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HOMELESS - Los Angeles is running out of excuses.
The federal government’s decision to cut $400 million in homelessness funding—while directly calling out the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA)—is not just a policy shift. It is a public indictment. And whether City Hall wants to admit it or not, the message is clear: confidence in Los Angeles’ homelessness response has collapsed.
This didn’t happen overnight. It is the result of years of unchecked spending, selective reporting, and a refusal to confront reality.
Angelenos have been told—repeatedly—that progress is being made. But the reality on the ground tells a different story. Encampments are growing. Sidewalks are blocked. Public spaces are deteriorating. Entire neighborhoods are being asked to accept dysfunction as the new normal.
Let’s stop pretending.
The system is not working—and everyone knows it.
At the center of this failure is a complete breakdown in accountability.
Programs like Inside Safe—funded with billions in taxpayer dollars—continue to operate without meaningful, independent oversight. Requests for transparency are brushed aside with procedural excuses, as if scrutiny itself were the problem.
It isn’t.
The problem is a system that spends aggressively, reports selectively, and answers to no one.
This is not private money. It is public money. And the public has every right to know where it is going—and whether it is making any difference at all.
The refusal to conduct a full, independent audit is no longer defensible. It raises a far more serious question: what exactly is City Hall afraid of finding?
Now, with federal funding being pulled back, the consequences of that avoidance are unavoidable.
Less funding will not magically produce better results. It will expose just how fragile—and ineffective—the current system really is. Services will shrink. Street conditions will worsen. And the burden will fall, once again, on residents who have already lost patience with a strategy that produces promises instead of outcomes.
This is no longer just about homelessness.
It is about the collapse of public trust.
And while Los Angeles struggles to manage its own failures, federal priorities raise their own contradictions. At a time when housing, healthcare, and basic human services face cuts, Washington is pushing toward a trillion-dollar defense budget.
Yes, national security matters. But so does the reality unfolding on our streets every single day.
A government that cannot balance those priorities is not governing—it is reacting.
And Los Angeles has fallen into the same pattern.
Crisis after crisis. Spending without structure. Messaging without measurable results.
Now the bill is coming due.
The question is no longer whether change is needed. That answer is obvious.
The question is whether those in power are willing—or capable—of delivering it.
Will City Hall finally open its books and submit to real oversight?
Will County leadership confront the inefficiencies that have allowed this crisis to deepen?
Or will both continue to deflect responsibility while conditions deteriorate further?
Because if the answer is more of the same, then the outcome is already clear.
The homeless will remain trapped in a system that fails them.
Residents will continue to see their communities decline.
And trust in government will erode even further.
This is not just a policy failure.
It is a collapse of leadership.
And the people paying the price are not sitting in City Hall.
They are living—and dying—on the streets of Los Angeles.
(Mihran Kalaydjian is a seasoned public affairs and government relations professional with more than twenty years of experience in legislative affairs, public policy, community relations, and strategic communications. A respected civic leader and education advocate, he has spearheaded numerous academic and community initiatives, shaping dialogue and driving reform in local and regional political forums. His career reflects a steadfast commitment to transparency, accountability, and public service across Los Angeles and beyond.)
(Jay Handal is a veteran community advocate and longtime CityWatch contributor who plays a central role in holding Los Angeles City Hall accountable. He serves as treasurer of the West LA–Sawtelle Neighborhood Council. With decades of grassroots organizing and civic leadership, Jay is a relentless voice for transparency, fiscal reform, and empowering neighborhoods to challenge waste, mismanagement, and backroom decision-making at City Hall.)
