Target: Scott Turner, U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Goal: Restore full funding for unhoused populations in Los Angeles.
For months, unhoused individuals and families in one of America’s largest cities have gone without critical assistance. The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) had been prohibited by the Trump administration’s Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) from submitting requests for federal funding on behalf of dozens of social service groups who serve the homeless. An appeals court overturned this decision, proclaiming that HUD “chose to suspend LAHSA at a time when it would leave the Los Angeles region particularly vulnerable” to the impacts of an abrupt halting of “critical programs and ongoing services.” The court’s decision went on to call HUD’s proposed alternative plan “virtually impossible to implement.”
While the immediate problem has been settled, the crisis for LA’s unhoused population continues. Government officials are still fighting the ruling. To make matters worse, they have yet to release over $300,000 in grant monies for the homeless promised last year.
Sign the petition below to demand HUD stop standing in the way of helping the nation’s homeless.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Secretary Turner,
Unhoused individuals confront increased risks and burdens every day. They are more vulnerable to chronic physical and mental health issues, which a limited access to healthcare options compounds. They are more likely to be victims of crimes and to have life spans decades shorter than the average. Despite these stressors for the estimated one million-plus Americans enduring homelessness, HUD is dishonoring one of its core missions: to ensure safe shelter for all Americans.
This agency has claimed actions taken against the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority are due to mismanagement. Why, then, has HUD refused on a broader level to make funds for unhoused support available that were already mandated and pledged by Congressional decree? Act in good faith and honor the court’s recent ruling. Then, honor your duty and mission by making all promised financial support immediately available to this nation’s most vulnerable populations.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Timur Weber
