The Los Angeles County Homeless Initiative invites the community to attend a webinar about its Draft Funding Recommendations for addressing and preventing homelessness in Fiscal Year 2025-26.

Click here to join the webinar on  Jan. 16, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., which will be followed by an opportunity to provide public comment.

The Homeless Initiative is the central coordinating body for the County’s ongoing effort to expand and enhance services for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness. It currently oversees the County’s response to the homelessness emergency declared by the Board of Supervisors in early 2023, including Pathway Home.

The Homeless Initiative’s Draft Funding Recommendations for Fiscal Year 2025-26, which begins on July 1st, 2025, are intended to maximize the impact of resources by anchoring investments to a framework to end homelessness that focuses on:

-Increasing permanent housing placements

-Moving people from street to housing more effectively

-Serving people with complex challenges who face barriers exiting homelessness

-Expanding collaborations with cities and Councils of Governments (COGs)

-Investing in efforts to prevent people from becoming homeless in the first place

During the webinar, the Executive Director of the Homeless Initiative, Cheri Todoroff, will provide a detailed briefing on the County’s proposed spending plan, which includes funding from the newly passed Measure A — a ½ cent countywide sales tax that goes into effect April 1, 2025. This tax will help maintain existing homeless housing and services, supporting individuals currently experiencing homelessness in finding permanent solutions. Measure A funding will be allocated across County entities and partners. Additionally, the County’s spending plan will include funding from the State of California’s Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention grant program.

The draft funding recommendations are informed by input from community members and stakeholders during Listening Sessions held in August through October 2024.  Participants included County departments, agencies, and nonprofit organizations that constitute the County’s homeless services system, education stakeholders, people with lived expertise, and special populations like older adults and transition-aged youth. Residents from each of the County’s eight Service Planning Areas, Spanish language speakers, and COGs also provided feedback.

After the webinar, the proposed spending plan along with a new opportunity for residents to submit feedback during the Public Comment period spanning Jan. 16 through Jan. 28, 2025, will be available on the Homeless Initiative website.