The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority said Monday it plans to lay off 284 employees, primarily citing the county’s decision to pull funding and establish its own homeless services department.
LAHSA, a joint city-county agency established in 1993, receives funding from the LA city, county, state and federal government to administer homeless services, including shelter and outreach, throughout the county.
But last year, after years of criticism that LAHSA lacked proper oversight and financial controls, the county Board of Supervisors voted to pull funding and programs from the authority and transfer them to an internal department.
The change will take effect July 1, which is the start of the upcoming fiscal year and the day LAHSA said 284 layoffs will take effect.
The workers being laid off include 216 SEIU Local 721 and 68 non-union employees. It is not clear how many people will ultimately be unemployed.
Because LAHSA is a joint city-county agency, it currently has city-funded employees and county-funded employees.
Jesus Ruiz, spokesman for the county’s Office of the Chief Executive, said the county is committed to finding jobs for departing, county-funded LAHSA workers and is currently working with LAHSA to identify how many of the 284 employees fit that definition.
However, as of now, LAHSA employees represented by SEIU Local 721 “have not currently been scheduled to transfer to county employment,” local spokesman Mike Long said in an email.
The City of Los Angeles is also discussing moving at least some programs out of LAHSA, but no decision has been made yet.
Depending on what budget the city approves for the next fiscal year, LAHSA said it may retain some of the laid-off employees.
Long said the union is working with the city and county to “save these critical positions.”
LAHSA Interim Chief Executive Geeta O’Neill thanked LAHSA staff for “their unwavering dedication and hard work” and credited them for being the “driving force” behind the recent decline in unsheltered homelessness, which, although skyrocketing, has declined by 14% since 2023.
