Los Angeles Wants a ‘Department of Homelessness’

It’s no secret that the homelessness problem in Los Angeles has been out of control for some time now. And we’re not just talking about Skid Row, though that remains one of the worst neighborhoods and a perpetual source of problems. The problem was bad even before the massive influx of illegal migrants caused by the Biden border crisis, but now it’s grown out of control. Last year the city allocated another $1.3 billion to address the issue, but residents have been questioning where all of that money is going because the situation doesn’t seem to be changing. Now, one City Council member is pushing to establish a new “Department of Homelessness” to get things under control. Monica Rodriguez claims that the current system is dysfunctional and resources are not being applied efficiently. (CBS News)

A Los Angeles City Council member is advocating for the city to have its own department of homelessness, to consolidate and focus efforts on the issue.

Los Angeles Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez is lobbying Tuesday for a new department to create and oversee programs that address the homelessness crisis. The department would report to Mayor Karen Bass and the City Council, she said.

The councilwoman introduced a motion on the matter Friday as a first step in the process. The motion will be heard by the Housing and Homelessness Committee at a future date.

Monica Rodriguez describes the current homeless situation as “the greatest humanitarian crisis of our time.” At this stage of the game, it may be hard to say which of the various humanitarian crises facing the nation is the greatest, but I’ll agree that the epidemic of homeless people sleeping on the sidewalks and in public parks is definitely well up there on the list. As of the end of last year, the Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count project estimated that there were more than 46,200 unhoused people in the city. And some believe that’s a lowball estimate.

I’m not going to immediately throw cold water over this proposal because if there are people on the city payroll who are at least paying attention to the problem and trying to do something about it, that’s probably better than nothing. But looking at the details in this announcement, it might not be all that much better than nothing. At a quick glance, Rodriguez’s complaint probably makes sense in a general sort of way. She discusses a lack of efficiency and “redundancies” in the city’s operations. Resources allocated to help the homeless are “dispersed among too many entities.”

The problem here is that the councilwoman is using language that could probably describe most municipal departments in any large city. The announcement is basically a large pile of word salad. Rodriguez cites “irregular and imprecise reporting on contractually-obligated metrics and outcomes.” I suppose that’s fair enough, but where are the specifics? Which departments are assigned which responsibilities in responding to homelessness issues and who is collecting and compiling all of the results of those activities? If it’s not the city’s Housing Department in conjunction with the Mayor’s office, then there’s probably something very wrong, but a significant portion of the allocated funding is going to the City Administrative Officer for some reason.

Widespread homelessness such as we’re seeing in Los Angeles is a boots-on-the-ground problem, not something that’s going to be fixed by a bunch of bureaucrats juggling spreadsheets in a boardroom. The issue has multiple moving parts that could be addressed simultaneously if the will and resources exist to do so. Drug and alcohol addiction drives many people to the streets. Some of that funding could go toward increased policing to get the drugs off of the streets and move people into treatment programs, involuntarily if necessary. Crime is always rampant in homeless encampments. Start locking up the criminals as a deterrent measure. And you’re never going to have a permanent solution unless you find someplace for the remaining homeless to go. Otherwise, you’re simply moving the problem around from one zip code to another.

The homeless problem in Los Angeles is probably too vast to be cleaned up completely. But they could certainly be doing better than they currently are. I will at least agree with Councilwoman Rodriguez that throwing billions of dollars at the issue in a scattershot fashion isn’t any sort of plan. So perhaps a Department of Homelessness might be the best path forward, but it would have to be run by the right people and given the required access and power to enforce changes. That will mean dipping into the rice bowls of other bureaucrats, however, so don’t hold your breath waiting for any miraculous solutions to arise.