Free Republic

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva wrote to the L.A. Board of Supervisors on Wednesday to ask them to declare a “state of emergency” on the local homeless crisis, saying that “failed policies” were causing death on the streets. Villanueva has recently adopted a more assertive approach, vowing to clear homeless encampments from the Venice Beach area and standing up to the L.A. City Council on its failure to contain the spread of tent cities throughout the city. This week, he stepped up his efforts by calling on the L.A. County Board of Supervisors to act, in a press conference....

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority Monday was expected to release the results of the 2015 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count. The number, which will be the largest in the nation, will be presented at 4 p.m. at the LAHSA Commission Meeting. The LAHSA was created in 1993 to address the problems of homelessness in LA County. Members coordinate and manage over $70 million annually in federal, state, county and city funds for programs providing shelter, housing and services to homeless persons.