Los Angeles County Fifth District Supervisor Kathryn Barger issued a statement in support of the Los Angeles County Chief Executive Officer’s presentation of a $45.4 billion budget for the forthcoming 2024-25 fiscal year.

“This budget proposal rightfully doubles down on heavily investing in homelessness and mental health solutions. We’re on the right path, and I believe those investments will have ripple effects that keep our communities safer.

Dedicating more than $728M to our fight against homelessness, paired with hiring more than 450 new workers for the Department of Mental Health, the largest staffing increase granted to any of the county’s 38 departments, will help our county provide boots on the ground services for people experiencing homelessness on our streets. We will be ready to hire and deploy a new army of mental health clinicians, substance abuse counselors, outreach workers, and compassionate housing navigators equipped to help those experiencing homelessness to get housed and connected to supportive services that will keep them housed.

Our hiring efforts will also benefit our many municipal partners, who almost exclusively rely on our county to respond to crises occurring on their city streets. The daily reports of violence in our county, including yesterday’s unprovoked fatal stabbing at a Metro station, are evidence that mental illness is rampant on our streets and in public places. We must step up our efforts to meet those needs. Doing so will increase public safety and improve the quality of life in our county for everyone.”

Supervisor Kathryn Barger represents the Fifth supervisorial district of Los Angeles County which is home to nearly two million people. The district covers 2,785.21 square miles and touches the Ventura, Kern and San Bernardino County lines. The district includes portions of 20 cities, including Santa Clarita, 63 unincorporated communities and 15 neighborhoods in the city of Los Angeles.