LOS ANGELES — In January 2023, Jennifer Shurley said she was ready to start a new chapter.
After experiencing homelessness since 2015, a city of Los Angeles-run housing program gave her a motel room.
That year, Shurley was already disheartened.
“I came in here really hoping that things were going to change and that it was going to be something different, nothing different,” she said.
The motel served as short-term interim housing. Over two years later, she’s still there.
Shurley said she believes nothing has changed.
“They’re not helping us. They put us in this box to forget about us and act like we don’t exist anymore,” she said.
Shurley believes the lack of action stems from confusion and miscommunication between different service providers, case managers, the city and the county.
“Everything that I have tried to do for myself, every element I have tried to make to make my life better, has been absolutely squashed by the lack of services. There is nothing here,” she said.
And Shurley is not alone in seeing flaws in the homelessness system.
Two separate audits, one released in November by the County of Los Angeles Auditor Controller, and one released in March, found systemic and longstanding problems within homeless services agencies in the city and County of Los Angeles. Including that service providers were often paid late, failed to track contracts, and mis-allocated taxpayers funds.
In the wake of these audits, LA County Supervisors Kathryn Barger and Lindsey Horvath introduced a motion to “accelerate progress and accountability under Los Angeles County’s homelessness emergency.”
The Supervisors’ motion proposed creating a new department to streamline homeless services, centralize operations, and allow the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority to focus on its core functions.
The Board of Supervisors passed the motion this week by a 4-0 vote, with Supervisor Holly Mitchell abstaining.
Mitchell had expressed concern in the days leading up to the vote, telling Amrit Singh on “Inside the Issues,” “I don’t want to change things for change’s sake.
If I can see a path where it improves access to housing, where we can expedite getting people housed, we can’t afford to spend all our time creating a new system that slows the process.”
Mayor Karen Bass released a statement expressing her frustration with the board's vote, writing, “Dismantling LAHSA will deprive the City of Los Angeles of essential resources, including recent voter-approved Measure A funding, and would severely stunt the City’s ability to oversee existing programs that provide holistic solutions to individuals with complex needs.”
Despite these concerns, the board has approved the plan and will now move ahead. Horvath has said since introducing the motion that it will lead to better outcomes for all Angelenos, especially those currently experiencing homelessness.
“We need to make sure that the accountability that Angelenos are expecting is actually provided,” she said.
