-

reach is “about how well we

interact with them. It’s

about the quality of the

interaction.”

Galperin said the city

and authority should recast

goals that are understand-

able and specify the number

of people expected to receive

assistance rather than using

a percentage. LAHSA also

should adopt a data-driven

outreach system modeled

after the CompSTAT polic-

ing model used by police de-

partments across the coun-

try, including the LAPD, he

said.

Marston said the author-

ity is already doing that at

the city’s Unified Homeless

Response Center, and that it

has set better goals for data

collection and reporting.

With the infusion of sales

tax dollars from Measure H,

the city-county outreach

system has grown from

fewer than 300 workers to

nearly 800. They include

teams employed by the

homeless authority and its

contractors, and teams

fielded by the Los Angeles

County departments of

Health Services and Mental

Health.

The city contributed

$3.5 million from its general

fund in the 2017-18 fiscal year

to LAHSA and $6.8 million

last year, the audit said.

County contributions rose

from $13 million to $31 mil-

lion.

Finally, in light of the

city’s chronic shortage of

shelters, the report urged

both the city and county to

do more to provide short-

term resources, such as rest-

rooms, showers, storage fa-

cilities and waste services to

ameliorate living conditions

on the street.

“There are things we can

do immediately,” Galperin

said. “You look at when civil

emergencies happen around

the world. This is what we

have on our streets right

how. Unfortunately, the city

is not treating it quite as the

emergency it is.”

It’s unclear whether any

changes to the way LAHSA

operates will be made as a

result of the audit. Changes

to its contract with the city

are likely, but there were no

concrete proposals for how

the authority’s burden of

staffing encampment clean-

ups could be reduced.

Mayor Eric Garcetti,

through a spokesman, is-

sued a statement saying he

would review the audit.

“If we’re going to solve

this crisis, we need ideas and

input from all our leaders,

and we should always be

willing to put our strategies

under a microscope,”

Garcetti spokesman Alex

Comisar said.

County Supervisor Jan-

ice Hahn said in a statement

that the audit highlighted

concerns she has had about

outreach across the county.

“We need to stop justify-

ing our current approaches

and figure out what strate-

gies will actually get the job

done,” she said.

But Supervisor Sheila

Kuehl defended LAHSA,

saying in a statement that

the audit did not provide “a

full and fair analysis” be-

cause it focused on a single

city contract.

Agency misses its goals, audit finds

[Homeless,from A1]

HEIDI MARSTON, chief program officer of LAHSA, said, “We have 30,000 peo-

ple” who want shelter and services but “we don’t have anything to offer them.”

Al SeibLos Angeles Times

New York Sen. Kirsten

Gillibrand dropped out of

the 2020 race for president

on Wednesday after failing

to qualify for the next Demo-

cratic debate.

“I know this isn’t the re-

sult that we wanted,” Gilli-

brand said in a video she

posted on Twitter. “We

wanted to win this race. But

it’s important to know when

it’s not your time and to

know how you can best serve

your community and coun-

try.”

Gillibrand had focused

her candidacy more than

any of her Democratic rivals

on efforts to draw support

from women. She emerged

as a key figure in the #Me-

Too movement when she

called on fellow Democratic

Sen. Al Franken to resign in

December 2017 amid allega-

tions of sexual misconduct.

Gillibrand failed to gain

substantial support for her

presidential run even as sev-

eral other senators — Eliza-

beth Warren of Massachu-

setts, Bernie Sanders of

Vermont and Kamala Harris

of California — quickly

reached the top tier.

Gillibrand was ap-

pointed in 2009 to fill the

Senate seat vacated by Hil-

lary Clinton after she was

named secretary of State.

Gillibrand won election to

the seat in 2010, and was re-

elected in 2012 and 2018.

In the Senate, Gillibrand

gained national attention

for her efforts against sexual

assault in the military. A for-

mer House member who’d

represented rural areas of

upstate New York, she also

faced accusations of incon-

sistency when she shifted

leftward on immigration

and guns once she was run-

ning for statewide office.

Gillibrand participated

in her party’s first two presi-

dential debates.

Gillibrand

drops out

of race for

president

By Michael Finnegan

ELECTION 2020

■■■■■■

Independent & Assisted Living Residences

5450 Vesper Avenue • Sherman Oaks, CA

ShermanOaksSeniorLiving.com •818.646.

DISCOVER EXCEPTIONAL SENIOR LIVING

RCFE# 197608694

Lunch&Learn

Thursday, September 12

th

•11:30am

Join us for a complimentary lunch and learn more about

theengaginglifestyleofferedatTheVillageatShermanOaks.

