LA Homelessness System ‘Broken,’ Matthew Umhofer on Final Day of Evidentiary Hearing

“Attorneys for the LA Alliance for Human Rights argued the city has breached settlements reached in 2020 and 2022 requiring it to provide nearly 20,000 new ‘housing solutions’ for homeless people and to remove just under 10,000 encampments from the streets.

‘Breached and broken, your honor. That’s what we’re here to talk about today,’ LA Alliance attorney Matthew Umhofer argued. ‘The
system is broken and demands extraordinary judicial action.’

. . .

In closing, Umhofer reminded the judge of his own words from a 2021 ruling:

‘This court cannot idly bear witness to preventable deaths. This ever worsening public health and safety emergency demands immediate life-saving action. The City and County of Los Angeles have shown themselves to be unable or unwilling to devise effective solutions to LA’s homeless crisis.’”