[L.A. County CAO] – Signaling a commitment to tackling the problem of homelessness across jurisdictional lines, the County and City of Los Angeles adopted comprehensive action plans Tuesday to help the thousands of people living without shelter in our communities.

These plans, supported by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority and United Way of Greater Los Angeles, represent a practical and achievable approach to confronting this humanitarian crisis in our midst. Working together on both short-term and long-term strategies to confront homelessness, local leaders are taking the opportunity and meeting the obligation of making real change a reality for those who need it most.

“People who are homeless aren’t just statistics. They are real people: They are veterans who fought for our freedom and shouldn’t have to fight for services like health care or job training; they are single mothers who work two or three jobs and still cannot afford rent; they are students at our local colleges who attend classes during the day and sleep in their cars at night. These individuals live throughout the County of Los Angeles. We have an urgent and moral obligation to them. We cannot combat homelessness alone. The only way we will have any impact is if we work together.”

– Supervisor Hilda L. Solis, Chair of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors

“Today, Los Angeles takes historic action to tackle homelessness and finally delivers a coordinated approach to address the crisis in our region. This blueprint puts us on the path to add more outreach workers to our streets, more affordable housing in our neighborhoods and more supportive services to our most vulnerable residents. The thousands of men, women, and children who live on our streets are not disposable. It is our moral imperative to help them. As your Mayor and a life-long Angeleno, I am proud to be a part of the unprecedented collaboration that made today possible and I stand committed to ending this crisis.”

– Mayor Eric Garcetti, City of Los Angeles

“Today marks a historic day in the City and County of Los Angeles’ collaborative efforts to address homelessness through strategic plans that are comprehensive, inter-dependent and dynamic. With all its wealth and resources, it is unfathomable that Los Angeles is home to tens of thousands of homeless individuals, yet that is the truth we all must face. Our collective plans offer up blueprints of hope to people in great need. By working together and alongside our federal, state and non-profit partners, we can and must address homelessness, the moral dilemma of our day. Today is a big step, but only the first step in addressing the problems of homelessness. The next challenge will be to go to the voters to identify the resources for housing and all the tested programs that will be needed to truly make a difference.”

– Los Angeles City Councilmembers Marqueece Harris-Dawson and José Huizar, co-chairs of the City’s Homelessness and Poverty Committee.

“Homelessness is a crisis in Los Angeles, and LAHSA applauds the vision of our City and County elected leadership in adopting these comprehensive strategies to address that crisis. We will work closely with the City and County and all of our regional partners to implement them rapidly in the months ahead.”

– Peter Lynn, Executive Director of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA)

“The aligned collaboration between the City and County of Los Angeles is a historical first step in addressing homelessness. We hope the momentum continues as we look to our leaders to execute on these plans, which not only reinforce United Way’s mission to end poverty but also match the extraordinary public interest in resolving this critical issue”

– Elise Buik, CEO and President, United Way of Greater Los Angeles.