WHWCNC – Public Health and Homelessness Committee Regular Meeting

Click for Agenda, NPG, FTB, IRS

WOODLAND
HILLS/ WARNER
CENTER
NEIGHBORHOOD
COUNCIL
whcouncil.org
200 N. Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA
90012
Email: NCsupport@lacity.org
Website:www.empowerla.org
Public Health and
Homelessness Committee
Meeting Agenda
Los Angeles Public Library
22200 Ventura Boulevard
Woodland Hills, CA 91364
Tuesday, April 25th, 2023
7:00 P.M

Si requiere servicios de traducción, favor de avisar al Concejo Vecinal 3 días de trabajo (72 horas) antes del
evento. Por favor contacte Karen, Secretaria, al por correo electrónico k.Dibiase@whcouncil.org
Comments from the public on other matters not appearing on the agenda that are within the Board’s
jurisdiction will be heard during the General Public Comment period. Please note that under the Brown Act,
the Board is prevented from acting on a matter that you bring to its attention during the General Public
Comment period; however, the issue raised by a member of the public may become the subject of a future
Board meeting. Public comment is limited to 2 minutes per speaker, unless adjusted by the presiding officer
of the Board.

Aaron M Quantz, Chair
Reina Cerros McCaughey, Co-Chair
PHH Committee Members:
Mark Schwartz, Gretchen Gesell, Christine Robinson
CALL TO ORDER AND COMMITTEE ROLL CALL:
I. GOVERNMENT REPORTS
a. Public Safety
b. City Council Representative
c. Government Departments/Agencies, including Department of Neighborhood
Empowerment
II. GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT –
a. Comments from the public on non-agenda items within the Board’s subject matter
jurisdiction.
Each speaker will be allowed 1 minute.
b. Comments from the public for items on the Agenda.
Each speaker will be allowed 2 minutes
III. NEW BUSINESS –
Discussion and Possible Action:
Approval of NPG for The Foundation for Pierce College -6201 Winnetka Avenue, Woodland Hills,
CA 91371) See supporting documents.
Request of funds towards the Los Angeles Pierce College Foundation Basic Needs program. The program currently
serves over 900 students. The Foundation provides students with direct food supplies, housing support, as well as
other resources as needed by the individual student. The foundation is providing a store shopping experience for our
students within the campus bodega. Students are treated with dignity and respect when shopping at the bodega. We
are requesting a donation to the general fund for the benefit of the students in need.
Roll call vote:
Discussion and Possible Action:
Organize a board member volunteer day at New Friends Homeless Center. NFHC serves dinner
on Friday evenings at the Woodland Hills United Methodist Church (5650 Shoup Ave, Woodland
Hills, CA 91367). Pastor April Belt is the organizer. Board members will be invited to volunteer
with dinner service for the night. (Gretchen Gesell)
Roll call vote:
Discussion and Possible Action:
Reach out to the Woodlands organization and invite them to our next committee meeting to
discuss and explore future joint events within the community. -(Gretchen Gesell)
Roll call vote:
Discussion and possible action:
Call for Volunteers to the Free Farmer’s market. Ourstoryis.com is a non profit organization
providing organic fresh produce to those in need. Location: River of the Valley : 22103 Vanowen
St, Canoga Park, CA 91303 Located in the parking lot, the last Saturday of every month. Next
date is April 29th, 2023, in the church parking lot. (Reina Cerros McCaughey)

Roll call vote
Discussion and possible action:
Council File: 23-0423 – City-Funded Homeless Shelter Sites / Bed Occupancy Data /
Demographic Data / Eligibility Requirements / Services Offered / Intake / Referrals / Los Angeles
Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA)
During the COVID-19 emergency, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA)
provided daily occupancy reports for Project Roomkey sites to City partners. These reports
were utilized to ensure that beds could be filled as quickly as possible and allowed City
offices to monitor progress on Project Roomkey’s demobilization as the program was ending.
As the City continues to make investments in interim housing and shelter sites, City
employees and the public have a continuing need to access and understand the availability of
shelter beds. This information is key to promoting transparency within the shelter system,
shining a light on what is currently an opaque placement process and clarifying distinctions
between different sites in the City and how they are filled. Knowledge of shelter availability
also promotes a more effective distribution of this vital, life-saving resource. Such information
pertaining to:
• Demographic information about the population(s) the site is able to serve;
• Eligibility requirements for entry, such as whether a site accepts walk-ins;
• Whether services offered include assessment, referrals, housing matches, residence within
a particular catchment area, etc.;
• Number and percentage of beds that are occupied;
• Number and percentage of beds that are offline, and the reason(s) they are offline;
• Number and percentage of beds that are available;
• Number of individuals referred to the site; and
• Number of intakes scheduled at the site for that day.
Roll Call Vote
Discussion and possible action:
Council File 23-0429 – Holistic Investment Strategy / Permanent and Interim Housing /
Projected Number and Cost
(Holistic, definition: Emphasizing the importance of the whole and the interdependence of its
parts)
In recent years, the City of Los Angeles has pursued a variety of strategies in an effort to
address homelessness, including significantly increasing our shelter and housing capacity.
These have included the passage of Proposition HHH in 2017 to fund 10,000 units of
permanent supportive housing (PSH), the “Roadmap” agreement the City and County
reached in 2020 to bring online 6,700 new beds, including both PSH and interim housing, and
the purchase of hundreds of units through the state funded Project Homekey. However, the
current rate of investment in both permanent and interim housing still falls short of what is
needed for us to actually meet the needs of people experiencing homelessness on our city
streets. We ask that the City Council direct the Los Angeles Housing Department (LAHD) to
report back in 30 days regarding a holistic investment strategy to create the permanent and
interim housing needed to significantly reduce and ultimately end homelessness in the City of
Los Angeles. The plan should include:
• Recommendations on the size of investment needed given the projected size of the
population of persons experiencing unsheltered homelessness in Los Angeles on a year by
year basis;
• Recommendations on the housing typologies (permanent and interim) to target for

