Proposition H on the Los Angeles County Ballot on Tuesday, March 7, 2017
I hope you will consider voting for Proposition H. It would authorize a ¼ cent sales tax in Los Angeles to pay for services to reduce homelessness for the next 10 years. Think of this as a quarter on a $100 purchase. It would raise $375 million annually.
There are about 47,000 homeless in Los Angeles County in 2016. The numbers have steadily grown from about 39,000 in 2013. Homelessness is increasing in our county as rents rise, evictions for non-payment of rent increase, and the lack of affordable housing gets ever tighter. You cannot drive around our community without noticing the horrendous devastation of homelessness on human lives. Men, women and children are suffering from deprivation of the most basic human needs for a place to sleep, eat, stay warm, safe and dry, use sanitary facilities and store their clothes and essential belongings.
Proposition H was drafted after over a year of discussion among Los Angeles civic leaders. It is supported by business, labor, county government, philanthropy, religious leaders and community organizations throughout Los Angeles County. It really has little or no opposition.
Proposition H is a companion measure to LA City Proposition HHH, which had 77% voter support on the November 2016 ballot. Prop HHH was designed by the City to build permanent housing for the homeless.
Prop H is designed to pay for supportive services to help keep the homeless housed. This includes mental health and substance abuse treatment for those with drug and alcohol addictions and serious mental illness, vocational training and job search assistance. The goals are to get the homeless housed and keep them housed, help them get and keep jobs, help them get treatment for underlying physical and mental health conditions and to prevent future waves of homeless Los Angelenos.
Please support Proposition H on March 7; it needs a 2/3rds vote to pass.
If you are interested, please volunteer with a civic, community or religious organization that addresses this critical issue. I volunteer on the Board of the Saint Joseph’s Center in Venice. https://stjosephctr.org/ See this video of the efforts of Venice’s C-3 team to reduce homelessness.
https://stjosephctr.org/outreach-engagement/c3-team/
Prepared by: Lucien Wulsin
Dated: February 25, 2017