On Thursday, a judge reviewed a proposed settlement with the Los Angeles Alliance for Human Rights that would advocate for the addition of 1,450 hospital beds for unhoused people with mental illness or substance abuse.
If ruled in favor, the beds would be seen active over the next few years. But, U.S. District Judge David O. Carter rejected the country’s settlement proposal due to an insufficient number of beds and a desire for more oversight on the project.
Last November, Carter rejected a similar deal requesting about 300 beds. Carter said the settlement wouldn’t provide nearly enough beds for the unhoused and claimed county officials could come up with a more adequate solution.
“Bare minimum” is how Carter described the county’s most recent offer during this Thursday’s case in regards to aiding people experiencing homelessness in L.A.
In 2019, a county report determined that the necessary amount of beds would be around 3,000. Experts say the number of unhoused people with mental health or substance abuse issues has only risen since then.
L.A. settled with L.A. Alliance last September. The county committed $236 million, and the city $74 million, to fund homeless services over the next five years. Mayor Karen Bass made homelessness a key part of her campaign. She declared it a state emergency her first day in office.
The new deal proposed about 1,550 beds short of what the 2019 report determined would be necessary to provide relief for the L.A. homeless community.
“While we were pleased that the County had agreed to five times the number of beds that it had offered in October, this new number is still far short,” said L.A. Alliance for Human Rights in a statement made yesterday. “Our goal is a global settlement … that global settlement must address the needs of the people of Los Angeles — those experiencing homelessness who need beds, treatment and safety.”
Carter also reprimanded county officials for not taking initiative in providing mental health and substance treatment beds sooner and stated that the county has the appropriate funding to take action. This is in regards to the county’s $40 billion plus annual budget.
“The county should have done this years ago without even coming before the federal court,” Carter said. ”Don’t throw the lack of money at me from the county’s perspective.”
Another one of Carter’s main concerns with the proposed deal was the lack of authority given to him which would provide him the ability to closely monitor whether county officials were following through on their commitments. County officials opposed this notion arguing that money spent on the courts special counsel monitor should instead go directly to aiding individuals with home insecurity.
“Every single resource needs to be devoted to helping people on the streets, not attorneys,” said Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, who was in attendance at the hearing.
Now, the case transitions to a traditional lawsuit, with hearings in the upcoming weeks. This means the county’s timeline for implementing additional beds for the homeless will depend on the proceedings of the lawsuit. Carter pointed out that the county does not require a settlement in order to move forward with new bed provisions.
Board of Supervisors Chair Janice Hahn reported to LAist that work is already in progress.