Meeting_Body
REVISED
REGULAR BOARD MEETING
OCTOBER 26, 2023
Preamble
Motion by:
BASS, HAHN, HORVATH, YAROSLAVSKY, DUPONT-WALKER, and SOLIS
October 26, 2023
Response to Homelessness Motion
Each night, tens of thousands of Angelenos go to sleep without a roof over their head, and five unhoused Angelenos die every day. Annually, the number of people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles continues to rise. The 2023 Los Angeles Homeless Count revealed an estimated 75,518 people are experiencing homelessness within Los Angeles County, a 10% increase from the previous year. In the City of Los Angeles alone, 46,260 people are experiencing homelessness, a 9% increase from the prior year.
Metro recognizes the crisis facing Los Angeles County in addressing the needs of people experiencing homelessness. There are many challenges related to people seeking shelter within the Metro system, including drug use, untreated mental health, and safety concerns.
In 2017, the Board directed Metro to partner with the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services to provide street-based outreach and engagement to unhoused individuals on the Metro system. Metro’ s multi-disciplinary teams, which include its Ambassadors and the Street Teams, conduct intensive outreach and engagement across the bus and rail system and focus on providing housing placements to people experiencing homelessness.
In October 2022, the Board approved Motion 20, the “End of the Line and Unhoused Riders Motion,” directing the CEO to evaluate Metro’s End of the Line policy and make recommendations for serving the unhoused population exiting trains at night and boarding trains in the morning at the ends of rail lines. The response to this motion came in January 2023, where staff presented preliminary findings of the numbers of unhoused riders being removed from Metro A Line trains in Downtown Long Beach at the end of the night, with additional information on the other ends of Metro’s rail lines still to come in April 2023.
The LA County Board of Supervisors also approved a motion in October 2022 to improve coordination between Metro and the relevant County agencies and providers to address homelessness on Metro’s bus and rail system. That motion directed the County Chief Executive Officer’s Homelessness Initiative (CEO-HI) in coordination with Metro to explore the feasibility of, among other things, navigation hubs that could be located in the Metro system, as well as the creation of a Homeless Task Force comprised of representatives from the County, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), and Metro. Since that action, the agencies involved have seen improved communications and coordination.
In January 2023, the Metro Board approved Motion 19.1, directing the CEO to examine full-service outreach models for end-of-the-line rail stations, support for recent emergency declarations, and update Metro’s inventory of properties that are vacant or underutilized. The findings of this report found that to reduce the number of people experiencing homelessness from sheltering on Metro, there needs to be a coordinated effort between local jurisdictions, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), and the County to increase the inventory of available shelter beds and/or extend the hours of operation for social services near stations.
In February 2023, the Board approved two motions related to using Metro property to expand housing services. Motion 31 directed the CEO to engage LAHSA, CEO-HI, and local jurisdictions on the implementation of a navigation service hub. A navigation service hub would serve as a permanent homeless services center on Metro property, including a homeless service provider, administrative case management personnel, and housing navigation management. Motion 28 instructed Metro to report back with a list of all Metro-owned property that is vacant, surplus, or underutilized and provide strategies to streamline the production of temporary and affordable housing to achieve 10,000 new housing units.
As part of a comprehensive approach to addressing unsheltered homelessness, Metro has made some of its land available for uses that provide housing support solutions, including sites that have been used by the City of Los Angeles for the A Bridge Home and Tiny Home Villages programs. To address the lack of dedicated interim shelter options for people experiencing homelessness seeking shelter on Metro, future leases for interim housing should include some prioritization for Metro’s unsheltered riders. In addition, Metro staff has identified several underutilized parking lots that could be used to address recreational vehicles (RV) encampments or other interim housing opportunities.
Subject
SUBJECT: RESPONSE TO HOMELESSNESS MOTION
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
APPROVE Motion by Directors Bass, Hahn, Horvath, Yaroslavsky, Dupont-Walker, and Solis that the Board direct the CEO to:
A. Develop a comprehensive Social Resources and Homelessness Action Plan (Plan) to address homelessness within the Metro transit system and connect people with social services and resources. At a minimum, the Plan should include the following:
• A data snapshot on the state of homelessness on the Metro system, including regional variations subject to confirmed Point-in-Time (PIT) count by LAHSA;
• Key partnerships and/or enhancements to existing County and local jurisdictions programs to provide support services to people experiencing homelessness on the Metro system with funding recommendations;
• Summarize the challenges and strategies for providing necessary services for people experiencing homelessness on the Metro system in the late evening and early morning hours; identify the necessary external partnerships needed to deliver services during these hours;
• Partner with Los Angeles County Departments, local jurisdictions, and/or service providers to enhance unarmed crisis response on Metro properties and stations;
• Key performance indicators and methods to track progress;
• Include a progress update on these efforts as part of the regular, quarterly homeless services report; and
B. Work with LAHSA and service providers to support homeless intervention by:
• Creating an emergency housing protocol for people experiencing homelessness on Metro to include but not be limited to a set aside for designated bus parking and interim beds at shelters during an emergency event;
• Requesting inclusion on the LAHSA Coordinated Entry System (CES) Policy Council and the Los Angeles Continuum of Care (LA CoC) Board, a regional planning body that coordinates housing and services funding for homeless families and individuals; and
• Incorporating the entire Metro System into the annual PIT Count and other relevant data systems and dashboards.