Longtime observers of Los Angeles’s approach to homelessness say scoring disparities in the system are alarming and may mean Black unhoused people are getting less help than they should. The findings come at a time when the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), the independent joint city and county agency responsible for coordinating homelessness services in Los Angeles, plans to stop using the tool entirely, after a research team partnering with the agency found the tool had “the potential to advantage certain racial groups over others.” But with no replacement yet available, the agency continues to rely on it.
Lecher, C., & Varner, M. (2023, February 28). L.A.’s Scoring System for Subsidized Housing Gives Black and Latino People Experiencing Homelessness Lower Priority Scores. The Markup. https://themarkup.org/investigation/2023/02/28/l-a-s-scoring-system-for-subsidized-housing-gives-black-and-latino-people-experiencing-homelessness-lower-priority-scores