Councilmember Nithya Raman Introduces Motion To Create Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority Liaison Positions

For Immediate Release: November 3, 2022

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LOS ANGELES — Yesterday, LA City Councilmember Nithya Raman introduced a motion requesting the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) to create a number of dedicated staff positions to facilitate coordination and communication between LAHSA and the City of Los Angeles. These liaisons would be LAHSA employees assigned to specific Council Districts, and would provide strategic communication, data and metrics, programmatic analysis, regional coordination, and district-level knowledge and support to Council Offices. 

“With more than 41,000 people experiencing homelessness in LA, improved communication and collaboration between the City and LAHSA is paramount to our efforts in effectively solving this humanitarian crisis,” said Councilmember Raman. “The existing LAHSA-Council coordination efforts are meaningful in ensuring better service delivery and data accuracy, but we can implement additional mechanisms to further strengthen our collective homelessness response.”

Challenges that persist in spite of the current communication between the City and LAHSA include inconsistencies in communication, District-level knowledge gaps, and data-sharing limitations. The motion requests LAHSA to provide a report detailing responsibilities and accountability mechanisms for new liaison positions that can help resolve these issues and maximize both LAHSA and the City’s efficacy and speed in addressing homelessness.

“Communication and coordination are the hallmarks of a strong partnership. This motion from Councilmember Raman strengthens both between the City and LAHSA,” said Stephen David Simon, Interim Executive Director of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. “I’d like to give special thanks to the Councilmember for putting forth this motion and acknowledging that LA’s unhoused and housed neighbors are best served when we collectively share the same goals and work together.”

Councilmember Raman continued, “In my office, we’ve seen success having staff positions dedicated to bridging the communication gap between our team, LAHSA, and service providers. Applying this model across the City can ensure adequate information sharing and collaboration, to better serve the needs of people experiencing homelessness in each Council District. ” 

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