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Inequity in the Permanent Supportive Housing System in Los Angeles: Scale, Scope and Reasons for Black Residents’ Returns to Homelessness

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POLICY REPORT: Inequity in the Permanent Supportive Housing System in Los Angeles: Scale, Scope and Reasons for Black Residents’ Return to Homelessness PDF

PRESS RELEASE: Report Finds and Explores Anti-Black Racial Inequities in Who Returns to Homelessness after Leaving Permanent Supportive Housing in Los Angeles

In Los Angeles County, Black people represent 9% of the general population yet comprise 40% of the homeless population. In its 2018 groundbreaking report, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority Ad Hoc Committee on Black People with Lived Experience of Homelessness concluded that homelessness is a by-product of racism in the United States. The Committee also found racial inequities in outcomes for Black residents of homeless services, particularly Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH).

This report, in partnership with LAHSA and community-based service providers, further examines why there are racial inequities in returns to homelessness or interim housing for Black PSH residents. To estimate the racial inequity in returns to homelessness, we used administrative data from the Homelessness Management Information System (HMIS). To identify potential factors that contribute to Black residents falling out of PSH and returning to homelessness, we conducted interviews and focus groups with PSH program managers, case managers, and Black residents.

Select Media Coverage

Los Angeles Times: L.A. turns to occupational therapists to keep formerly homeless from returning to streets (Jan 22, 2024)

Understanding Homelessness Podcast: Interview with Dr. Norweeta Milburn and Dr. Earl Edwards (May 2022)

Southern California Association of Non-Profit Housing Webinar presentation by Dr. Norweeta Milburn and Janey Rountree (Nov 2021)

CalMatters: California’s homelessness crisis — and possible solutions — explained  (updated May 2022)

 

Suggested Citation

Edwards, E., Milburn, N., Obermark, D., Rountree, J. (2021). Inequity in the Permanent Supportive Housing System in Los Angeles: Scale, Scope and Reasons for Black Residents’ Returns to Homelessness. California Policy Lab. https://capolicylab.org/inequity-in-the-psh-system-in-los-angeles/



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