H4WRD Great Reads for August '24

Hollywood 4WRD's Great Reads for August offers a range of articles and resources that reflect both unease and urgency in the wake of Gov. Newsom's directive to clear encampments on state land:

• LA Daily News: Gov. Newsom helps clear LA homeless camp, issues funding threat
  • Summary: Earlier this month, California Gov. Gavin Newsom had a message for local governments: clean up homeless encampments now or lose out on state funding next year. Standing in front of a cleared homeless encampment in Los Angeles, Newsom vowed to start taking state funding away from cities and counties that are not doing enough to move people out of encampments and into shelter.
• The Daily/NY Times podcast: A Controversial Crackdown on Homeless Encampments
  • Summary: In the weeks since a landmark Supreme Court ruling opened the door for cities and states to crack down on homeless encampments, California — the state with the largest homeless population — has taken some of the nation’s most sweeping actions against them, including the directive from Gov. Gavin Newsom that gave local leaders greater authority to remove homeless campers. Shawn Hubler, who covers California for The Times, discusses the race to clean up what has become one of the Democratic Party’s biggest vulnerabilities before Election Day.
• LA Daily News: LA County supervisors, sheriff, won’t cite or jail homeless to clear encampments
  • Summary: While some cities are beginning to arrest homeless individuals in street encampments, Los Angeles County vehemently rejected that approach on Tuesday, July 30, saying it will continue using “care first” outreach teams to move the homeless into housing and convince cities to take the same approach. This is the first formal policy passed by the L.A. County Board of Supervisors in response to the June 28 U.S. Supreme Court “Grants Pass” decision.
• CalMatters: Report blasts LA for criminalizing homelessness
  • Summary: When the Supreme Court and then Gov. Gavin Newsom gave the green-light to crack down on homeless encampments this summer, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass loudly took issue with that approach — setting herself apart from other big-city leaders. But despite Bass’ public stance against it, and her efforts to change how the city handles sweeps, the city continues to fall short when it comes to protecting the rights of people living on the streets, according to a a new report from a prominent global human rights organization, Human Rights Watch.
• LAist: Why the Catholic church plans to develop affordable housing in LA, and how they aim to do it
  • Summary: With the passage of SB 4 earlier this year, California lawmakers passed a statewide law that allows religious groups to fast-track new housing on properties they already own. Now the Catholic church in L.A. is laying out plans to do just that. The Archdiocese of L.A. announced earlier this month it will partner with a newly formed nonprofit called Our Lady Queen of Angels Housing Alliance to develop affordable housing in Southern California.
• CalMatters: How Karen Bass is using a charity to prevent more Angelenos from becoming homeless
  • Summary: Karen Bass’ campaign to eradicate homelessness in California’s largest city features several defining aspects that none of her mayoral predecessors tried: She has made herself accountable for results, she has devoted her full and sustained attention to it, and now she has tapped the Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles, created more than a decade ago by Mayor Eric Garcetti, to help drive the response. It is part of the Los Angeles leader’s call to address the problem holistically, and it is — however tentatively — working.
• LA Times: ‘Our city is not an RV park’: L.A. to study widespread RV parking ban
  • Summary: An effort to restrict the thousands of RVs parked in residential areas, next to schools and along commercial districts, is gaining steam, as Los Angeles struggles to figure out how to house the families and individuals living in them. In a 14-0 vote earlier this month, the Los Angeles City Council ordered city agencies to come up with “recommendations for a citywide program” that would limit RV parking, while also providing restrooms, septic waste removal, help finding housing and other services in designated areas.
• LA Daily News: 52-bed interim housing site opens in East Hollywood
  • Summary: The Jan Clayton Center, a new 52-bed interim housing site on Sunset Boulevard in East Hollywood, opened in August, operated by the nonprofit service provider Volunteers of America Los Angeles (VOALA). Residents have access to health services, to address addiction and mental health issues, as well as to help them with job placement. On-site case managers will support residents in finding permanent housing.
    • The launch of the JCC is also featured in the CD 13 newsletter, which offers weekly updates on a range of topics relevant to the H4WRD community.
    • CLICK HERE to sign up for the CD 13 newsletter.

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UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative: Findings from the California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness

• Summary: This Topic Brief reviews data from the California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness (CASPEH) on pregnancy and homelessness, and presents a number of findings, including:
  • Pregnancy and the post-partum period increase the risk of experiencing homelessness;
  • Homelessness increases the risk of becoming pregnant
  • Homelessness increases the risk for  negative pregnancy outcomes
  • Homelessness and structural racism may be a significant contributor to poor perinatal outcomes in the Black and Indigenous American communities

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Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA): Homeless Services Delivery System: Glossary of Terms/Acronyms

• Summary: This LAHSA resource contains commonly used terms and acronyms that should be useful to even the wonkiest and most experienced of H4WRD members.
  • PLEASE NOTE: this is dated 2017. If you know any current terms or acronyms that belong here, please share them with us and we'll make sure to notify LAHSA leadership that it's time for them to update this resource!

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Hollywood 4WRD offers "Great Reads" in an effort to expand our community's awareness about the complicated issues surrounding homelessness. Enjoyed any good books, articles or podcasts lately? Please contact us if you have a 'great read' recommendation to add to our growing collection.

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PLEASE NOTE: The resources and content in Great Reads are offered for educational purposes only, and do not represent an endorsement by Hollywood 4WRD.