In February 2016, the LA County (LA County) Board (Board) formally approved a comprehensive set of strategies to combat the County’s homeless crisis. Coordinated by the CEO’s Homeless Initiative (HI), the HI strategies are the product of a collaborative process that involved not only County but also non‐County stakeholders, including cities, municipal leaders, community organizations, advocates, and concerned citizens. The strategies are grouped into six focus areas seeking to (a) prevent homelessness, (b) expand subsidized housing, (c) increase income among those who are homeless or are at risk of becoming homeless, (d) enhance homeless case management and supportive services, (e) create a coordinated homeless services system, and (f) expand affordable and homeless housing.

This report evaluates HI outcomes produced during Year Three of the HI, from July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2019, LA County’s 2018‐19 Fiscal Year (FY). Despite a 12 Percent year‐over‐year increase in the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority’s (LAHSA’s) 2019 Point‐in‐Time (PIT) homeless count for the County, the HI’s Year Three performance, as measured by results detailed in this report, was effective and successful. The PIT count was driven higher by the continuation of an upward trend in the housing market, which has pushed rents to levels increasingly out of alignment with incomes. The forces driving this dynamic are largely outside the policy purview of the homeless services system and should not obscure the HI’s important Year Three accomplishments.

Amidst an expanding homeless population, the HI placed 9,630 individuals and family members in Permanent Housing (PH) in Year Three.I While non‐HI‐affiliated PH placements over the same period decreased by 14.6 Percent, the HI’s Year Three PH placements represent an increase of close to 25.1 percent over the Initiative’s Year Two placements. Moreover, whereas the Year Two rate of persons returning to homelessness six months after a PH placement was 9.2 Percent, the rate in Year Three decreased to 5.9 Percent. The HI also placed 19,688 individuals and family members in Interim Housing (IH) in Year Three, which is roughly 27 Percent higher than the Initiative’s IH placements in the previous year. Three.I1 Additionally, the number of individuals and family members served by HI homelessness prevention strategies increased in Year Three and their aggregate outcomes represented significant improvement over outcomes observed among those served during Year Two.