The leaders of LA County’s new affordable housing agency joined recently with the Homelessness Policy Research Institute to present a new report showing that metro areas with larger amounts of investment in public housing tend to have lower rates of homelessness.
The report shows that LA County has a relatively low concentration of federally subsidized public housing units compared to 150 other major metro areas in the United States. This may worsen LA’s comparably high rate of unsheltered homelessness. The new countywide affordable housing agency is focused on addressing that investment gap. “The study proves the dire need for housing in LA County, and with LACAHSA, we’re creating a countywide affordable housing strategy that will close the gap and ensure housing is within reach for everyone,” said Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson, board chair of the new Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency (LACAHSA). “Measure A represents more than funding for these efforts—it’s a mandate from voters who believe that addressing affordable housing and homelessness is a priority we can and must solve together.”
Through Measure A, LA County is primed to boost its publicly financed housing supply: 36 percent of funds will go to the Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency (LACAHSA). LACAHSA is modeled after similar initiatives in New York, San Francisco and Singapore that scale up housing production and preservation.
With representation from all 88 cities in the region, LACAHSA is primed to help prevent homelessness by preserving existing affordable housing and protecting renters at risk of homelessness. In addition, LA County will be able to build more housing faster by filling financial gaps for already-entitled affordable housing projects to start construction sooner.
“Unlike past countywide efforts to address homelessness, 36 percent of Measure A funds will be dedicated to housing, which will supercharge LACAHSA,” said Bellflower City Councilmember Victor Sanchez, LACAHSA Board Second Vice Chair. “This funding will allow us to achieve unprecedented milestones in Los Angeles County—producing more affordable housing, preserving affordable units, and protecting people to keep them from entering homelessness.”
LACAHSA will give small cities expert assistance and money to help them meet state housing requirements. The latest Regional Housing Needs Assessment calls for 341,000 units of affordable housing by 2029, but the current production rate would create only 25,000. LACAHSA will accelerate that pace, scaling up the development of more supportive housing communities that tackle a root cause of homelessness. “This study suggests a potential link between the lack of federal government investment in LA’s housing supply and our high rate of unsheltered homelessness,” said Jared N. Schachner, Ph.D., USC Price School of Public Policy and lead author on the study. “In our research, LA stands out among U.S. metros for its very high concentration of unsheltered homelessness and its low concentration of traditional public housing units.”
The study also suggests that Housing Choice Vouchers, which individuals use to subsidize rent in privately owned homes, may not be as effective in reducing unsheltered homelessness as other federal investments that directly increase the housing supply. This disparity may reflect a range of barriers to voucher use, including administrative burdens, a competitive housing market and limited participation among private landlords.
“LACAHSA is a game-changer years in the making and now with a vote of confidence from L.A. County voters,” said Tommy Newman, vice president of public affairs at United Way of Greater Los Angeles. “We see it with our own eyes, and this report couldn’t be more clear: we need massive public investments in housing—the kind of transformation Measure A will deliver.“
