Some of the largest homeless service providers in Los Angeles County said they can’t pay their bills because reimbursements from the county don’t cover all expenses.
The providers also said payments come in several months late. Jennifer Hark Dietz, the CEO of People Assisting the Homeless, told the L.A. County Board of Supervisors that they’re close to cutting services to thousands of people. This could mean that hundreds of people could also lose shelter.
“This is a time, as I mentioned, when scaling and expanding efforts is needed,” she said. “But if these ongoing payment challenges just continue, our sector cannot function, and inevitably we will not be able to scale, but we will also have to scale back, leaving people in great need.”
A manager for the Homeless Outreach Program Integrated Care System in South L.A. said they’ve had to take out lines of credit to stay afloat.
These providers said the payment system is broken and needs to be reformed.
Follow KNX News 97.1 FM
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok
