SHANE MURPHY GOLDSMITH STATEMENT ON THE RESULTS OF THE 2022 HOMELESS COUNT

Los Angeles, CA (September 8, 2022) – Community-won protections “flattened the curve” during COVID but more resources and protections are needed for a roof over every head.

In response to the release of the Point in Time census from the Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count, Liberty Hill Foundation released the following statement by Shane Murphy Goldsmith, President and CEO:

 

“Even as homelessness continues to rise in LA County, this year’s Homeless Count results show that grass-roots advocates know what works, both to keep people from falling into homelessness, and to help them establish their lives after a period of instability — legal services for tenants, direct rent relief, and rapid rehousing in transitional and permanent housing.

 

“Evictions are a leading cause of homelessness. As the federal and state governments reduce pandemic eviction protections and local governments threaten to do the same, the ‘eviction tsunami’ grows ever more likely to turn our rise from a flattened curve to continued double-digit growth. The Right to Counsel-Los Angeles coalition has been advocating that members of our community be guaranteed representation when they face eviction proceedings in court.

 

“What we need is more of what works. We need the resources to adequately fund our response, and we need the legal protections sufficient to give it force. If we are to make progress against homelessness, and bend the trend downwards, we must pass right-to-counsel legislation at the city and county level, and LA City must pass Measure ULA to provide a permanent source of funding to keep tenants in their homes and to build and preserve affordable housing adequate to meet our needs.”