Baca Finds Little Unity in Homelessness Fight

As sheriff of Los Angeles County, Lee Baca has often expressed outrage at the plight of people living “like animals” on dirty sidewalks and under freeway overpasses.

He also has publicly acknowledged that his own department--which each day releases scores of homeless people back onto the streets from jail--is a major contributor to the problem.

On Thursday, Baca will host a summit on homelessness at which he hopes the region’s social service activists, civic officials and business leaders will present possible solutions for one of Los Angeles’ most intractable challenges.

But the event, at the Central Library in downtown Los Angeles, is likely to also point out the divisions and cross purposes with which the county has historically tackled the issue.

For example, as Baca is convening his meeting, Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn is scheduled to be in Van Nuys discussing the city’s affordable housing trust fund and has no plans to attend the homelessness summit. And except for Los Angeles City Council members Jan Perry, who represents downtown and is co-hosting the meeting, and Eric Garcetti, none of the 15 council members were scheduled to attend, with most citing time conflicts with other events. Of the five county supervisors, only Yvonne Brathwaite Burke has confirmed her attendance, summit organizers say.

For many advocates for the homeless, the competing events symbolize how the lack of coordination hampers efforts to address the issue and obtain for Los Angeles County its rightful share of federal homeless dollars.

The ‘How’ Is the Rub

Homeless service providers frequently compete among themselves for scarce resources and squabble over philosophies. A schism exists between affordable housing advocates, who place a priority on expanding low-income housing stock, and homeless activists who push the need for mental health, drug recovery and other social services.

“Everyone agrees that people need to get off the streets but how we should get them off is the question that divides all sides,” said Mark Casanova, executive director of the nonprofit group Homeless Healthcare, who said he will attend Baca’s meeting.

With a dizzying array of city, county, state and federal agencies involved in homeless issues, “it’s quite easy for officials to basically not participate in developing a policy,” added UCLA law professor Gary Blasi, a housing expert. “The city can say [the problem] is the county’s welfare and mental programs, the county can say it’s the city’s redevelopment policies.”

For several years, Baca has been the highest-profile official to address homelessness in the area. His interest has been applauded by advocates who nonetheless remain wary of some of his ideas such as erecting an encampment near the Twin Towers jail for street people who resist social-service provisions.

Baca maintains that his and the mayor’s cross-city events do not represent a conflict between him and Hahn and that the timing was probably a coincidence. “I’m glad the mayor is moving aggressively on the subject and I’m motivated by what he’s doing,” said Baca. “I don’t expect other elected officials to flock to my conference any more than I expect them to flock to the mayor’s conference.”

But Baca is also frustrated that more elected officials have not taken on his cause.

“It is time for other public officials besides myself and Councilwoman Perry to start pressing and forcing this issue,” Baca said. “Excuses have run out.”

Housing advocates, meanwhile, say Hahn has displayed heightened awareness of homelessness and housing issues compared to the previous city administration. Hahn’s biggest initiative is support of an affordable housing trust fund that will grow to $100 million over time for the creation of low-income housing. As yet, though, no money has been allocated from the fund.

Hahn was unavailable for comment about the homelessness summit, but an aide said the mayor will send a member of his staff to the Baca meeting.

“The mayor has a lot of things that he’s facing right now, with the breakup of the city and the appointment of a new [police] chief,” said special assistant Eric Brown. “It’s not that he’s not being supportive, he’s very busy. He is very supportive.” Hahn recognizes that the county and the city must work together on the issue, Brown added.

The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, a city agency, recently commissioned several studies to help develop a 10-year strategic plan for the region. Hahn has agreed to chair a related committee that is expected to include Baca and other county officials and begin meeting in the near future.

Los Angeles County has among the highest numbers of people without shelter, according to several studies. An estimated 11,000 people are homeless in downtown’s skid row and at least 25,000 countywide, according to the Institute for the Study of Homelessness and Poverty, which is affiliated with the Weingart Center, a downtown homeless agency. That skid row population presents tough realities to the developers, business leaders and new loft owners who are trying to remake downtown.

Baca said he hopes the summit will illuminate living conditions that, if caused by natural disaster, would be viewed as a calamity. “It should be an emergency when the numbers of people we have in Los Angeles County go without shelter each night,” he said.

Grist for Discussion

Activists and others were asked in advance for ideas to be presented at Thursday’s meeting, which starts at 8:30 a.m. and is open to the public. Baca said he will suggest that every county resident contribute at least $100 to a fund dedicated to help the homeless get off the streets. Other proposals urge churches to adopt and aid the homeless in their communities, cities to set up systems of portable shelters and agencies to establish a computerized log of clients and what social services they received.

One of the challenges for Baca’s summit and any other effort is a homeless population that defies easy categorization; it includes women, children, families, people who have fallen into homelessness as a result of illness or job loss, the severely mentally ill, drug addicts and opportunists engaged in criminal behavior. Moreover, their numbers could increase soon, if, as predicted by many advocates, the ranks are swelled by welfare recipients cut off from cash aid early next year because of federal time limits.

Summit planners say they want to make the issue relevant to county residents who rarely encounter street people in the numbers prevalent downtown.

“Obviously some council districts are more impacted by homelessness than others,” said Perry. “I can tell you from experience that there are significant pockets of homelessness throughout our city, not just in skid row, but in Venice, in the San Fernando Valley around Hansen Dam, in Pico Union. It’s a citywide issue. Actually, it’s a regional issue.”

For example, in Santa Monica, long considered tolerant toward its large homeless population, officials next week will consider whether to restrict charity groups from feeding people in public parks.

Business leaders from downtown Los Angeles want to make sure that their concerns are not ignored at the summit.

“Some people don’t want to recognize the economic impact as an important concern,” said Central City Assn. executive Carol Schatz, who will address Baca’s session. “If people are uncomfortable going to a restaurant because they are hit up by someone they perceive as homeless, or if they’re uncomfortable walking along the streets, they don’t want to come back.”