Who does @LAHomeless mobilize for? Politicians. What mobilizes politicians? Bad PR. Totally unsustainable process: there are 41,000+ homeless people in LA city. We can only write so many bad PR stories for politicians like @MitchOFarrell to get unhoused people help. https://twitter.com/shoton35mm/status/1291486851925123072

This is especially relevant for organizations such as @StreetWatchLA @KtownforAll and @LACANetwork among others b/c @LAHomeless isn’t responsive to them, despite the fact that they advocate with the unhoused. @LAHomeless, however, is very responsive to @LACity. Follow their $$$

And I’m sympathetic to @LAHomeless too: their budget is dependent upon satisfying politicians who are ill-informed (and more) about homelessness, like @JoeBuscaino.

For more on how ill-informed @JoeBuscaino is about homelessness: https://twitter.com/samlutzker/status/1288899877343129600?s=21 https://twitter.com/samlutzker/status/1288899877343129600

But this problem is of such a scale that the bad PR—>councilperson—>LAHSA mechanism for services isn’t sustainable. The services need to be comprehensive (more $$$) to the point that it’s a phone call away for an unhoused person to get services. LA-HOP is not that.

Our desperation for homeless services here in LA is such that housing someone during a pandemic (a simple, human rights ask) must rise to the level of political favor to be accomplished! In a system that works, @ShotOn35mm wouldn’t need to publicly advocate for another’s services

(cont.) the person requiring services would just receive them! Simple, generous, and easy, but not in our current system. We need to massively reinvest in #carenotcops . Want to solve homelessness? #DefundPolice by 1/2 and put that into building housing for all.

Then use a well-funded @LAHomeless to patiently work w/ folks to get those who want housing into housing. Why can’t we do this?! We need to organize and mobilize. Join one of the homeless advocacy organizations listed above. And bother your representatives... now!