Under the agreement, Los Angeles County will fund services at interim and permanent housing that the city has or will build as part of the previously announced settlement.
At 76, Judge David Carter knows he shouldn’t be on skid row exposing himself to the coronavirus. But he wants more for L.A.'s homeless people.
It was unclear how much money the county was committing to spend above the $532 million it already puts toward homeless services, because the total is pegged to the number of new housing units the city produces. As recently as spring, the county appeared ready to continue fighting in court. Its lawyers maintained the case was narrowly focused on skid row and argued that it should be dismissed, or that the county be removed as a defendant.said, “It did not make sense to be constrained by the legal posture of the lawsuit knowing that we needed to do something to solve the problem.”
“I was tough, and I’m gonna continue to be tough,” Martinez said of her dealings with the county. “The missing link has always been the services that are needed to help people rebuild their lives and get back on their feet. So that’s always been the issue that I’ve had. So this has been an opportunity to address this.”
The latest settlement essentially mimics that deal’s arrangement, in which the city builds or secures shelter and housing and the county pays for services for the homeless people who move in.The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday struck down a sweeping order by U.S. District Judge David O. Carter to house L.A.'s skid row homeless.