L.A. just changed its entire approach to homelessness. Does it place politics above need?

The city of Los Angeles has undertaken a major shift in its approach to homelessness, one that puts a priority on clearing unsightly street encampments even when insufficient permanent housing exists for the people being moved. This balance, he said, was made possible by the expansion of outreach and services for homeless people, and the development of new housing and shelters funded by two local tax measures, city Proposition HHH and countywide Measure H. “You don’t have to choose between these things,” Garcetti said in an interview. The banned locations cover so much of the city, she worries, there won’t be enough resources for outreach workers to adequately understand homeless people’s needs and get them shelter, medical care and housing. Outreach teams would “navigate as many as 150 individuals — many of them chronically homeless — into shelter and connect them to permanent housing options.” The new emphasis on cleaning locations couldn’t have happened without a surge in shelter capacity over the last three years that has changed the basic math of homeless outreach. The imbalance, she added, “just sinks the city’s resources into an interim shelter system, which itself still perpetuates homelessness.” In addition, she said, many homeless people avoid congregate shelters, which they find dangerous and demeaning, and say they prefer life on the streets if they can’t have permanent housing or a temporary room that they don’t have to share.