Toreserveyourplace,pleasecall818.646.6011.

It’sagreatwaytogettoknowus.

Where you live says a lot about how you live.

TheVillageatShermanOaks’

premieraddressintheheartofthevalley

isnotonlyachoicelocation—it’sonewithlotsofchoices.

Here,you’llfindanengagingblendofcomfort,

style, fine dining & social opportunities.

Andwithfull-service,maintenance-freelivingand

supportive care options, you’ll discover

anexceptionalseniorlifestyleatTheVillage.

The Premier Address

FOR RETIREMENT LIVING

Don’t go through 5 weeks or more of

pain, agony & Stress to remodel your bathroom...

Our Tub/Shower

Package Includes:

http://www.paylessbathmakeover.com

*For a limited time only. Everything we do is custom. Pricing may vary based on size and material selection allowance, as well as the condition

and complexity of what’s already there. We’ll assess all this and review your options as part of a free in home estimate. Financing on approved

credit. Options: 6 mos SAC Deluxe Services. 12 mo. SAC Elite Services. 24 mo. SAC Premium Services. Long Term Financing Starting at 7.99%

OAC. Tax not included in financing. Pictures are for illustration only. Not responsible for misprints. What’s not included in the packages and will

incur additional cost: mold remediation, asbestos abatement, replacing rotted or termite damaged wood, hidden damages, frame or subfloor

repair, relocating repairing or adding plumbing or electrical, adding ducting/venting, painting, knocking down walls, permit fees, bringing house

up to code, flooring, glass door, vanity, countertop, sink, faucet. *20% off available on our first visit. A division of Carpet Wagon Glendale Inc.

CSLB 913187

Buy with confidence!

Over 30 years of

serving Southern

California.

866-479-

Call 24/7 For A Free In-Home Estimate

Day, evening & weekend appointments available

FAST EASY AFFORDABLE 3614 San Fernando Rd. | Glendale, CA 91204

3 EASY STEPS TO YOUR NEW BATH MAKEOVER

Call and confirm your

convenient in-home

appointment

We will bring hundreds of product

selections and all the elements of a bath

remodel to you to help you design and

create your dream bathroom.

We measure and inspect the space

you have in mind and openly discuss

all issues and share solutions that

will fit within your budget.

Our shop @ home

process:

Must present this ad to receive these offers.

• Custom fit shower bases/tubs


• Custom accessories


• Safety accessories: grab bars, shower
  seats, low or no threshold access
  
  
  • Custom fit vanity cabinets & hardware
  
  
  • Countertop options include granite
    and quartz
  
  
  • Flooring
  
  
  
  


• Faucets & plumbing fixtures toilets


• Custom glass doors
  •WalkinTubs

TUB TO SHOWER CONVERSIONS; WALK IN TUBS; AGING & ACCESSIBILITY & ADD ON OPTIONS

OUR BATHROOM REMODELING SOLUTIONS INCLUDE:

TIRED OF YOURTIRED OF YOUR

OLD BATHROOM?OLD BATHROOM?

GET YOURGET YOUR

DREAM BATHDREAM BATH

MAKEOVER NOW!MAKEOVER NOW!

After our 20%** coupon. Includes Installations OR

$95/month OAC*

$

7 , 200

• 
  

NOW STARTING AT

• Demolition to studs of
  shower and tub walls


• Disposal and haul away of
  all old material


• Provide and install all new
  waterproof backerboard


• Provide and install shower
  and plumbing fixtures


• Provide and install new
  temperature control valve


• Provide & install custom
  tub or pan


• Provide & install new solid full panel
  walls in 4 popular colors up to 55 sqft


• Upgrade patterns, colors, fixtures,
  pans/tubs starting at $9,


• Upgrade to quartz, natural stone,
  porcelain starting at $12,

Natural Stone

Walk In Tubs installed

starting at $12,

We have solutions that can help you get your new bathroom in days not weeks and

within your budget. We can help make your new bathroom more relaxing, more elegant,

more enjoyable and help increase the value of your home. Regularly starting at $9,

$

100 OFF- Floor or Vanity

$

100 OFF- Additional Work

$

500 OFF- Second Bath

$

589 Add-on Value

A$1,289Value

ACT NOW

& GET

BONUSES

Includes: Curved Shower Curtain Rod, Soap

Dish, Safety Grab Bar, 2 Shelf Caddy

NOW 20%*OFF

0

%

PLUS interestup to 24 mos*