The Funding Supports Projects that Strengthen Housing Equity and Retention
LOS ANGELES – The homelessness crisis in Los Angeles County persists despite the county’s state of emergency declaration last year. In 2023, the Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count showed a 9% increase in homelessness from the year before – with more than 75,000 unhoused people in L.A. County. And the disparities are striking. The 2023 count showed Black/African Americans made up 7.6% of the population, but 31.7% of those experiencing homelessness. Today, L.A. Care Health Plan, the largest health plan in the county serving more than 2.7 million Angelenos, is announcing a group of awards aimed at preventing homelessness and addressing housing equity across L.A. County. The majority of those awards are a part of the health plan’s first Housing Equity Initiative, which will commit $3 million for a variety of housing related projects to 12 organizations.
“Housing is critical for good health. As a health plan serving some of the most vulnerable residents in L.A. County, we have a strong commitment to addressing housing insecurity,” said John Baackes, L.A. Care CEO. “The Housing Equity Initiative funding will help organizations to better address the needs of populations that are disproportionately impacted by homelessness in L.A. County.”
Research has shown that there is a racial bias built into systems that determine an individual’s vulnerability, and people of color were less likely to receive housing vouchers and housing services as a result. The 12 awards support projects that seek to improve these systems and to expand housing options for populations that experience higher rates of homelessness and housing insecurity.
Those disproportionately impacted by housing insecurity include but are not limited to:
- Black/African American populations
- Other BIPOC and low-income communities, especially Latinos
- Transgender, gender non-conforming and intersex populations
- People with mental illness and substance use disorder
- Families (especially single parent led) that experienced trauma and housing insecurity
- Seniors
The initiative is funding two different types of projects. Nine awards of up to $250,000 each will support capacity building for organizations addressing disparities in housing placement and retention, and three awards of up to $300,000 each will support organizations with innovative approaches to address housing placement, retention and insecurity.
Single Room Only (SRO) Housing Corporation is one of the organizations receiving funding for capacity building.
“SRO Housing Corporation has provided housing to the most vulnerable members of the homeless population for 40 years, and we are thrilled to amplify our impactful work through L.A. Care’s Housing Equity Initiative,” said Anita Nelson, MBA, CEO of SRO Housing Corporation. “This program will support our efforts to reduce the amount of time vacant units remain in a state of disrepair and expedite successful placement into permanent supportive housing.”
Affordable Living for the Aging (ALA) is one of the organizations receiving funding for its innovative approach in addressing homelessness.
“This grant will enable the expansion and automation of ALA's Home Share Program, allowing us to create more affordable housing units, assist a greater number of individuals in need, and support seniors to age in place.” said Candice Scott, ALA’s Chief Development Officer. “Our collective mission is greatly enhanced by this generous support. We appreciate L.A. Care's unwavering dedication to alleviating homelessness in Los Angeles County.”
The 12 Housing Equity Initiative I grantees are:
- Affordable Living for the Aging
- Anti-Recidivism Coalition
- Ascencia
- Downtown Women’s Center
- Housing Works
- Imagine LA
- Little Tokyo Service Center
- Single Room Occupancy Housing Corporation
- Southern California Housing Rights Center
- Sunnyside 5
- Translatin@ Coalition
- Venice Community Housing
The funding for the Housing Equity Initiative is the result of California’s Housing and Homelessness Incentive Program (HHIP), which the state launched with the help of matching funds from the American Rescue Plan Act. HHIP is a voluntary incentive program allowing Medi-Cal managed care plans (MCPs) to earn incentive funds for making progress in addressing homelessness and housing insecurity as social determinants of health.
In addition to the Housing Equity Initiative awards, L.A. Care awarded two other grants through its Community Health Investment Fund that address housing insecurity. Housing Works, an organization that provides resident services at nine housing sites, received a grant of $150,000. The funding will support a workforce training program that will equip frontline homeless service workers with the necessary tools and resources to deliver trauma informed, housing-first services. A stable homeless service workforce is essential to creating positive outcomes for the clients, but prolonged exposure to trauma related to the housing insecurity the clients have faced has resulted in persistent employee turnover. The training employees receive through the L.A. Care funding will increase the workers’ confidence to deliver effective services and remain on the job.
L.A. Care also awarded $100,000 to L.A. Family Housing, an organization that helps people transition out of homelessness and poverty through a continuum of housing and supportive services. The funding will support staffing for mental health and substance use services at the organization’s permanent supportive housing sites. People experiencing homelessness often face severe mental health problems, and achieving housing stability can be tied to their mental health outcomes. The in-house mental health services that the grant is supporting aims to identify and address underlying mental health and substance use issues before a crisis occurs.
All of these investments align with L.A. Care’s commitment to health equity, which means everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible. It also aligns with the health plan’s Principles on Social Justice and Systemic Racism.