Jan 5, 2022A Lie That’s Making Our Neighborhoods Less SafeLet’s get something straight: the City of LA has not defunded the LAPD. Not even close. Political candidates, the police union, talk radio, and social media are all shouting about defunding and its consequences. There’s a false narrative that says “progressives defunded police, crime is up, and we need more…Los Angeles4 min readLos Angeles4 min read
Feb 3, 2021A Path Toward Progress: Why Los Angeles Needs a Consent DecreeWhen it comes to homelessness in Los Angeles, what’s at work isn’t working. The unhoused continue to die on our public streets and sidewalks, and residents watch helplessly as our neighborhoods are transformed into stunning indictments of our failed social safety system. We need a different approach. We need to…Homeless6 min readHomeless6 min read
Jan 19, 2020Not Homeless Enough?Our System Makes People Harder and More Expensive to Help by Councilmember Mike Bonin A newly diagnosed lung cancer patient asks her doctor what the recommended treatment is. “I’m sorry,” the doctor says, “but we only treat late-stage cancer. Come back in a year when the cancer has spread and…Los Angeles4 min readLos Angeles4 min read
Jun 14, 2019The Public Health Crisis on Our StreetsWhat if we spent $30 million in public funds and got nothing for it? That’s the question I have been asking about the costs and benefits of the city’s program of clean-ups of homeless encampments — a program virtually no one is satisfied with. Over the past several years, as…Homeless4 min readHomeless4 min read
Jun 9, 2019Shared Housing: A Faster, More Cost-Effective Solution to HomelessnessIn Los Angeles, with our homeless crisis growing worse by the day, we can get hundreds of people off the street and into housing in the next couple days — but we refuse to. We are housing more people than ever in Los Angeles, but not nearly as quickly as…Homeless4 min readHomeless4 min read
Jun 5, 2019Member-onlyWhy is Homelessness Getting Worse, and What Can We Do About It?The homelessness crisis in Los Angeles is getting worse. After several declarations of emergency, the development of comprehensive strategies, voter approval of taxes to address homelessness, and the launch of new programs, how the hell is that possible? Here’s the short answer: We are housing homeless people in record numbers…Homeless8 min readHomeless8 min read
Feb 25, 2018Homeless by Choice?In nearly every corner of Los Angeles, there are homeless encampments — collections of flimsy tents, usually within mere feet of a school, a park, a business, or someone’s home. Their presence invariably sparks a neighborhood debate, with loud voices proclaiming that “those people” are there by choice. It’s not…Homeless3 min readHomeless3 min read
