Los Angeles County leaders announce new Homeless Services and Housing Department
As the three-day Los Angeles regional homeless count launches on Tuesday, county leaders announced the new Homeless Services and Housing Department.
The new department was formed after the L.A. County Board of Supervisors voted to strip the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority of more than $300 million in funding last year.
The LAHSA agency had come under fire when a federal court review faulted it for losing track of billions in taxpayer funds while failing to address the region's homelessness crisis. An audit revealed that LAHSA could not account for tens of millions of dollars.
The board of supervisors voted in April 2025 to essentially defund the joint city-county LAHSA and instead form its own department.
County leaders delivered remarks Tuesday from the Emergency and Centralized Response Center, core to the new department and its mission of coordination and centralization.
"As the region measures the crisis (with the homeless count), Los Angeles County is fixing what hasn't worked," Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said.
The new department's new director, Sarah Mahin, said now everyone is together under one roof, bringing together services and staff that were previously spread across different departments and entities.
Supervisor Kathryn Barger said the new department is much more integrated with the county, and all the departments involved.
Launching this department doesn't just mean a new name with the same services we've always provided. It is a more effective, connected outreach that gets more people out of encampments and into housing, with the wraparound services they need … to keep them housed," Barger said.
On any given night in 2025, roughly 47,000 people slept outside on the streets and in cars, and in makeshift encampments across Los Angeles County.
"I hear from community members often that they want to help those on the streets, but aren't sure where to turn," Barger said. "I encourage our residents to call 211 when they encounter an encampment or person in need, and the team right here in the ECRC will engage within minutes to begin coordinating outreach teams in the field."
After a court-ordered audit uncovered LAHSA's shortcomings with accurately tracking spending and performance outcomes of its vendors, the agency committed to improving data tracking and has released information on its website regarding those goals.
County officials described the relationship with LAHSA as collaborative and said work was ongoing to finalize the transition and have the new department fully operational by the summer.
The department will be funded by Measure A, the 2024 half-cent sales tax to fund homelessness and housing efforts.
While changes in federal policies lead to uncertainty for the department, including a funding shortfall due to losses in one-time federal and state funding, a reduction in sales tax revenue, and rising costs, Mahin said, "we're actively working with our partners tosecure other funding and solutions to fill gaps."
