For the first time, Los Angeles County has one unified department dedicated to preventing and ending homelessness across the region.
Its goal is simple and urgent: move people into housing and provide the services they need while, in the process, building trust in the communities it serves.
By consolidating funding and services that were previously spread across multiple departments and entities, the County is making its response clearer, faster, and more accountable to residents and communities. The Homeless Initiative, launched in 2015 to coordinate countywide homelessness strategies, will join with Housing for Health, a former division within the Department of Health Services that operated an integrated continuum of care, from street outreach to permanent housing, along with case management, benefits advocacy, and clinical services. The new Department of Housing and Homelessness Services (HSH) combines the strengths of each entity, creating a stronger, consolidated platform to innovate, improve service delivery, and reach more people in need…