investment;
• Projection of the number of housing units generated by investment;
• Projection of additional outside dollars the City will need to leverage; and
• Identification of funding gaps.
Roll Call Vote
Discussion and possible action:
Council file 23-0426 – Affordable Housing / Multilingual Online System / Search and
Application
The City of Los Angeles has increased its affordable housing supply in recent years, the
majority of which has been produced through incentive-based programs like the State Density
Bonus and Transit Oriented Communities Incentive programs. Yet, residents of Los Angeles
who qualify for affordable housing do not currently have a comprehensive and straightforward
means of finding and applying for this housing. On September 5, 2016, the City entered into a
settlement agreement with the Independent Living Center of Southern California and other
plaintiffs to bring the City into compliance with accessibility requirements for affordable
housing. As a result of the settlement, the City created the Accessible Housing Program
(AcHP) to ensure that people with disabilities have an equal opportunity to rent, use, and
enjoy affordable housing that has received financial or other assistance from the City of Los
Angeles (City) or the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles
(CRA/LA). The Los Angeles Housing Department also launched its Affordable and Accessible
Housing Registry (Registry) in large part due to this settlement.
The City Council instructs the Los Angeles Housing Department, with support from any other
relevant departments, to report back within 45 days with recommendations and a proposed
implementation timeline for creating a comprehensive, multilingual online system that would
allow potential applicants to search for all available affordable housing in the City of Los
Angeles and facilitate and simplify the ability of applicants to apply to such properties based
on their needs, preferences, and qualifications. The system should include all covenanted
affordable units, including privately financed units created through incentive-based programs.
The report recommendations should include funding, personnel, contracts, and any other
resources needed to accomplish this work.
Roll call vote
Discussion and possible action:
Council File 23-0302 – Emergency Housing Vouchers (EHV) / Housing Authority of the City of Los
Angeles / Housing Navigators / Case Managers / Extensions / Appeal Process
Through the American Rescue Plan Act, the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles
(HACLA) was allocated 3,365 Emergency Housing Vouchers (EHV) to assist individuals and
families who are homeless or at risk of homelessness or fleeing domestic violence/human
trafficking with rental assistance.
The EHV Dashboard (https://tinyurl.com/dashboardehv) provides updates on leasing, issuance
and unit utilization on voucher awards and funding by Public Housing Authorities, including
HACLA, and as of March 15, 2023, 1,388 EHV participants have leased a unit, and there are
2,625 EHV participants with vouchers not yet leased. After September 30, 2023 EHVs will not be
re-issued, and there is an urgency to assist individuals with EHVs with housing navigation and
lease up.
Housing navigators and housing case managers assisting EHV participants often are only able to
communicate with HACLA case managers via email and when HACLA case managers change,
housing navigators/case managers assisting EHV participants have had to experience sending
documents multiple times to different HACLA case managers, causing additional delays. Housing

navigators/case managers have experienced ambiguity and inconsistency in HACLA’s process
related to appealing or correcting decisions made and for requesting EHV extensions. Most
importantly, housing navigators/case managers nor EHV participants are notified in advance of
expiring EHVs or that EHVs have expired.
The City Council requests a HACLA to report within 15 days on improving communication
between HACLA case managers and EHV participants and the housing navigators/case
managers inclusive of addressing staff transition, a more responsive appeals process, updates on
pending status, notification for expiring EHVs, and additional ways to contact HACLA staff
Roll call vote
ADJOURNMENT
As a covered entity under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City of Los
Angeles does not discriminate on the basis of disability and upon request will provide
reasonable accommodation to ensure equal access to its programs, services, and
activities. Sign language interpreters, assistive listening devices, or other auxiliary aids
and/or services may be provided upon request. To ensure availability of services, please
make your request at least 3 business days (72 hours) prior to the meeting by contacting
the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment by calling (213) 978-1551 or email:
NCsupport@lacity.org
Public Posting of Agendas –
Neighborhood Council agendas are posted for public review as follows:
West Valley Warner Center Chamber of Commerce (Promenade Mall)
www.WHcouncil.org
You can also receive our agendas via email by subscribing to L.A. City’s Early Notification
System (ENS)
Notice to Paid Representatives –
If you are compensated to monitor, attend, or speak at this meeting, City law may require you to register as a
lobbyist and report your activity. See Los Angeles Municipal Code Section 48.01 et seq. More information is
available at ethics.lacity.org/lobbying. For assistance, please contact the Ethics Commission at (213)
978-1960 or ethics.commission@lacity.org
Public Access of Records –
In compliance with Government Code section 54957.5, non-exempt writings that are distributed to a majority
or all of the board in advance of a meeting may be viewed at Neighborhood Council Office Space Address (if
applicable), at our website: www.WHcouncil.org or at the scheduled meeting. In addition, if you would like a
copy of any record related to an item on the agenda, please contact Karen, Secretary, email at:
k.Dibiase@whcouncil.org
Reconsideration and Grievance Process –
For information on the NC’s process for board action reconsideration, stakeholder grievance policy, or any
other procedural matters related to this Council, please consult the NC Bylaws. The Bylaws are available at
our Board meetings and our website www.WHcouncil.org