From CalMatters homelessness reporter Marisa Kendall:
Workers tasked with helping California’s largest homeless population are sounding an alarm, saying a recent upheaval at the Los Angeles County agency where they work has them scared for their livelihoods.
In an open letter to the L.A. County Board of Supervisors, a handful of employees with the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority say threats of pending layoffs are affecting hundreds of county workers, and by extension, the thousands of homeless residents that they serve.
The Homeless Services Authority is a joint city-county agency that oversees homeless services in L.A. County. After multiple critical audits, the county board of supervisors voted earlier this year to pull its funding from the joint authority and instead create a new county homelessness agency.
But as the county makes that transition, the employees doing the hard work of moving people off the streets and into housing worry they are getting left behind. Management has suggested there will be staff reductions, according to the employee letter. But workers don’t know who will get the chance to move to the new agency, and who won’t, Gilbert Youenes, a Homeless Services Authority employee, told CalMatters. Youenes evaluates homeless shelters in L.A. County to make sure they meet the county’s health and safety standards.
- Youenes: “Some of us have been with LAHSA for decades. We have families. We have bills to pay. And we’re not sure how this is going to unfold and affect our lives. There’s a real sense of fear.”
The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority declined to comment on the letter.
The employee letter also alleges that terminating Homeless Services Authority employees would violate the terms of Measure A — a half-cent sales tax that funds homeless housing and services in L.A. County, which voters approved last year. The measure includes a section, aimed at improving recruitment and retention of homeless services workers, which states that contracts funded through the tax must not displace public employees.
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Other Stories You Should Know
Feds backtrack on homelessness cuts
More from CalMatters’ Marisa:
President Donald Trump’s administration has reversed course, for now, on cuts that were expected to defund thousands of homeless housing units in California.
On Monday the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development withdrew a controversial funding notice that had made sweeping changes to federal homelessness policy. The notice had drastically cut how much funding local governments could spend on permanent housing — something prior administrations had prioritized as the solution to homelessness. Instead, the current administration focused on temporary shelters, particularly those that require sobriety.
In two separate lawsuits, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration, Santa Clara County and San Francisco sued, accusing the federal housing department of illegally going over Congress’ head to make the changes.
In the court filing, federal lawyers said the administration withdrew the funding notice “in order to assess the issues raised by plaintiffs” and draft a new notice.
It’s dour out there
Most Californians believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, according to a new poll examining attitudes on Trump’s policies, California’s next governor and more.
On Monday the Public Policy Institute of California published its latest survey, which polled 1,676 adult Californians from Nov. 13-19. It found that 29% of likely voters approve of Trump’s job performance, with 4% of Democrats, 79% of Republicans and 21% of independent voters approving.
Seven in 10 also thought that Congress should have extended tax credits for Affordable Care Act enrollees, which were not included in the latest federal budget bill, and were at the center of the government shutdown that ended on Nov. 12.
Regarding the state’s gubernatorial election next year, more than half (56%) of likely voters approve of Newsom and 45% say they want his successor to continue his policies. Former Rep. Katie Porter is the leading candidate in the survey, though 40% aren’t satisfied with any of the candidates.
The general outlook on the state and the country is also grim: 74% of likely voters believe the country is heading in the wrong direction, and the same percentage of people believe the U.S. will enter a depression by 2030. As the top issues cited since 2023, 36% of participants say the cost of living and the economy remain the chief problems for the state.
And lastly: Fewer CA truck drivers
New federal rules block refugees, asylum seekers and other immigrants from holding commercial trucking licenses. CalMatter’s Adam Echelman and video strategy director Robert Meeks have a video segment on how losing as many as 61,000 truck drivers in California could affect consumers as part of our partnership with PBS SoCal. Watch it here.
SoCalMatters airs at 5:58 p.m. weekdays on PBS SoCal.
California Voices
CalMatters columnist Dan Walters: In his last year as governor, Newsom encapsulates a bifurcated image that on one hand slams Trump, and on another seeks favors from the president to secure emergency aid for California.
If we are serious about preventing suicide, especially among boys, then counselors and clinicians must be spared from school funding cuts, writes Ayo Banjo, who leads a stigma reduction campaign funded through the California Youth Behavioral Health Initiative.
Other things worth your time:
In first year in Senate, Schiff pushes legislation, party message and challenges to Trump // Los Angeles Times
App that tracks ICE raids sues US, saying officials pressured Apple to remove it // The New York Times
CA signals fight over federal plan to increase Delta water exports // The Sacramento Bee
Cal State University unions seek notice of federal subpoenas in antisemitism investigation // EdSource
Healdsburg is launching a first-of-its-kind end-of-life planning program in Sonoma County // The Mendocino Beacon
Under Trump, Bay Area immigration courts deny asylum claims at soaring rates // The Mercury News
San Diego bids farewell to USS Nimitz as Navy ends 50 years of service // The San Diego Union Tribune
